Innovation and Vision Award

We are excited to announce our seventh annual Innovation and Vision Award contest! This is an opportunity for CMU partner schools to celebrate what makes you unique and earn $10,000 for your school!

All CMU partner schools are eligible to apply for the contest. The application consists of sharing what innovative aspect of your school you would like to highlight and only takes a few minutes to complete. If your school is selected as a finalist, you will present a three-minute video at our 2025 annual conference on this topic showing everyone what makes your school unique. The finalists will all receive prize money with the winner being awarded $10,000.

Award Topic Ideas

Your video presentation can highlight anything you feel showcases innovation at your school. Possible topics include:

  • What makes your school a unique option for your students?
  • Do you utilize community resources and partnerships to further your mission?
  • Do you have an innovative educational model?
  • Do your students or staff participate in a unique project/initiative at your school?
Award Prizes
  • First Place – $10,000 award for your school
  • Second Place – $3,000 award for your school
  • Third Place – $1,000 award for your school
Award Timeline
  • April 25 – Deadline to submit your presentation proposal. Submit Your Proposal
  • May 5 – Announcement of finalists that are chosen to present at the 2025 annual conference.
  • August 7 – Finalists submit videos to The Center for Charter Schools.
  • August 14 – Finalists present at the 2025 annual conference in Detroit.
Award Guidelines and Rules
  • All CMU partner schools for the 2025-26 school year are eligible to submit a proposal. Only one submission can be sent per school.
  • Each school has three minutes to present a video at the annual conference.
  • At least one person per school is required to attend the conference to introduce their video during the presentation. Presentations will be during the lunch session.
  • The format of the presentation is required to be a video. The production of the video is a great way to involve your students and staff.
  • The winner will be chosen based on conference attendee voting and announced at the closing session of the conference.
  • Award prizes will be distributed to the schools for use during the 2025-26 school year.

Submit Your Proposal

If you have any questions about the contest, please contact Janelle Brzezinski at JBrzezinski@TheCenterForCharters.org.

Past Award Recipients
  • 2024 – Copper Island Academy, Calumet
  • 2023 – Pembroke Academy, Detroit
  • 2022 – Macomb Academy, Clinton Township
  • 2021 – Countryside Academy, Benton Harbor
  • 2020 – Renaissance Public School Academy, Mount Pleasant
  • 2019 – FlexTech High Schools, Brighton and Farmington Hills