The Succeeds Prize 2021 application is now closed. Winners will be announced in August. Thank you to all our 2021 applicants! Please contact us with any questions.

The Succeeds Prize 2021 Application

The Succeeds Prize exists to identify, recognize, and share stories of impact from innovative educators statewide. We seek to share your best practices so students and families across the state, especially those furthest from opportunity, can benefit from your experience, insights, and lessons learned. The Succeeds Prize is an investment from the business community in transforming public education to prepare students from all backgrounds to succeed and a storytelling campaign through 9NEWS to inspire and support educators statewide.

Colorado Succeeds believes that education must prepare learners for an everchanging world. Today’s students will enter a workforce of jobs that don’t yet exist, work with tools not yet created, and face problems not yet identified. As business leaders, we are optimistic about this future and want to support the agile educators that are creating agile learners and whose solutions are prioritizing the needs of students that have been traditionally underserved by our education system.

Our Vision 2030 Framework outlines the education principles, experiences, and transferable competencies students will need to thrive in an uncertain future. We seek to invest in and amplify the best examples of educators, schools, districts, partnerships, and programs that embody this Vision and are achieving, or laying the groundwork for, outcomes for students from diverse backgrounds.

We seek to identify learning providers or key supports to learning providers in the broadest possible sense. Examples include early childhood education providers; K-12 education providers; post-secondary pathways designed for high school students; school districts; or BOCES. Partnerships among any combination of the above listed entities with each other, non-profits, or business are particularly compelling—so long as students 3-18 are impacted.

Agility ExplainedPotential Examples

Agile Learners

  • Learn how to learn, not just what to learn
  • Develop transferable skills and competencies
  • Demonstrate a commitment to continuous development and lifelong learning
  • Self-agency over what and how students learn—empowering students to explore their passions, interests, and connections
  • Engaging in project-based learning to develop creative solutions to community and societal challenges
  • Demonstrations of learning beyond traditional assessments such as capstones, etc.
  • Earning post-secondary credit or industry credentials for experiential learning that happens outside of the classroom
  • Rethinking the high school experience through accelerated pathways, including unique partnerships with institutions of higher education or employers
  • Provide opportunities for our youngest learners to have a strong, early start by providing access to high quality, age appropriate learning

 Agile Educators

  • Understand and adapt to rapid change in the economy
  • Create relevant educational experiences to help students learn about themselves and the world
  • Equip students to make choices about what and how they learn
  • Creative workforce solutions involving multiple school districts where educators are shared across schools/districts or leveraged in other unique ways to maximize course access for students.
  • Facilitated teaching that allows students to develop social emotional skills and learn about their strengths, interests, andvalues
  • Rigorous learning opportunities with demonstrations aligned to CO graduation guidelines
  • Unique use of “5th Day” in 4-day school districts for continued learning and enrichment opportunities
  • Partnerships that advance educator opportunities for skill building in high-demand content areas aligned to industry needs
  • Creative use of blended learning to expand access to advanced coursework and learning opportunities
  • Provide flexibility and innovation in professionalizing the ECE workforce
  • Educators who have taken additional steps to be culturally relevant teachers in diverse schools

Agile Systems

  • Allow for the emergence of various types of learning experiences
  • Provide educational opportunities that respond to diverse needs and interests of learners
  • Are responsive to changes in the economy, labor market, and in society
  • Use of flexible scheduling that allows for more student-driven, personalized learning
  • Creative transportation solutions to support experiential learning or relevant work-based learning initiatives
  • Partnerships across school districts, industry, and higher education providers, which may include efforts to increase access to relevant career-connected learning opportunities
  • Demonstrated focus on equity and inclusion, prioritizing marginalized students furthest from opportunity
  • Address the unique needs of diverse learners by providing parents multiple ways to be seen and heard as partners in the learning process
  • Ensuring access to advanced coursework and CTE opportunities through creative recruitment, training, and/orpartnerships
  • Creative ways to look at data to inform school and district practices in responsive, innovative ways, including helping the district better understand student pathways
  • Unique partnerships with out of school learning providers to enhance educational experiences for students
  • Funding and governance practices that provide educators with autonomy to respond to the changing needs and interests of their students
  • Funding and governance practices that equip families with the ability to choose the learning providers who best fit their needs and interests
  • Focuses on innovative approaches to addressing social-emotional and mental health education and services for students
  • Implementing positive discipline policies and procedures that are just and clear, and aimed at decreasing suspension rates and teaching positive social behaviors, such as cooperation, conflict resolution, and helping others
  1. We tell your story. 9NEWS and Colorado Succeeds will interview key voices to capture your unique story.
  2. We celebrate you. In-person event attended by business, education, and community leader hosted in Denver in the fall.
  3. We invest in your efforts. You receive a monetary award to support and continue your efforts.
  4. We ask you to inform our ongoing work to support innovative educators. We provide you with numerous opportunities to engage with our business members, state legislators, and critical partners to ensure your voice and perspective is helping to drive transformational change across the state of Colorado.
  • Respond to ALL Application Questions in no more than 300 words per question.
  • Please save your work in a Word or Google Doc before uploading your answers to the online application form. You cannot save your work and return to it in the online application.
  • You cannot save your work and return to the application. Please complete the application in one sitting.
  • Applications are due by 5pm on June 1, 2021.

Application Questions

Demonstrating Agility
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Leveraging Partnerships
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Reach & Impact
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Sustainability
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