Nominate Outstanding Students, Educators for 2024 Awards of Excellence

March 5, 2024

Miami Lakes, FL – The Town’s Education Advisory Board is excited to announce the opening of nominations for the 2024 Awards of Excellence, an annual event dedicated to honoring outstanding students and educators for their contributions to their school and community.

The Awards of Excellence recognize individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, leadership, and service, making a positive impact on their educational environment and beyond. These individuals embody the values of excellence, integrity, and commitment, serving as inspirations to their peers and mentors alike. The award categories are as follows:

Student Awards

Athletics: The Nominee’s merit for the category can be expressed amidst leadership and contribution in individual and team sports within their school and/or community. Service and activities may consist of overseeing, coaching, and/or aiding recreation programs and athletic activities that provides to the well-being of those in their community.
Business: The Nominee’s merit for the category can be expressed amidst entrepreneurial plans, distributive education, accounting, marketing and/or consumer education. Service and activities may consist of engaging in business subject-based student clubs and organizations (FBLA, DECA, etc.) and/or utilizing technology and generating projects that administer business studies for the welfare of the community.
Community Hero: The Nominee’s merit for the category can be expressed amidst students who do an outstanding volunteer service that benefits their fellow students, schools, and/or communities, through either a school service project, community program, and/or a selfless action.
English & Literature: The Nominee’s merit for the category can be expressed amidst incorporation and/or guidance of activities associated to a deeper appreciation and knowledge of the English language, notably an admiration for literature. Service and activities may consist of inspiring individual expression through composed scripted communication, tutoring individuals in fundamental reading skills, and/or cultivating a passion of reading.
Fine Arts: The Nominee’s merit for the category can be expressed amidst the visual and/or performing arts. Nominees may articulate creative abilities through services and activities consisting of drawing, painting, graphic designing, photography, acting, directing, composing original scripts or music, performing vocal/instrumental music, dancing, assisting with performance productions or any additional medium or participation; in which concentrates on community matters and/or encourages admiration for the visual and/or performing arts within the community.
Journalism: The Nominee’s merit for the category can be expressed amidst articulating skills in writing, reporting, editing, and/or capturing pictures. In which, it is published in newspapers, magazines, and/or electronic media sites in the community, where it is to assist individuals in school, church, and/or civic organizations.
Local Advocacy: The Nominee’s merit for the category can be expressed amidst the utilization of knowledge of current events, history, civics, and political science for the assistance of others. Service and activities may consist of endeavors associated to Student Government, alongside advocating for local, state and federal government issues; including service and activities that may consist of demonstrate advocacy through debate or public speaking, organizing public forums in which involves advocacy of current issues, and/or encouragement of individual expression through oral 6 communication. Students may also volunteer for social service organizations and various health and human service agencies.
STEM: The Nominee’s merit for the category can be expressed amidst service and activities that may consist in cultivating pursuit in advanced mathematics, furthering mathematical comprehension through research to benefit the community, cultivating pursuit in an advanced analysis or concentration of encouraging the conservation of the environment and/or the concepts of biology, physics, physiology, earth and space sciences, chemistry, botany, and additional specific areas that inspire study in these areas. As well as, manufacturing a product that is digitally dispersed and collaborating to assist others in the community; or by generating a new original media product/creation through the Internet, text, pictures, video, animation, sound, and/or additional technical skills for the community.

Educator Category

Outstanding Educator of the Year: Nominees may consist of school, community, and/or county level administrators, directors, supervisors, teachers, specialists, counselors, classroom assistants, school psychologists, social workers, coaches, and mentors. This nominee is someone who demonstrates leadership, exceptional teaching practices in the classroom (during and after school activities), enables achievements and participation of all students. Someone who provides innovative or consistently outstanding support and/or service going above and beyond the requirements of their job description, not only on school grounds, but in the community.

Nominations can be submitted here. Nominees must be currently enrolled students and educators (in their specific categories). Students must be in either the 5th, 8th, or 12th grade only. All nominees must be Miami Lakes residents.

For more information on the Education Advisory Board and its initiatives, please visit miamilakes-fl.gov/eab, or contact Aisle Pastora at pastoraa@miamilakes-fl.gov.

The Education Advisory Board was created to assess the condition, needs, and availability of schools and educational programs and activities within the Town.

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