Welcome to the Daily Herald Leadership Team, 2011-12

Welcome to the 2011-12 Leadership Team, which recognizes high school students who excel in leadership through volunteer work and community service. Please read through this overview, and then download the Application Form and Nomination Form from this site for each student being nominated.

ELIGIBILITY

Applications are open to all public and private high school students in the Daily Herald coverage area; each school is limited to two applicants. Students must be in good academic standing (C+ average or higher).

ENTRIES

All entries must be received in academics@dailyherald.com by Friday, Dec. 9, 2011. No mailed nominations will be considered.

Each student's nomination should be sent in a single email, with three attachments:

Ÿ Application form

Ÿ Nomination form with student-written essay and sponsor's letter of recommendation included.

Ÿ Color head shot of student, at least 200 dpi JPEG — no PDFs, no embedded photos.

The emailed nomination can come from either the school or the student; both are accepted. The forms, essay and letter of recommendation MUST be in Microsoft Word.

No PDFs will be accepted, and nothing can come in on school letterhead.

Form details

The application form asks for the student's email address and the sponsor's email address. Please give us email addresses that both parties check regularly, as this is how we will notify you if there is a problem with the submission; or notify you at the end of the judging process.

The student's name and school should be on the Application and attached to his/her photo; but the Nomination form, essay and letter should not name the student or school, to preserve the anonymity of the judging process. This makes it even more important that all 3 elements of the nomination come in under a single email — to keep everything together.

JUDGING

A panel of three or four judges will review applications and use a point system of 1-20 to rate 10 criteria. Judges scores will be tabulated and the 10 top scorers will be named to the Leadership Team. The remaining students will receive Honorable Mention status. Decision of the judges is final.

HONORS

Leadership Team members will be given an engraved clock as a reward for their “gift of time.” Honorable Mentions will receive certificates. The winners will be collected in a group photo, and the Daily Herald will feature regional Leadership Teams and Honorable Mentions in a special edition of the Neighbor section scheduled for January 2012.

CONTACT

Renee Trappe, at academics@dailyherald.com or (847) 427-4468.