The Speak Up Hero Award
Over our 20-year history, Project Tomorrow has been privileged to collaborate with exceptional educators across the country who have used Speak Up data to make meaningful change and transform the learning experience.
We are proud to spotlight ten school districts for their outstanding leadership. These districts have consistently demonstrated their commitment to improving education for all students by recognizing the immense value of student, parent, teacher, and administrator voices as invaluable assets in shaping the future of education.
Join us in celebrating two decades of transformation, collaboration, and innovation as we continue to work towards a brighter future for education. Together, we can build a world where every student’s voice is heard and where education knows no bounds.
Special Partnership Recognition
Project Tomorrow recognizes AASA, The School Superintendents Association, for their longstanding support of Speak Up.
Introducing the 2023 Speak Up Hero Award Winners
In marking 20 years of the Speak Up Research Project, we are introducing the inaugural class of Speak Up Hero Districts. Learn how these districts made meaningful change with Speak Up data and what advice they offer to other districts.
Case Study: San Marcos USD
“We wanted to be sure that our programs reflect the needs of our community and not the wants of the staff. Using the Speak Up surveys was a quick, efficient, and effective way to get the input of the whole community and identify what was needed,“ Stephanie noted. “It would be very difficult to meet the state reporting requirements without Speak Up data,” Stephanie noted. “It is more efficient and effective to capture the voices of all stakeholders through a survey rather than trying to arrange in person meetings. The data from the Speak Up survey gives everyone the opportunity to provide input, not just those able to participate in a face-to-face meeting.”
Speak Up Hero: Arrowhead Union High School District
Arrowhead Union High School started to use Speak Up in 2012 to help them learn more about the student, teacher, parent, and administrator experiences with technology. The school develops a technology plan every three years but is continually updating. Having access to current information is essential to creating a plan that addresses its needs. “The Speak Up data keeps us on track and ensures that we are addressing the challenges and celebrating our successes,” according to Donna Smith, Director of Library Media & Technology.
Continue Reading Speak Up Hero: Arrowhead Union High School District
Speak Up Hero: Walker County Schools
“Schools and districts need to embrace Speak Up and develop a rapport with principals and teachers on how important it is to get accurate data,“ according to Gann. “Once they see how the Speak Up data is used for school improvement and the allocation of additional funds, they understand why participation is essential and beneficial.”
Speak Up Hero: Weslaco ISD
The transformation to a one-to-one district occurred before the pandemic and put Weslaco in a good place to deal with the disruptions and continue learning. Post Covid, the district is continuing to embrace instructional technology, explore blended learning models, and use the [Speak Up] data to inform instruction.
El Paso Independent School District (TX)
VISION: INSPIRE AND EMPOWER Learners to THRIVE
Hudson School District (WI)
VISION: to empower all students to cultivate their talents, embrace their passions, and leverage their learning to impact the world around them.
Jessamine County Schools (KY)
VISION: to motivate and challenge every child every day to be a caring, responsible citizen, and a high-level thinker, performer, communicator, and learner for life.
Lakeside Union School District (CA)
VISION: Teaching Students To Be Involved, Active Learners Who Think Critically, Learn Continuously, Collaborate Constructively, Communicate Effectively, Persevere Relentlessly And Care Deeply.
Talladega County Schools (AL)
VISION : Every student in Talladega County Schools will be a productive citizen, prepared for their unique future.
Weslaco Independent School District (TX)
VISION: to inspire and empower all students to reach their full, unique potential so that each thrives in and contributes to our global community.
Ysleta Independent School District (TX)
VISION: student performance will be increased in all assessed academic areas to ensure students continuously. improve their mastery of the content needed to be successful in ensuing years, culminating in students graduating ready for college, the military, or a career of their choice
Project Tomorrow thanks our generous Sponsors of the 20th Year of Speak Up Celebration and Hero Awards
Spectrum Enterprise, a part of Charter Communications, Inc., is a national provider of scalable, fiber technology solutions serving many of America’s largest businesses and communications service providers. The broad Spectrum Enterprise portfolio includes networking and managed services solutions: Internet access, Ethernet access and networks, Voice, and TV solutions. The Spectrum Enterprise team of experts works closely with clients to achieve greater business success by providing solutions designed to meet their evolving needs. For more information, visit enterprise.spectrum.com.
BrainPOP makes rigorous learning experiences accessible and engaging for all. Proven to raise academic achievement, the BrainPOP brand has been trusted by educators and parents worldwide for over two decades. Through school and district subscriptions, BrainPOP has a presence in over two-thirds of U.S. districts and an estimated reach of 25 million students annually. Beloved by kids, BrainPOP provides endless opportunities to take agency over their learning through playful, knowledge-building content and learner-driven experiences that strengthen critical, computational, and creative thinking across the curriculum. The company is committed to empowering kids to succeed and thrive in the classroom and beyond.
edWeb.net is an award-winning professional learning network of over 1 million educators with online communities, edWebinars, and podcasts on over 100 topics for preK – 12 educators. edWeb provides schools and districts with private virtual networks that provide teachers and all staff with more choice and flexibility for their professional learning. edWeb CE certificates are accepted nationwide for PD hours. edWeb has won 10 SIIA CODiE Awards including the 2023 Award for Best Collaborative Solution for Teachers. Learn more at www.edweb.net.
About C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Founded in 1991, C. Blohm & Associates, Inc. (CB&A) is the most experienced marketing communications agency specializing in the U.S. education market. CB&A accelerates the growth of organizations that provide products and services to K-12 school systems and higher education institutions. By accelerating clients’ growth, CB&A is contributing to positive outcomes for students and educators. Key services include education marketing strategy, public relations and content marketing. For more information, visit www.cblohm.com.
iboss is a cloud security company that provides organizations and their employees fast and secure access to the Internet on any device, from any location, in the cloud. iboss has built the largest global containerized SASE cybersecurity cloud footprint. The iboss SASE cloud platform provides network security as a service, delivered in the cloud, as a complete SaaS offering. This eliminates the need for traditional network security appliances, such as firewalls and web gateway proxies, which are ineffective at protecting a cloud-first and mobile world. Leveraging a purpose-built cloud architecture backed by 230+ issued and pending patents and more than 100 points of presence globally, iboss processes over 150 billion transactions daily, blocking nearly 4 billion malware threats per day. More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss SASE cloud platform to support their workforce, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies. To learn more, visit https://www.iboss.com/.
Agile Education Marketing is a data and market insights provider that focuses exclusively on education. Agile helps companies connect with educators and grow their business with in-depth data insights and optimized channel mix to open doors for more traffic, better lead quality, greater brand awareness, and revenue growth.
AIS brings a refreshing charisma to the office furniture market, firmly believing that office furniture doesn’t have to be overly serious; it can be enjoyable. Comprised of a passionate team that loves what they do, their infectious energy is reflected in a string of award-winning products, groundbreaking manufacturing processes, creative marketing strategies, satisfied clients, and, most importantly, a track record of success.
