The Association of American Publishers PreK-12 Learning Group handed out its top honors for individual excellence in educational publishing at the recent Lamplighter Honors.

The awards celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of industry members and their contributions to helping provide children with innovative learning materials, according to AepWeb.org. Each of the winners has made significant advancements that have helped set up the next generation of learners for success.

The Lamplighter Honors include eight winners in five award categories, including the new “On the Rise” category, Hall of Fame, Visionary Award, Member of the Year, and Ambassador Award.

“We are pleased to honor these thought leaders with Lamplighter Awards. Each winner has made and continues to make significant contributions to the learning resource community through the development of cutting-edge materials and learning methodologies to help learners grow to meet 21st century needs,” said Jay Diskey, Executive Director of the PreK-12 Learning Group.

The 2014 Lamplighter Award winners are:

Hall of Fame Induction: The top honor of the evening was the induction of Frank Ferguson to the Educational Publishing Hall of Fame. A founder of Curriculum Associates, and current Chairman of the Board of Directors, Frank has spent nearly 40 years in educational publishing, leading his company as a pioneer in assessment and becoming a model for philanthropy. The prestigious award was established in 1996 to honor the careers of individuals that have developed resources and materials that have positively impacted teaching and learning.

On the Rise: New in 2014, the On the Rise Awards were established to recognize professionals early in their career who have made an impact on teaching and learning. The winners saw opportunities to improve educational resources and used their unique vision, and knowledge of technology, to create programs and resources for learners. This year’s On the Rise Winners include: Tyler Bosmeny, the co-founder and CEO of Clever; Jocelyn Leavitt the CEO and co-founder of Hopscotch; and Christopher Rogers, the Media & Technology Specialist at Greene Street Friends School as well as the Founder and Lead Director of JustMaybeCo.

• Bosmeny and his company Clever help over 30,000 schools and 150 publishers securely integrate their learning software with existing school infrastructure, making it possible for software to immediately offer single-sign on to maximize learning time.
• Leavitt makes computer programming accessible and fun for children with the Hopscotch iPad application, which enables kids aged 8 and up to create their own apps and games.
• Rogers is a passionate advocate for community-based education, which is one reason why he helped found JustMaybeCo; in his role there, he helps to partner communities and schools for collaborative discussions about social justice and other critical issues.

Visionary Awards: Recipients of the Visionary Award are actively changing the educational experience with their transformative ideas. The Visionary Awards were established in 2013 to recognize professionals who are making a significant impact within the learning resource community. This year’s winners are Todd Brekhus, President of Capstone Digital, and Karen Cator, President and CEO of Digital Promise.

• Brekhus created myON, the world’s largest interactive digital library with more than 4,000 books for pre-K through 12th grade supporting more than 3.6 million students.
• Cator has been a leading voice for transforming American education through technology innovation and research, and led the development of the 2010 National Education Technology Plan as Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education.

Member of the Year: The Member of the Year Award was established in 2001 to recognize the contributions of members for their high level of engagement and tremendous support within the PreK-12 educational community. This year’s winner is Corinne Burton, President of Teacher Created Materials, Inc. Through her work at Teacher Created Materials and activity with the AAP PreK-12 Learning Group, Burton helps fulfill her vision to encourage students to become life-long learners.

Ambassador Award: Ambassador Award winners are chosen for their ability to establish and maintain strong relationships throughout the learning resource community. This year’s winner, and the second ever recipient of the award, is Kathy Hurley, Executive Vice President of Education Alliances at the Pearson Foundation. Hurley has more than 40 years experience in the education industry and has made strides promoting literacy in the U.S. and around the world, resulting in invaluable collaborations and impacting policy.

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Article by Daniel Kline, Education World Contributing Editor