DCDT Awards
The Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT), a division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), accepts nominations annually for awards given to people who have made outstanding contributions in the field of secondary education and transition for students with disabilities. Each candidate must be a member in good standing of DCDT at the time of nomination, with the exception of nominees for the Employer of the Year. Deadline for nominations is September 20. The awards are presented at the DCDT International Conference.
Below is a short description of each award and rating rubric.
For questions, please email Stacie Dojonovic at sdojonovic@ku.edu
Award Directions
Please submit at a maximum a three -page Microsoft word description of why you think the individual is deserving of the award. Please use the criteria related to each award to support your narrative. If you want to include supporting documentation, your nomination packet should be no more than 10 pages long.
- Name, Title, and Organization of Nominator
- Name, Title, and Organization of Person being Nominated
- Is this person a DCDT member (Does not apply to the employer nominee).
DCDT Awards
This award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the field of career development and transition through means other than direct classroom instruction (which is recognized by the Iva Dean Cook Educator of the Year Award). The award is named in recognition of Oliver P. Kolstoe, a DCDT founding member and past president whose early research and publications significantly shaped the field of transition.
This award is presented to an individual who has contributed to more positive outcomes for transition-aged youth and to the field of transition through a body of research in transition. The award is named in honor of Patricia Sitlington, a DCDT past-president who contributed significantly to knowledge in the field through research.
This award recognizes a graduate student who, through research completed during their doctoral program, shows significant promise for contributing to positive outcomes for transition-aged youth and to the field of transition through research. To be considered for the award, graduate students (or recent graduates whose research was completed during their doctoral program) must submit their research for the DCDT Patricia L Sitlington Emerging Researcher poster session held at the DCDT Conference. Each student’s poster will be reviewed by anonymous members of the Research committee during the poster session with awards made to the top students during the DCDT annual conference.
This award is presented to a practitioner that has demonstrated innovation in implementing transition services for students with significant disabilities. The award is named after Marc Gold whose innovative “Try Another Way” approach opened the door to employment for many students with severe disabilities.
This award honors a practitioner and is awarded to an educator, including a higher education professional, who has demonstrated outstanding commitment and service to the career education and transition of students with disabilities. The award is named in recognition of Iva Dean Cook, a DCDT founding member, past president and a pioneer in teacher preparation in transition.
This award honors a secondary teacher who is in their first five years of teaching. It will be awarded to an educator who has demonstrated outstanding and innovative and committed services to the career education and transition of secondary students with disabilities. The award is named in recognition of Andrew Halpern, a DCDT past president whose research and publications significantly shaped the field of transition.
This honor is awarded to an individual who has provided significant leadership and service in transition to a state or province. Donn Brolin was a founding member and the first president of DCDT and as author of the Life Centered Career Education curriculum, was influential in the career development and early transition movement.
This award is presented to an employer or business that has shown remarkable commitment to promoting or providing employment opportunities to students with disabilities.
All award recipients must be DCDT members in good standing with the exception of the employer of the year.