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The Selection Process

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Selection Process

How It Works


The Bammy Awards honor those who have made extraordinary contributions to the field, are world-class collaborators or excellent role models of what's right in American education. The selection process takes place in three stages:

     -- Call for nominations

     -- Public voting

     -- Academy voting

2015 Nominations and Voting Timeline

  April 6th - Council of Peers (COP) and Board of Governors (BOG) registration and credentials

  April 7th - nominations open to public and online voting begins.

  May 15th - Public voting closes.

  May 17th - May 24th - COP vote online to identify "short list" of nominees to send on to the Board of Governors.

  May 27 - June 3rd - Board of Governors vote to identify 2015 Bammy Award honorees.

  June 30th  - Educators' Voice honorees announced.

  September 26th  - Bammy Awards honors presented in Washington D.C. 

Establishing Nominees, Official Nominees, and Honorees

The Bammy Award nominees are selected by members of the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences and the general education community. Those nominated by the Academy are called "official nominees," which is an honor unto itself. Educators' Voice nominees are made by the general education community. Anyone can register on the Bammy Awards web site and make a nomination. All nominees are rated and selected based on category-specific criteria. The criteria, ratings and reviews are all visible online in each category.

Level I: Round 1 Screening

The first round of screening for all nominees is essentially a popular vote. Votes, ratings and reviews are collected and tabulated online. Anyone with a valid email address may register and cast a vote. Public voting, ratings and reviews are computer tabulated in real-time and visible online. This part of the  process is completely transparent. Parties may cast multiple votes and vote multiple times. Nominees are restricted from voting for themselves. The nominees with the most votes in a category automatically receive the Educators' Voice Awards and become "eligible" for consideration by the Academy for the Bammy Award in their category. The open nomination and voting for the Educators' Voice Awards allows for the discovery of new people, programs and organizations who are making a difference in education but may be below the radar screen of the education community. Securing the most Educators' Voice votes does *not* guarantee inclusion in level II screening.

Level II: Round 2 Screening

From the entries submitted during the Call for Nominations, the Council of Peers of the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences International define category-specific short lists to be voted on by the Academy Board of Governors. The ballots are comprised of Academy nominees and may or may not include Educators' Voice honorees.

The Council of Peers is comprised of experts in the category. They have been reviewed, selected and personally invited to be part of the Council because of their demonstrated experience in the categories in which they review. Membership on the Council is by invitation only. Council members are given access to rate and review nominees. They are barred from judging any entry with which they have a clear, direct, material, conflict of interest. The process of peer review relies on community self-regulation to identify conflicts of interest. Ultimately, determination of a conflict interest is the sole discretion of the executive committee. Council members who breach the rules, spirit of the awards or are found to be in conflict may be removed from the Council.

Level III: Establishing Honorees

The Bammy Award honorees are chosen by members of the Board of Governors with category-specific experience. The Board of Governors is comprised of luminaries, visionaries, and evangelists who have made significant contributions to the field of education. They are all recognized, respected leaders in their areas of expertise.

The Board of Governors votes on nominees from a short list drawn by the Council of Peers. In the event of a tie, the executive committee casts the tie-breaking vote. Academy members may not vote in any category in which they have a clear, direct, material conflict of interest. A veteran member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences provides vote tabulation review and consulting to help ensure the integrity of the process. The ultimate arbiter of conflicts of interest is the executive committee and its sole discretion.

Five nominees are chosen for each category. Other nominees may be selected for special distinctions and honors.

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