Anne R. Lipnick Award for Specialized Instruction
Alexandria City Public Schools is seeking nominations for the Anne R. Lipnick Awards for Specialized Instruction.
These annual awards provide an opportunity for parents, guardians and ACPS Staff to acknowledge and honor the work of outstanding administrators, special education teachers, general education teachers, related service providers, instructional assistants or other support staff whose classroom and therapeutic practices exemplify excellence in specialized instruction in the spirit of true inclusion.
The Anne Lipnick Awards for Specialized Instruction are given in each of the following categories:
- Administrator: The outstanding Administrator (Principal, Assistant Principal, Dean, etc) who goes above and beyond to support our special education students, families and staff.
- Specialized Instruction: The outstanding special education instructor or related service provider who shows extraordinary abilities in the development of instructional or social practices that promote achievement and participation for students receiving special education services
- Related Service Provider: The outstanding service provider who has made a significant difference for a student receiving special education services.
- Inclusion: The outstanding general education teacher who demonstrates exemplary inclusionary practices.
- Instructional Assistant Support: The outstanding instructional assistant who consistently goes above and beyond in their engagements with special education students.
- Other Support Staff: The outstanding staff member (i.e. bus driver, food and nutrition assistant, hall monitor, administrative assistant, psychologist, social worker, counselor, etc.) who consistently goes above and beyond in their engagement with special education students.
Each nomination will be evaluated on the details and specific examples shared by the person completing the nomination form using the rubric provided below. A lack of specific examples and details about a nominee as related to the criteria may cause a nomination to be given less consideration.
Eligibility
Nominees must be administrators, teachers, related service providers (i.e. speech, language, occupational or physical therapists, etc.), instructional assistants or other support staff serving PreK through 12, who have worked in the Alexandria City Public Schools for a minimum of one year.
Nomination Criteria
A nominee should be someone who has consistently provided outstanding service to advance the success of students receiving special education services. The nominee should be recognized as going above and beyond the requirements. Areas of excellence might include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Providing recognized leadership in the school in the development of instructional or social practices that promote achievement and participation for students receiving special education services.
- Implementing exceptional teaching practices in the classroom which enable achievement and participation for students receiving special education services.
- Providing outstanding support to colleagues throughout the school or district in their efforts to advance special education services for students with disabilities
- Ensuring that students with disabilities are encouraged to participate in before and after school activities and that they have the supports necessary for their inclusion.
- Achievements with a positive impact on students in special education and an extraordinary ability to actively engage parents in the education of their children.
- Superior understanding of the individual needs and abilities of students and an ability to foster self-esteem and inspire achievement.
Deadline for nomination is Sunday, April 28, 2024.
Nominees and recipients will be honored at a reception on Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. at ACPS Central Office located at 1340 Braddock Place. Following the reception, award winners will also be honored at the School Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the first floor School Board Meeting Room. Please come out to support these outstanding nominees and winners.
Rubric for Anne R. Lipnick Awards for Specialized Instruction
About Anne Lipnick
Anne Lipnick, was a social worker and parent support specialist and advisor to families of children with disabilities in Alexandria City Public Schools. She was the first director of the ACPS Special Education Parent Resource Center. For more than 10 years, Ms. Lipnick counseled innumerable families as they navigated the emotional, social and educational hurdles that accompany having a child with special needs. The challenges posed by her own child’s disabilities and learning challenges sparked her desire to help others navigate the education system. She was a beloved friend, advocate and voice for underrepresented individuals and a strong supporter of inclusion of people with disabilities in the general education environment and community at large. Anne Ruth Goldberg was born in Cambridge, MA. and raised in Brookline. She was a 1965 graduate of Brandeis University where she met her future husband, Robert. She received a master's degree in social work in 1972 from the University of Minnesota and practiced social work in Boston, St. Paul, and Stamford before settling in the Washington area in 1979. Ms. Lipnick and her husband traveled extensively. They have two children, Deborah and David. The Anne Lipnick Inclusion for All Award was added in 2010 to honor Ms. Lipnick and her work. She passed away in March of that year after a struggle with cancer. In 2018, the Harry Burke Award and the Anne Lipnick Inclusion for All Award were merged and renamed in honor of Ms. Lipnick as the Anne R. Lipnick Awards for Specialized Instruction.