newsletter
Awards
Our agency and staff are frequently honored for their achievements in the fields of research, development, and service. Recent awards are showcased below.
WestEd's 2006 Annual Report Wins Beacon Award
Association of Educational Publishers Announces Award Finalists and Winners at National Conference
June, 2008
Several WestEd publications were finalists for other AEP awards, including the agency's electronic newsletter, the WestEd E-Bulletin; a teacher resource, Mentoring New Teacher Through Collaborative Coaching; and a recent issue of the agency's biannual print newsletter, R&D Alert®, Vol. 9, No. 1, focusing on Improving Mathematics and Science Education.
WestEd's Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Receives Silver Award
California State Information Officers Council
May, 2008
Recipient(s): Elissa Provance, Kelley Versteegh
Kelley Versteegh and Elissa Provance from WestEd's Center for Prevention and Early Intervention received a Silver Award from the California State Information Officers Council in the "Brochure" category. "The Primary Health Care Providers' Role in Early Intervention," written for health care professionals, explains the components of California's early intervention system, and how health care professionals can help infants and toddlers, birth to 3 years, with developmental delays and disabilities. The brochure was developed for the California Department of Developmental Services.
WestEd's Paul Koehler Receives Prestigious Recognition
Sixth Annual President's Award, Excellence in Education
Arizona Educational Foundation
November, 2007
California Department of Education & WestEd Win Telly Award
Telly Award
October, 2007
"We are delighted by this recognition," said Glen Harvey, WestEd CEO. "We're hopeful that the evidence-based information and learning strategies in A World Full of Language will be used widely by preschool teachers, college instructors, and families in their important work of helping preschoolers learn English as a second language."
The DVD and accompanying booklet in English and Spanish explain how young children acquire English as a second language, and features research-based strategies for teachers to support English learners. The DVD is closed-captioned and formatted so that viewers can see it in its entirety or in sections. It is the companion for a CDE guidebook written by WestEd, Preschool English Learners: Principles and Practices to Promote Language, Literacy, and Learning. The book provides teachers with the knowledge and tools to educate preschool English learners most effectively.
Both are available for purchase from the California Department of Education. For ordering information, visit WestEd.org/PreschoolEnglishLearners.
Disability Advocate Award
Easter Seals Superior California
October, 2007
Recipient(s): Virginia Reynolds
Virginia Reynolds, Program Director for WestEd's Center for Prevention and Early Intervention, was awarded the 2007 Disability Advocate Award from Easter Seals Superior California. This award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding advocacy efforts on behalf of citizens with disabilities, including infants, children, adults, and their family members.Telly Award 2007 Bronze Winner
The 29th Annual Telly Awards
August, 2007
Beacon Award and Distinguished Achievement Award
Association of Educational Publishers Announces 2007 Winners
June, 2007
Susan Loucks-Horsley Award
The National Staff Development Council
December, 2006
Recipient(s): Susan Mundry
Susan Mundry, Associate Director of WestEd's Mathematics, Science, & Technology program, received the Susan Loucks-Horsley Award at the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. NSDC recognized Mundry's distinguished contributions to the field by building bridges between organizations; mentoring others in research and writing; instilling in others a sense of possibility; and grounding her work in practice. NSDC also cited Mundry’s international leadership in improving the understanding of change processes and her promotion of high-quality, research-based professional learning in mathematics and science.
Distinguished Achievement Award and Beacon Award
Association of Educational Publishers Announces 2006 Winners
June, 2006
Best Places to Work in the Bay Area
The San Francisco Business Times, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, and the East Bay Business Times
April, 2006
2005 Spotlight Awards
League of American Communications Professionals
November, 2005
WestEd's print materials also fared well. The WestEd 2004 Annual Report garnered a Silver Award in its class, while a postcard announcing a new free WestEd product, the English Language Development Student Report Card, garnered a Bronze Award. Two additional products received honorable mention: Rethinking High School: Five Profiles of Innovative Models for Student Success, developed by WestEd for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and, Inside High School Reform: Making the Changes That Matter, developed in conjunction with the California Academic Partnership Program (CAPP).
