Danielle Pellerin

Recognition of Merit Award

About the Award

Celebrating Family Engagement in Student Success

Family engagement and participation in school programs and activities builds successful relationships. In turn, these constant connections from school allow families to play an active role as first and best teachers at home and maintain an involvement throughout the year in their child’s academic and social success. This award recognizes and demonstrates the valuable contributions that an educator, a school or a district school board has made throughout the school year in engaging families in their role as their child’s first and best teacher.

The Grand Prize

The winner will received Welcome to Kindergarten resources for their school or classroom (a value of  $750).

2024-2025 Winner Spotlight

Congratulations to our 2024-2025 Winner!

This year, the award is presented to the Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l’Ontario (CSPNE). CSPNE was recognized for their “exceptional efforts in engaging new kindergarten families in their role as their child’s first and best teacher.

Highlights of their success:

  • Welcoming parents right from the first day of registration.
  • Hosting transition meetings for children at daycare.
  • Holding “Welcome to Kindergarten” days.
  • Conducting intake interviews to get to know the children and parents.
  • Implementing a kindergarten integration program where children and parents return to school several times at the end of the year to participate in classroom activities and get used to the school environment.
  • Inviting community partners to offer workshops during the “Welcome to Kindergarten” day.
  • Offering Indigenous education workshops and integrating a holistic Indigenous perspective to ensure the child is seen in their totality.
Who Can Be Nominated?
  • kindergarten teacher who shows exceptional dedication to family engagement
  • school that fosters inclusive, creative, and consistent Welcome to Kindergarten™ experiences
  • school district that makes family-first learning a central part of their early years strategy

Nominees should demonstrate: 

Meaningful, ongoing efforts to involve families in their child’s learning
Creative ways to use the WTK program throughout the school year
Commitment to equity, inclusion, and building strong school-home partnerships

  • Include a short write-up (300–500 words) about why your nominee deserves to be recognized
  • Feel free to include photos, quotes from parents, or examples of their WTK activities!