Making Schools Work Conference Pacesetter & Leadership Awards
Pacesetter and Leadership Awards
Do you have a school that meets the Gene Bottoms Pacesetter Award standards? If so, we hope that you will nominate them for a Pacesetter award. Nominations are open from October-January each year.
2026 Gene Bottoms Pacesetter Award Winners
The Gene Bottoms Pacesetter School Award recognizes schools and districts that are implementing the Making Schools Work strategies and are seeing measurable improvements in student outcomes.
This year, we are proud to honor four outstanding institutions for their dedication to excellence and continuous improvement.
2026 Pacesetter Award Winner Sessions
The best way to learn from our Pacesetter winners is to hear it from them. That is why each year all of our winners offer at least one session at our conference to explain what helped them win and how you can implement it into your own school.
We will announce the sessions for the 2026 winners in late spring of 2026. Please check back on this page to find the sessions.
2025 Gene Bottoms Pacesetter Award Winners
We are proud of all of the past winners of the Gene Bottoms Pacesetter Awards. See who won in 2025.