In winning the LACP awards, WestEd joins an elite class of global organizations - among them Fortune 100 companies and charitable service agencies - honored for an uncompromising commitment to high-quality communications. The annual competition is judged by professionals with expertise in corporate, executive, and internal communications. Judges are screened to ensure there are no conflicts of interest. The highly competitive Spotlight Awards involve several hundred hours of judging on areas such as first impression, graphic design, cover, creativity, message clarity, and information accessibility.
Standard of Excellence, Outstanding Achievement in Website Development
Web Marketing Association
October, 2005
WestEd Wins International Awards
League of American Communications Professionals
July, 2005
This year's contest drew an unprecedented number of submissions, with more than 1,400 entries representing 17 countries. LACP's announcement follows on the heels of last month's news that the Association of Educational Publishers awarded several coveted top prizes to WestEd publications. WestEd CEO Glen Harvey emphasized the agency's commitment to quality. "These most recent awards offer further evidence that WestEd upholds the highest standards of excellence in research, development, and service. We are proud to join an elite cadre of organizations with an exceptional commitment to superior, effective publishing." The Vision Awards involve several hundred hours of judging on areas such as first impression, cover, creativity, message clarity, and information accessibility. The judging panel comprises communications and public relations experts practicing in the nation's leading companies and nonprofit organizations.
WestEd Publications Win Top National Accolades from Association of Educational Publishers
Association of Educational Publishers
June, 2005
In a stiff nationwide competition, the agency's Web site, www.WestEd.org, was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award (DAA) for best organizational site. WestEd's 2003 Annual Report also took the top prize in its category, winning the superior Beacon Award.
Two additional WestEd publications won the top trophies in their categories. Innovations in Education: Successful Charter Schools, a guide published under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement, garnered the DAA for best interior design. Rethinking High School: Five Profiles of Innovative Models for Student Success, a study by WestEd for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, took the DAA prize for best illustrations and graphics.
Upon hearing news of the multiple awards, Glen Harvey, CEO of WestEd, praised the agency's staff, stating, "I am pleased that WestEd's publications once again have been honored as best in class. We are proud of our time-honored tradition of upholding the highest standards of excellence in research, development, and service."
The highly competitive annual AEP awards are the result of a rigorous two-tiered screening process. Entries are first reviewed by screening judges, who narrow the field, followed by the final certifying committee that reviews and certifies finalists and winners in all categories. The judging panel comprises experts from the nation's leading education magazines and newspapers, publishers, and nonprofit institutions.
Several WestEd products garnered additional honors as finalists in other categories:
- WestEd.org for best interface usability;
- Rethinking High Schools: Five Profiles of Innovative Models for Student Success for best whole publication; and
- Ensuring That No Child Is Left Behind: How Are Student Health Risks & Resilience Related to the Academic Progress of Schools? for best booklet.
WestEd Named One of the Best Places to Work in Bay Area
San Francisco Business Times, Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, and Deloitte
April, 2005
This year’s awards program for the Bay Area attracted about 400 entries. Nonprofit organizations contended with for-profit corporations in this year's competition, making WestEd's high ranking an even more significant achievement. more
WestEd Garners Platinum and Gold Honors
League of American Communications Professionals
November, 2004
- The WestEd Products & Services Catalog won two awards: a Platinum Award in the overall Best Narrative category and a Gold Award in the Toolkits, Mailers, and Related category.
- The 2003 Annual Report won two Gold Awards — for overall Best Narrative category and Annual Report category.
- WestEd.org won two awards: a Gold Award in the Web Site/Intranet Site category and a Bronze Award in the overall Best Debut category.
- WestEd’s R&D Alert, Vol. 5, No. 2, won a Bronze Award in the Web Newsletter/Magazine category.
