Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
NELMS SCHOLAR LEADER AWARDS
Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the major reasons that schools participate?
A: Schools frequently report the following:

positive recognition for students
positive recognition for and supports parents of young adolescents
promotes scholarship and leadership for middle level students
one of the few positive events for the middle level for young adolescents
one of the few state wide events for middle level students
recognizes students beyond the school community
brings recognition to our school
students, parents, school officials and administration all sit together for a great evening of fun and recognition
it reflects well on all middle school students, not just the two that are recognized
it supports our school goals
promotes dignity and respect for all
a way to show pride in our students
it helps support the mission of the sponsor organizations

Q: How are resources generated for this event?
A: It seems there are a variety of sources used to generate the resources needed for this activity. The following are some suggestions:

fundraising money from our school
access the student activity fund
access the principal's fund
our parent group pays for it
we have a local business sponsor the whole table
our school board sponsors our participation
the teachers association pays for the table
all our teachers chip in a few bucks so our school can attend
civic group in our community pays for our attendance
money comes from the school budget, we set it aside every year
we ask the parents to pay for their dinners but the school pays for the students

Q: Is this dinner a form of a star system for middle level students?
A: In discussions, asking those who have participated, they feel that:

the students chosen are representatives of others
the students who do "good" things can be role models
if you don't recognize students who do these kinds of things, there will not be a model for others to follow
the criteria is very broad, almost all our students are eligible
this is just one more way we recognize students
it's another avenue to recognize students
any positive recognition is a good thing and far out weighs any disadvantages
it is a way to recognize talent that might not be recognized otherwise in traditional school recognition programs
the criteria is all inclusive, we find that kids chosen for this would probably not be chosen for others
we find few recognition for leaders in our school
we recognize kids in a variety of ways so from their prospective it's but one more way to acknowledge the good works of their colleagues
having the students be representative of others is really helpful
we get our students involved in the selection process

Q: How do you select your students for this award?
A: School leaders report a variety of ways they select students. They are:

I, as the principal, select the two students and invite the parents to attend
the administrative team sits down and selects the students
team leader council in my building solicits nominations from teachers and then selects the two students
The 8th grade teams in our building nominate students and the guidance department selects the two students
the 8th (or 7th) grade teachers nominate the student and the unified arts teachers select the two students to be recognized
our student government nominates students and the team leader council and school improvement committee selects the two to be representative
each teacher nominates one student, the two are then selected by administration but we send letters to all the parents of the other students nominated telling them of their recognition even though they were not selected as one of the two
My 8th graders are usually in Washington DC at this time so we made this a 7th grade award

Q: Is there any profit generated by this event?
A: All of the organizations that NELMS partners with have pledged to make this event revenue neutral. However, there are expenses associated with this event and the resources generated are used to offset these expenses.

Q: Will this be an on-going annual event?
A: In each of the states these events seem to be growing. It is expected that each New England state will continue to have Scholar Leader Dinners and as such we look forward to on-going continued participation. The State of Connecticut, which originated this idea, has students recognized from 144 schools that brings together over 1400 individuals for a banquet. Certainly in other states it can grow proportionally.

We hope that this question and answer sheet has been helpful for you as you think about your level of participation in the future. We appreciate support given to these events and feel strongly that positive nature of recognizing young people as representative of all student scholar leaders is a positive and good thing for our community, our states, our schools, and particularly for our students.

Robert C. Spear, Ed.D.
Executive Director, NELMS

For further information please contact Kim O'Hare at 978-887-6263 or e-mail

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont NELMS SCHOLAR LEADER AWARDS Frequently Asked Questions

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
NELMS SCHOLAR LEADER AWARDS
Frequently Asked Questions