BURNABY – The BC Ministry of Education announced today that nominations for the 2020 Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education are now open.
K-12 Presidents Council President Warren Williams encourages CUPE Locals to nominate their members to recognize the excellent services support staff provide in schools throughout B.C.
“These awards are now more inclusive and provide an opportunity to highlight the dedication and commitment of all CUPE members in K-12,” said Williams, noting that the awards are an opportunity to show how all support staff play an important role in K-12. “It would be great to see nominees representing all the various services our members provide in K-12, and to have members nominated from all regions in the Province.”
A category for Outstanding Support – School Community, added last year, opens the awards to CUPE members who work as bus drivers, crossing guards, student supervisors, aboriginal cultural facilitators, custodians, maintenance/tradespeople, and clerical workers. Education assistants and Aboriginal support workers are eligible in the Outstanding Support – Teaching Assistant category.
Full details on categories and the nomination process are available online, along with nomination forms.
The Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Education celebrates the contributions of support staff, teachers, and administrators who make a difference in B.C. schools and who are “vital to the cultural, economic and social well-being of the province.” Nominations are open from January 13 – April 30, 2020. Finalists will be announced in May and winners will be announced at an award ceremony in Victoria in October.
Meet CUPE 379 member Wendel Williams from École Alpha Secondary School in Burnaby (SD 41), winner in the 2019 Outstanding Support – School Community category and finalists Jodi Guy, CUPE 723 member from École Phoenix Middle School in Campbell River (SD 72) and CUPE 523 member Dorothy Jones from A.L. Fortune Secondary School in North Okanagan-Shuswap (SD 83). 2019 finalists in the Outstanding Support – Teaching Assistants category are CUPE 947 member Elaine Bayles from Glanford Middle School in Victoria (SD 61) and CUPE 3523 member Marie Kielpinski from Mount Boucherie Secondary School in Central Okanagan (SD 23).
