Description and Eligibility
The National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA) is pleased to announce the 2027 Awards for Excellence: Leadership in Education, celebrating the outstanding leadership and impact of NPEA member schools and programs.
This year, two awards will be presented:
This year, two awards will be presented:
- Leadership in Education – School Award
- Leadership in Education – Program Award
Both awards will recognize excellence in advancing educational access and supporting students from under-resourced communities on their path to and through college.
For 2027, both schools and programs will complete the same nomination application and respond to the same set of questions.
Awards for Excellence recipients will receive:
- National recognition as an NPEA Award for Excellence recipient.
- Recognition at the NPEA Annual Conference alongside educational access professionals from across the country.
- One complimentary registration to the 2028 NPEA Annual Conference, providing an opportunity to continue engaging with the NPEA community and sharing their expertise.
- A feature profile on the NPEA Awards for Excellence webpage and recognition across NPEA communications.
- A banner advertisement in the Annual Conference mobile app highlighting their organization and accomplishments.
- A commemorative plaque celebrating their achievement.
- An opportunity to serve as a reviewer for future Awards for Excellence nominations, helping recognize excellence across the educational access field.
- A $2,500 monetary award to support and further their organization’s work advancing educational access and student success.
Conference and Award Details:
The winners of the 2027 Awards for Excellence: Leadership in Education will be formally announced as part of the 2027 conference activities. The conference will be held in-person in Boston, MA, on April 7-9, 2027. For more information about the conference, please visit npea.org.
Please note: Nominees are encouraged but are not required to attend the conference to be eligible for the award, and attendance will not be a consideration in the review/selection process.
The winners of the 2027 Awards for Excellence: Leadership in Education will be formally announced as part of the 2027 conference activities. The conference will be held in-person in Boston, MA, on April 7-9, 2027. For more information about the conference, please visit npea.org.
Please note: Nominees are encouraged but are not required to attend the conference to be eligible for the award, and attendance will not be a consideration in the review/selection process.
AWARD ELIGIBILITY:
This Award is designed to recognize current NPEA member programs and K–12 school members who are leading the way in access work. Any current member program or school serving students at any grade level along the K–12 journey is eligible to apply (e.g., K–5, 6–8, 9–12, K–12, etc.). Members can—and are encouraged to—self-nominate. Please note: Individuals are not eligible to win the Award.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Please review this PDF of the Application Guide prior to beginning your submission to gather the data and information you'll need. Please note: This year, we are asking for TWO letters of recommendation to be uploaded as part of the nomination process, and we have provided instructions on what should be included.
DEADLINE:
All nominations are due by Friday, November 13, 2026 at 11:59pm ET.