Voting in process for second annual “cross-discipline” education honors

Los Angeles, CA. May 29, 2013 - Today the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences, comprised of 213 influential education leaders and organizations, announced that Daniel Pink has joined the Academy’s Board of Governors. Pink is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal bestselling author who worked as an aide to Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and he was chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore. Pink joins Dr. Timothy Shriver, CEO of the Special Olympics, and Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, as the new voting members of the Academy who will help select the Bammy Awards honorees for 2013.

"We are honored to have Dan Pink on the Board of Governors and delighted by the caliber of people that the Academy continues to atrtact to the mission of recognizing what's right in American education," said Errol St. Clair Smith, executive producer of the Bammy Awards.

The Bammy Awards were created in response to the relentless national criticism of America's public schools. The negative perception of public education has led to a decrease in public confidence, calls for reductions in financial support and intense scrutiny of educators, while all that is right in American education is largely ignored.

Modeled on the broad scope of the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys, the Bammy Awards are presented by the Academy’s Council of Peers and Board of Governors. The Academy accepts nominations in dozens of disparate categories, selects honorees, and brings together constituents from the entire education community to recognize the honorees at a red-carpet, black-tie awards event in Washington, DC, on September 21st.

Based on the notion that it takes a village to educate a child, the Academy identifies, recognizes and celebrates the contributions of education professionals, para-professionals and support staff across the entire field -- from teachers, principals and superintendents to school nurses, advocates, researchers, early childhood specialists, education journalists, facilities maintenance staff, special needs professionals, school board members, parents and more.

The Bammy Awards acknowledge that teachers can't educate children alone and don't do it alone. The awards aim to foster cross-discipline recognition for the vital role played by every member of the education village, encourage collaboration and respect across the various domains, elevate education and education successes in the public eye, and raise the profile and voices of the many undervalued and unrecognized people who are making a difference in the field every day.

About the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences

The Academy is comprised of over 213 prominent education leaders. Charter members of the Academy include a profoundly eclectic cadre of persons involved in education, including Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, professor of education at Stanford University; Diane Ravitch, former Assistant Secretary of Education; Nancy Poliseno, president of the National Association for Middle Level Education; Dr. Mark Ginsberg, former head of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and currently dean of the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University; Jay Mathews, veteran education columnist at the Washington Post; Dennis J. Randolph, executive director of the National School Plant Management Association; Donna Mazyck, executive director of the National Association of School Nurses; and Rosemarie T. Truglio, Ph.D., vice-president of research and education for Sesame Workshop.

This year’s event is made possible by support from Gojo/Purell, School Health, Responsive Classroom, PBS Learning Media, TCPN, Excelligence Learning Corporation, Gryphon House, Kaplan Early Learning, GameDesk, Redleaf Press, Choose2Matter, WriteSteps, Learning ZoneXpress, ChildCare Education Institute, New Tech Network, ECE PolicyWorks, Teachers College Press and Gesell Institute of Child Development.

To learn more about the Bammy Awards go to www.bammyawards.org. Send emails to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call 818-539-5971.