Do you know someone extraordinary—be it a teacher, education worker, school administrator, trustee, student, or community member—whose exceptional contributions deserve recognition for making a significant impact in their local school or community?
Nominations for the 2025 Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) Awards are now open! Don’t miss the chance to highlight and celebrate those who go above and beyond. Simply fill out the online nomination form.
Mark your calendar—April 4, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. is the deadline for most awards. The Bernardine Yackman Memorial Award (for Northern Ontario) has a separate deadline on June 6, 2024, at 4:30 p.m.
For comprehensive details about the OPSBA Awards Program, click here. Please take a few moments to review the criteria for the OPSBA Awards at this link before submitting a nomination. Self-nominations are permitted.
The OPSBA Awards include the following:
The President’s Award recognizes 25 years of service in public education.
The Jack A. MacDonald Award of Merit honours an elementary or secondary school student attending an Ontario public school who has earned a sound academic record and has shown outstanding service and leadership in his or her community.
The Fred L. Bartlett Memorial Award is presented annually to an active or retired member of the teaching profession. The successful candidate is selected on the basis of outstanding contribution to education throughout Ontario, such as constructive participation in education affairs over a number of years or for dedication to some recent and specific project that has had provincial impact.
The Dr. Harry Paikin Award of Merit is awarded to an active or retired public school trustee for outstanding service.
The Achievement Award and Award of Excellence are presented by OPSBA through local boards to volunteers for outstanding, exemplary and/or unique contributions to the overall well-being of the school or community through in-school, board-wide, extra-curricular and/or volunteer activity. These awards provide an opportunity to raise awareness and promote the importance of celebrating excellence and the necessity of recognizing the work of all members of the education community. Up to four Achievement Awards will be awarded to individuals nominated from each OPSBA member board. One recipient will be selected to receive OPSBA’s Award of Excellence from those nominated for the Achievement Award. Each member board submitting nominations is asked to identify one of their nominees to be considered for the Award of Excellence.
The Bernardine Yackman Memorial Award is for dedication, commitment and an outstanding contribution to education with special recognition for Northern Ontario service.
Please share this information wherever you are able within your schools, school boards, and communities!