The "Hot Schott" Awards Gala

The Schott Foundation for Public Education presented Hot Schott Awards to seven exemplary organizations and individuals on Friday, October 3 in Washington, DC, during the National Opportunity to Learn Education Summit.

The Schott Awards are bestowed on activists, and community and philanthropic organizations who have demonstrated exceptional commitment and achieved extraordinary results in advocating for equity in public education. This year’s awardees are:

Reg Weaver served two terms as president of the 2.8 million-member National Education Association (NEA) – the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

As a middle school science teacher and 30-year classroom veteran, Mr. Weaver has been a lifelong advocate for quality public schools. He has served on numerous executive boards and travels nationally and internationally, working tirelessly as an ambassador for public education and advocating for quality public schools for every child.

For his commitment and contribution to public education, Mr. Weaver has received many prestigious awards including: an honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from Shaw University. He has been named one of Ebony magazine’s 100 Most Influential Black Americans for his national influence and has received Ebony Magazine’s Influential Black Educators Award. He is the recipient of the 2005 Spirit of Liberty award presented by People for the American Way, as well as the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute’s 2006 George Meany Latino Leadership Award. Weaver also received the National Conference of Black Mayors President’s Award, and the Illinois Education Association's Human Relations Award.

The Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) is a statewide coalition of over 230 organizations representing parents, communities, youth, teachers, education advocates, congregations and others.  AQE played a major statewide leadership role, along with the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE), in 2007 in securing a four-year commitment to increase state aid for schools by $7 billion, with the lion's share of this funding going to high needs school districts. These achievements were the result of CFE's 14-year lawsuit. In 2008, when this commitment with the state of New York was threatened by state budget cuts, AQE immediately organized parents and communities and worked with key allies to stop two-thirds of the proposed cuts and to maintain the legislative commitment to prioritize funding for high needs schools.  In New York City, this fight to maintain full school funding involved coordinating a coalition of over 60 organizations to execute an aggressive six-month campaign focused first on eliminating state cuts to New York City schools. The campaign then focused on stopping cuts proposed by the Mayor.  In total over $330 million was restored to New York City classrooms this year because of AQE and coalition partners. Without AQE’s steely determination and indefatigable efforts, it’s hard to imagine how the proposed cuts of much needed, long sought after funding would have been overturned.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Pennsylvania General Assembly enacted a state system for funding public education that begins to meet the real needs of students and schools. It bases its calculations on the costing-out study commissioned by the General Assembly in 2007. As part of the 2008-09 state budget, the legislature will distribute education funding using the actual number of students enrolled in each school district. This improved funding formula also factors in other important variables, such as the number of students in poverty, the number of English language learners, as well as differences in geographic costs, school district size and enrollment trends. The new system also holds school districts accountable for effectively using the new resources to improve student outcomes. For example, school districts with the greatest funding increases and achievement gaps must receive state approval for accountability plans documenting how the new resources will be invested.

The legislation also pledges to meet state funding targets by 2013.

The key collaboration that made this possible was the partnership between Good Schools Pennsylvania, Education Law Center and The Education Policy and Leadership Center, which were funded to work collaboratively by the William Penn Foundation (2005-2008) and the Fulfilling the Dream Fund (2006-2008).  The work of these groups was to persuade the Governor and General Assembly to undertake a costing-out study. The release of this costing -out study mobilized a broad statewide campaign in which hundreds of individuals and groups became involved.

In 2007-2008, a number of organizations in Southeast PA were funded by Communities for Public Education Reform (CPER) to collaborate on the issue. That collaboration included: ACORN, Eastern Pennsylvania Organizing Project, Education Law Center, Good Schools Pennsylvania, Philadelphia School Notebook, Philadelphia Student Union, Research for Action and Youth United for Change. We applaud the efforts and achievements of this group: the PA Coalition of Education Advocacy.

Olga Cabello is a leading member of Jóvenes Unidos, the youth component of Padres Unidos. Padres y Jovenes, is-a multi-issue, intergenerational organization led by people of color seeking equality and justice in education, youth empowerment, and immigrant rights. As a youth leader, Ms. Cabello works on issues related to the DREAM Act, organizes for college prep for all students, focuses on the rights of undocumented students who want to attend college, and works to build the Jóvenes Unidos Chapter at her school.

The roots of Padres y Jovenes/Padres Unidos trace back to 1991, when a group of Latino parents first organized to remove a public elementary school principal who had forced young Mexicano children to eat off the floor as a form of punishment.  Since then the organization has grown in membership and scope. It now challenges the root causes of educational inequity. It does this by exposing the economic, social, and institutional basis of this injustice. It utilizes strategic partnerships with other organizing groups to develop effective strategies to shift power and achieve institutional change and reform.   

Susan T. Batten is a Senior Associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. She staffs the Community Change Initiatives Unit and supports the Foundation's national, multi-year initiative to strengthen families in ten cities across the country. Ms. Batten is also the facilitator of the RESPECT Forum at The Annie E. Casey Foundation, which is a foundation-wide internal affinity group that aims to keep issues of race, class, culture and power on the table. Ms. Batten’s outstanding work also includes the development of the "Race Matters Toolkit." It is designed to help philanthropic partners, advocates, and elected officials apply a race lens to analyze policies and practices that contribute to inequitable outcomes for children, families, and communities. The toolkit presents a specific point of view on addressing unequal opportunities by race and simple, results-oriented steps to help decision-makers achieve their goals.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated is a leader in the effort to integrate African American women in the development of the policies and practices that address education disparities and access to the democratic system.

Delta Sigma Theta’s National Social Action Commission convenes “Delta Days in the Nation's Capital”, an annual legislative conference to increase African American women' involvement in the national public policy-making process. In addition, Delta Sigma Theta and the Delta Research and Education Foundation (DREF), in partnership with the AAAS Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs, are implementing a 5-year Science and Everyday Experiences (SEE) Initiative, an informal science education project funded by the National Science Foundation. The SEE Initiative helps parents and caregivers of African American elementary and middle school age children (K-8), develop effective ways to support children's informal science and mathematics learning experiences.

Delta also awarded the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Foundation (LDF) a $1million grant for to support LDF’s sustained and effective campaigns to guarantee a vote, a voice and expanded democracy to African American citizens and to all Americans.

Delta is also a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) at the United Nations. It uses its NGO status to monitor the status of women and children in the world and to bind together with other NGOs to insure that the UN honors its commitments. Delta Sigma Theta was granted Special Consultative Status as an NGO to the Economic and Social Council of the UN as a result of its volunteer services and humanitarian efforts to address issues throughout the world.

Pedro Noguera is a professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.  He is also the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education and the Co-Director of the Institute for the study of Globalization and Education in Metropolitan Settings (IGEMS).  An urban sociologist, Dr. Noguera’s scholarship and research focus on how schools are influenced by social and economic conditions in the urban environment. Dr. Noguera has served as an advisor and engaged in collaborative research with several large urban school districts throughout the United States. He has also done research on issues related to education and economic and social development in the Caribbean, Latin America and several other countries. Between 2000 and 2003, Dr. Noguera served as the Judith K. Dimon Professor of Communities and Schools at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. From 1990 to 2000, he was a Professor in Social and Cultural Studies at the Graduate School of Education and the Director of the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Noguera also received the distinguished Whitney Young Award of Leadership in Education and is the author of The Trouble with Black Boys.