2004 Distinguished Achievement Award
Association of Educational Publishers
June, 2004
Competition was particularly rigorous this year with judges for the 41st annual AEP Awards considering more than 1,400 entries from which 119 winners were selected.
WestEd joins an elite cadre of companies in the supplemental publishing field who have been honored for excellence in their products. An AEP award, earned after thorough analysis by a national panel of experts, confers upon the winner the right to display the Lamp of Learning logo on its products and Web site. This "seal of approval" signifies that a product or resource has met the highest standard of excellence.
In addition to receiving the Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence, four other WestEd resources were selected as finalists by the AEP judges:
- Resiliency: What We Have Learned by Bonnie Benard, WestEd Senior Program Associate, in the Books: Whole Publication category;
- WestEd 2002 Annual Report in the Annual Report category;
- WestEd.org in the Web Sites: Informational/Organization category; and
- WestEd.org Products & Resources page in the Web Site/Marketing category.
2003 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition
League of American Communications Professionals
June, 2004
WestEd's 2003 Annual Report garnered a bronze medal in the educational/nonprofit category of the League of American Communications Professionals' (LACP) 2003 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition. The competition with over 1,200 entries was judged by a field of communications professionals affiliated with LACP. Their expertise spans a broad spectrum of public relations functions ranging from corporate, executive, and internal communications for Fortune 500 organizations to product, service, and nonprofit publicity expertise.
2004 Distinguished Achievement and Beacon Awards Finalist
Association of Educational Publishers
April, 2004
- The book, Resiliency: What We Have Learned, by Bonnie Benard, in the Whole Publication: Professional Development category;
- The redesigned agency Web site, WestEd.org, in the Web Sites: Informational – Organizations category; and
- The agency Web site home page, WestEd.org, in the Web Sites: Design – Home Page category.
- The WestEd 2002 Annual Report in the Annual Report category; and
- The WestEd Products & Resources page in the Web Site: Marketing category.
Spotlight 2003 Awards Publicity Materials Competition
League of American Communications Professionals
October, 2003
Bronze Award, Best Debut: WestEd series Policy Perspectives
Bronze Award: Program brochure for the Comprehensive School Reform Facilitator Initiative
For the second consecutive year, the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) presented WestEd with awards for excellence in the development of our publications. Our agency won three awards in the LACP's 2003 Spotlight Awards Publicity Materials Competition:
- WestEd’s agency newsletter, R&D Alert, won a Silver Award.
- A program brochure written and designed for the Comprehensive School Reform Facilitator Initiative won a Bronze Award.
- WestEd's new series, Policy Perspectives, won a Bronze Award in the Best Debut category.
2002 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition
League of American Communications Professionals
July, 2003
WestEd's 2002 Annual Report garnered a bronze medal in the educational/nonprofit category of the League of American Communications Professionals' (LACP) 2002 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition. The competition with over 900 entries was judged by a field of communications professionals affiliated with LACP. Their expertise spans a broad spectrum of public relations functions ranging from corporate, executive, and internal communications for Fortune 500 organizations to product, service, and nonprofit publicity expertise.
Model Initiative
National Center for Children in Poverty
December, 2002
2002 Distinguished Achievement Award
Association of Educational Publishers
June, 2002
WestEd's thrice-yearly newsletter, R&D Alert, won the Association of Educational Publishers' (EdPress) coveted 2002 Distinguished Achievement Award for "Best Newsletter." R&D Alert provides substantive information and balanced perspectives based on WestEd knowledge and research in education and healthy development. Each issue focuses on a current topic relevant to schools and communities and combines insightful content with lively design. The winning 2001 issues of R&D Alert explore Assessment for Education Improvement, Help for Low-Performing Schools, and Evaluation Research.
2002 Partner in Excellence Award
Office of Federal Contract and Compliance Programs Pacific Region
June, 2002
Innovative Teaching Education Resources A+
Innovative Teaching
February, 2002
Outstanding Leadership Award
California Department of Education
October, 2001
Busy Educator Award
Busy Educator's Newsletter
June, 2001