Principal of the Year Award

The backbone of the school, the Principal, can be nominated by his/her council for tremendous support of the leadership program and the school community. Student Councils exist because administrators understand the value of leadership development and student ownership in schools. It is important that students have the opportunity to recognize these school leaders. MASC recognizes one outstanding middle school principal and high school principal from each of the 12 Centers. The Center Principals are selected by the MASC Board of Delegates.

No Board member may participate in a Center's selection if his/her principal is a candidate.
Recognition of the winners from each Center will take place at the State Conference.
No principal who has been honored with this award may be considered again until five (5) years after receiving the award. (A list of previous winners is available by following the Past Recipients link at the bottom of this page.)

APPLICATION PROCESS

The candidate must be serving as a principal or assistant principal in a junior high, middle school or high school that is a current member of the Michigan Association of Student Councils. The candidate must also be a current member of MASSP. There may be only one applicant per school.

The following documents must be included in the application packet, in the following order. Scroll down further for details on each section/page.
1. Cover Page
2. Applicant Resume
3. Recommendation from a member of the student council's Executive Board
4. Recommendation from the student council adviser
5. Statement from Candidate

1. COVER PAGE
Please clearly identify all areas below and do not omit anything. Missing information will disqualify the candidate.
The cover page should be the topmost sheet in the STAPLED packet. Absolutely NO folders, bindings of any sort, etc... The candidates are not being graded on the creativity of the application submission but on the content inside of it.
Below is the list of items that MUST be included in LIST FORMAT on the cover page. Immediately below this information on the cover page, please TAPE a recent head-shot (school photo preferred) of the candidate.

Candidate's full first name and last name
Phonetic pronounciation of candidate's name
Candidate's email address
School name & city
Number of years as Principal/Assistant Principal at current school
Total number of years in administration (at any/all schools combined)
Name of person nominating the candidate
Phone number & email address of person nominating the candidate

2. APPLICATION RESUME
Application sheets must be filled out accurately and completely. If this award is being submitted without the candidate's knowledge, make every attempt to include all information as detailed as possible.
Missing or incomplete Application Resume's will cause an application to be disqualified.
The following line items must be addressed in LIST FORMAT. This entire section must not exceed two pages of information.

Leadership activities/events candidate endorses at the school
Major, influential additions, changes, alterations the candidate has made to the school since s/he has been an administrator (provide detail on what the change was and the impact it had on the school)
Other areas of leadership development candidate was/is responsible for within the school
Areas of involvement in candidate's local community and/or school community
MASSP or MASC/MAHS conferences/events the candidate has attended
Awards/recognitions the candidate has received from the school, community, state or nation
TO BE COMPLETED BY THE INDIVIDUAL NOMINATING THE CANDIDATE:
- Please describe briefly at least three ways in which you feel the candidate exemplifies school leadership.

3. RECOMMENDATION FROM EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER
A member of the council's Executive Board must submit a recommendation that touches on why this candidate is worthy of receiving the MASC Center Principal of the Year Award. The committee will be looking for specific examples of how this candidate moves the school and its student leaders forward. There is no need to reiterate the candidate's resume items. Focus on the impact the candidate has had on students, the council, the school as a whole and the surrounding community.
The letter is limited to TWO pages, typed, double-spaced. The board member must sign the recommendation letter.

4. RECOMMENDATION FROM ADVISER
The student council adviser must submit a recommendation that touches on why this candidate is worthy of receiving the MASC Center Principal of the Year Award. The committee will be looking for the adviser to provide evidence/examples of the principal’s work/efforts/successes. There is no need to reiterate the candidate's resume items. Focus on the impact the candidate has had on the students, the council, the school as a whole and the surrounding community.
The letter is limited to TWO pages, typed, double-spaced. The adviser must sign the recommendation letter

4. STATEMENT FROM CANDIDATE
Each candidate must submit a statement on the importance of student leadership in schools, and specifically, the importance of their own student council in their school. Candidates should also focus on how they encourage leadership development in their students. This statement is limited to TWO pages, typed, double-spaced. The candidate must sign the statement.