Rising Star Award
MSPRA's Rising Star Award is an individual award designed to recognize a school communicator who is considered an emerging leader in the field. This is a new award for 2025.
Nominees must be a good-standing member of MSPRA and a current employee of a public school district or education agency. Nominees must also have no more than five years of professional experience in the field. There is no fee to submit a nomination for this award. 2025 nominations will be accepted between May 1 and June 30, 2025.
Nomination Requirements
Nominations are required to include the following information:
- A statement of nomination (maximum of two pages)
- A brief biographical sketch (maximum of one page)
- One letter of recommendation
- Supporting documentation (up to six additional pages)
- Submitted as a single PDF (maximum of ten total pages)
Scoring Rubric
This is a competitive award, with nominations scored against each other using this rubric. There is a maximum of 45 points total. The nomination materials should reflect the nine criteria below:
- Innovation - uses fresh, creative approaches in messaging, branding, and storytelling.
- Resilience - effectively navigates challenges or crises, demonstrating problem-solving, transparency, and the ability to pivot strategies as needed.
- Commitment to Growth - Actively participates in MSPRA events and conversations and seeks out professional learning and networking opportunities.
- Inclusion - actively promotes inclusive messaging and representation in district communications, ensuring diverse voices and perspectives are heard.
- Collaboration - works effectively with school leaders, educators, students, and community partners to advance district and communication goals.
- Impact - demonstrates success in communication efforts that positively impact/influence district engagement, public perception, or family/community outreach.
- Leadership - takes on leadership roles, launches initiatives/projects, or shows initiative and skills beyond their experience level.
- Data-Driven - gathers insights, analytics, and other feedback to refine and improve communication efforts.
- Digital Media - demonstrates strong digital communication skills, effectively using social media, video, or other online platforms to engage key audiences.
