Letter to Readers

Dear Reader, I'm writing to let you know that this is the 10th Anniversary year of the prestigious Blackboard Awards, which honors local schools, principals, and teachers of excellence. Please let everyone in your school community-parents and educators alike-know that we are presently accepting nominations for the Awards for schools and principals, taking place on Monday, November 19th. We welcome and encourage their nominations! A person can submit a nomination at Blackboardawards.com. The deadline for nominations is Monday, October 15. In my experience, the Blackboard Awards is a double joy: there's the wonderful and immediate satisfaction of being honored for something important in the company of other deserving educators and well-wishing family and friends. And there's long-lasting imprint on the school community, as many schools tout the award in the lobbies and in their school literature. Here's the key background: The Blackboard Awards celebrate deserving schools and educators from every educational sector-public, private, charter, and parochial-and every level, from nursery to high school. They were founded by Manhattan Media, and for many years were the pet project of the legendary author and NYC teacher Frank McCourt, who emceed the ceremonies until his death in 2009. This being the 10th anniversary year, we plan to make it an extra-special celebration with the help of leading educators, educational philanthropists, and public figures. Please note: For the upcoming school awards, we will be honoring schools for their general excellence, but we also will be giving out special citations for schools with particular strong programs in the following areas: * Technology * Sports * Health * Environment *Special Needs * Math/Science * Arts * Social Science * English/Reading * Community Service When someone submits to nominate a school for one of the special citation categories, just mention it when they place their nomination at blackboardawards.com. (We also welcome other ideas for categories.) Thank you so much for spreading the word to your school community. Please let them know that their input is in invaluable to the process, helping to insure that once again an amazing and diverse group of schools and principals are honored. If anyone has any questions, they could visit the website, or contact Liza Connor at [ lconnor@manhattanmedia.com](mailto:lconnor@manhattanmedia.com). Thank you! Sincerely, Eric Messinger, Editor, New York Family