How to Apply for the North American School Awards
- Download the School Awards Guidelines handbook for more detailed information including templates, samples, and application requirements.
- Review the Certified School Award Application Template for guidance. Feel free to use this as your template for your application submission. Also note: you can house all of your data and support documents etc. on an accessible Google Drive and create links to that information within your application.
- Demonstrate that all teachers, coaches, and leaders understand the Visible Learning principles and use them in their daily work at all levels within your school.
- Check your readiness by using the Readiness Checklist on page 6 of the School Awards Guidelines handbook.
- To Apply: submit your Application to visiblelearning@corwin.com or through your Corwin Professional Learning Advisor.
- Each application is reviewed by the Visible Learning+ North America and Visible Learning+ Global teams. Professor John Hattie will provide final approval for all applicants seeking the Certified School Award.
Documents Required by Award Level
| Document | Associate School Award | Partner School Award | Certified School Award |
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1st Case Study |
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2nd Case Study |
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3rd Case Study |
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1st School Capability Assessment |
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2nd School Capability Assessment |
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3rd School Capability Assessment |
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Documentation of Evidence |
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| 1st School Matrix - Stage 2 | |
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| 2nd School Matrix - Stage 2 | |
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| 3rd School Matrix - Stage 2 | |
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| Statement describing your school host visit (1) | |
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| Statement describing why your school would be a good candidate for the School Awards program | |
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Overview and Details of Required Documents
Case Study
You will complete a case study in each of the three years that your school is engaged with Visible Learning, with each year building on the previous. Each case study is based on the Evidence Into Action impact cycles.
- Overview of your Visible Learning Journey.
- The process you have undertaken to embed the Visible Learning principles and practices in your school including: outcomes and your school’s next learning steps (describe your school’s planning for the next impact cycle). This includes your response and plan against your most recent School Capability Assessment.
- Evidence of impact of current practices according to the five Visible Learning strands (See Documentation of Evidence of Impact).
- The extent to which you have met the award level standards.
- See the Guidelines for Organizing Your Case Study on page 12 of the School Awards Guidelines handbook.
- See the Case Study Template on page 13 of the School Awards Guidelines handbook.
- See the Sample Case Study on page 16 of the School Awards Guidelines handbook.
Documentation of Evidence of Impact
Select evidence that best illustrates how you are meeting the criteria outlined in the School Capability Assessment matrix and School Capability Assessment rubrics. You will need to provide evidence of analysis of data (achievement and progress data or student, teacher, leader, and family perception data from surveys, observations or focus groups) from across multiple levels of your school and measuring key aspects of each Visible Learning strand in order to the requirements of the different award levels.
Examples of evidence include:
- Student focus group data
- Faculty focus group data
- Parent/community focus group or perception survey data
- Classroom interview data
- Document artifacts (e.g., meeting summaries, policies, lessons, professional learning undertaken, lessons, feedback, rubric results analysis, etc.)
- Video diaries
- Classroom walkthrough data
- Student achievement and progress data
- Teacher and classroom observation tools
- Student or staff surveys conducted in your school
School Capability Assessment
A School Capability Assessment (SCA) is administered before the Foundation Series professional learning sessions and once a year following to establish a baseline understanding of how Visible Learning+ principles are embedded within the school.
The data collected is presented in an unbiased, written report to help a school track progress, measure growth, and determine the extent to which high-impact practices are present, and areas of focus for ongoing improvement.
A copy of your most recent SCA is required at each award level.
- See the SCA Criteria Rating Rubric on page 9 of the School Awards Guidelines handbook.
- See the Evaluation Rating Requirements on page 10 of the School Awards Guidelines handbook.
School Matrix – Stage Two
The School Matrix is an annual online self-evaluation questionnaire used to collect school-level information about the processes, beliefs, and practices that are in place across the school in relation to the Visible Learning strands. This tool assesses school leader beliefs around the system and processes in place to best support learning and progress over time. A copy of your most recent School Matrix is required at each award level.
Download the School Awards Guidelines handbook for more detailed information.
