Every year, the Administrator Certificate of Recognition is presented to one school administrator in recognition of their support of the Nebraska Writing Project.
Nomination Information
To nominate your administrator:
1) Write a 1-2 page letter of nomination.
2) Send that letter to Rachael Shah at rshah@unl.edu
3) Criteria for selecting the administrator to address in your letter:
a. Nature of the NeWP program supported by this administrator;
b. Quality of support for NeWP, including exemplary leadership;
c. Years of support for NeWP;
d. Impact of this support (e.g. number of teachers, students, administrators, and community members reached by the programs supported by this administrator, outcomes that have emerged through this support).
All nominations will be discussed at the April Nebraska Writing Project Leadership Team meeting.
2025 Due Date: May 1, 2025
The Administrator Certificate of Recognition will be awarded Summer Nebraska Writing Project Celebration in June (exact date TBA).
2025 Recipient: Sarah Essay
The Nebraska Writing Project honors Sarah Essay with the 2025 Administrative Leadership Award. A 2019 graduate of our Summer Institute, Sarah is a Teaching and Learning Coordinator with Education Service Unit #10 in Kearney, Nebraska. In this role, she offers a variety of professional development, including a Writing 101 series that embodies the writing project beliefs that everyone is a writer, and writing should be a freeing, self-discovery experience. She joined the Nebraska Writing Project board last year, and aligned with this role, she has worked to cultivate supportive communities for teaching writing, especially as she has successfully revived the ESU ELA cadre after COVID.
Recently, she arranged for NeWP teacher consultant Rachel Jank to host a professional development on writing for 36 ESU 10 teachers. The nature of Sarah’s leadership style and the tenor of the community she has built were unmistakable at the event.
In Rachel’s words, “While there, it was evident the group of teachers were eager to learn new skills to become better teachers of writing. Sarah talked with teachers about the challenges they faced in their districts and classrooms and worked to build a collegial spirit during the professional development. In this way, she uplifted the teachers in ESU 10 as professionals and lived out the NeWP best practice of "teachers teaching teachers.” We are thrilled to honor Sarah Essay with this award.
Past Award Winners
JoAnna Hale (2024)
Amber Kirkendall (2023)
Bill Dimon (2018)
James Hill (2017)
Paula Baker (2016)
Kathy Fleming (2015)
Rex Anderson (2014)
Vann Price (2013)
Mark Kalvoda (2012)
Robert Bussman (2011)
Mary Knight (2010)
Robert Slauson (2009)
Anne Schmit (2008)
Kim Larson (2007)
Deb Rodenburg, Tom Seib (2006)
Father Michael Morin, Ron Pauls, Dr. Jef Johnston (2005)
Related Research
- Leadership Qualities of School Administrators Who Choose the Nebraska Writing Project
Kimberly K. Larson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln