The Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence
The Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence was established by the Alliance for Education in honor of the late Thomas B. Foster, a prominent Seattle attorney and senior partner of the Foster Pepper law firm. Mr. Foster exemplified excellence in his profession during a career which spanned the last half of the 20th century, and had a personal commitment to public education. Endowed by the Foster family, the Foster Award has been offered to Seattle Public Schools principals since 2000.
The purpose of the Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence is to recognize and honor outstanding Seattle Public Schools principals who have demonstrated success in closing opportunity gaps to improve outcomes in their school setting. The selection process considers colleague and community nominations, data including outcomes related to student growth and school climate, and overall principal commitment and effectiveness. Principals must have served at least three years in their current school to be eligible for the award.
Two Foster Awards are given annually by the Alliance for Education. Recipients are notified of their award via a surprise announcement at their school. All recipients are given public recognition by the Alliance for Education, and a grant for $25,000 to be utilized at their school. The Alliance also asks all Foster Award recipients to share the strategies they employed to support their students’ success, in order to document best practices and share them with the broader SPS community.