Submission Deadline
Entries must be submitted by 5 p.m. on March 8, 2010.  If your school requires an internal review process, it must be completed before this date.

Nomination Form
Click here for a printable copy of the nomination form with detailed entry information. 
You can click to submit online, but please review the entry information below and assemble the necessary information first.

Video
This year we are also asking for a 2-minute video with your submission.  Although this is optional and does not affect your chances of winning, if you win an IPL Golden Apple Award, part of your video may be shown during the celebration. For details about the video, click here.

Submission — Two Methods
Entries may be submitted online or as a hard copy assembled into a three-ring binder with tab dividers.  Use the entry form and instructions on this Web site.  If you submit your portfolio online, you will need to mail or deliver your optional video to Shank Public Relations Counselors.  Please be sure your mini DV tape or DVD disc is labeled with your name.

Entry Application Requirements
Entry pages should have margins of at least 1” at the top, bottom and both sides. Type font should be no smaller than 12. There is a limit of 16 one-sided pages.Online entries must be submitted as a one PDF file and are still subject to the same margin and page limits as hard copy entries.

Please do not use plastic page protectors for hard copy entries unless it is absolutely necessary to protect a particular page. 

The entry (whether online or hard copy) must include the elements listed below. The elements should be clearly identified and assembled in the following order:

Entry Form
An entry form, with all areas of the form completed. The entry form does not count toward the maximum of 16 pages.

Project Summary
A brief summary of the nominee’s submitted project. This should not exceed one page and can be just a third or half of a page.  This is an abbreviated version of the project description. Include your primary project goal and whether it was achieved.  The summary and project description together represent 65% of the score.

Project Description
Describe the submitted project in more detail.
• Explain how it creatively uses math, science or technology.
• Describe student achievement results and how they were measured. This is an important part of how your entry is judged. 
• You may include photos, charts and graphs as appropriate.
• If any of the work is not original, for example if you are using a copyrighted curriculum, please provide appropriate credit for the origin and then explain how you enhanced the program for your students.
• The project description should not exceed 9 pages. The summary and project description together represent 65% of the score.
• If you think it will be helpful for the judges to be able to view your curriculum, a video or other materials that illustrate the success of your project and if those materials are available online, feel free to include a link in this section that will allow the judges to see the additional material. Judges are not obligated to review the auxiliary information, but may do so if it helps them understand your project.

Mentorship
• Give an example of a professional educator who served as a mentor to you.
• Describe how you as an IPL Golden Apple Award winner could serve as a mentor to your colleagues.
• These items together should not exceed one page. For team entries:  All members of the team should contribute to the mentorship section, but the mentorship section is still limited to one page. 10% of score

Résumé
Your professional résumé or vita that includes: education and teaching experience, formal and/or continuing education, professional conferences attended or presentations made, and school or community activities. Not to exceed two pages. For team entries:  Each member of the team should supply a résumé.  Each résumé must not exceed two pages.  The entire entry may increase in page count to accommodate the extra résumés. 10% of score

Support Letters
Include three letters of support from individuals who can offer factual evidence of teaching abilities. These letters can be from a variety of sources: colleagues, students, parents of students, supervisors, community members and others.
For team entries only:  It is fine for support letters to refer to individual teachers, several teachers or the entire team. 
For teams of two or three teachers, the total number of support letters should not exceed the stated limit of three letters.  For teams of four teachers, we will expand the page limit for the entire entry to include a fourth letter if you wish to provide one.  5% of score

An additional 10% of the score will reflect overall clarity and quality of the entry. 

PLEASE NOTE: Entries for individuals (excluding application form) must be no longer than 16 pages. (A sheet printed on both sides counts as two pages.) It may not include more than two full pages of pictures. Tab dividers do not count toward the 16-page limit.

We strongly encourage nominees to keep a copy of portfolio contents as a matter of record.

Winning hard copy portfolios will be returned at the May 10, 2010 ceremony. The remaining hard copy entries will be returned if the nominee provides an appropriately sized pre-addressed return envelope with postage or arranges to pick up the portfolios at Shank Public Relations Counselors.