Secretary Cardona Congratulates 2022 President’s Education Awards Program Recipients
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today congratulated the 2022 President’s Education Awards Program (PEAP) recipients, recognizing hundreds of thousands of elementary, middle, and high school graduates from public and private schools across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Outlying Areas, and American military bases abroad on their educational accomplishments.
As of mid-June, there had been nearly 75,000 unique downloads of 2022 PEAP materials, including Excellence and Achievement certificates and letters from the President and the Secretary.
“I am thrilled to join President Biden in congratulating students whose determination, character, and talent have earned them the 2022 President’s Education Award,” Secretary Cardona said. “The young people recognized this year went above and beyond in pursuit of their goals, triumphing over challenges and inspiring their teachers, peers, families, and communities with their remarkable resilience. These students should be immensely proud of their accomplishments, and I hope this award reminds them that the talents, skills, backgrounds, and dreams that make them unique will be their lifelong superpowers.”
PEAP was founded in 1983. Every year since then, the program has provided schools with the opportunity to recognize graduating students who meet high standards of academic excellence and those who have given their best effort, often overcoming obstacles to their learning.
Each year, eligible graduating K-12 students are selected by their school principals for recognition in one of two categories:
The President’s Award for Educational Excellence – This award recognizes academic success in the classroom. To be eligible, students must meet requirements, including grade point average or other school-set criteria and choice of state tests or teacher recommendations.
The President’s Award for Educational Achievement – This award recognizes students who show outstanding educational growth, improvement, commitment, or intellectual development in their academic subjects but do not meet the criteria for the Educational Excellence Award. Its purpose is to encourage and reward students who give their best effort, often in the face of obstacles. Criteria for this award are developed at each school.
Individual recognition is bestowed by the President and the U.S. Secretary of Education, in partnership with the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The award includes a congratulatory letter to the student and a certificate signed by the President, the Secretary, and the school principal.
Unlike other awards programs, the principal has sole discretion in choosing recipients based on eligibility. There is no limit on the number of awards that can be downloaded and printed, as long as students meet the criteria for each award set by the school.
Despite the uncertainty and challenges related to COVID-19, the program continued to accept and fulfill nominations. This program year, due to global supply chain issues, the Department was unable to print hard copy program materials.
Therefore, for the first time, the agency made available the Excellence and Achievement certificates, as well as congratulatory letters from the President and Secretary of Education, for download at https://www2.ed.gov/programs/presedaward/2022-materials.html. Also, PEAP-related products, such as folders, pins, and graduation cords, remain available to order from the National Association of Elementary School Principals at https://www.services-naesp.org/peap/t-main.aspx.
A list of past school participation, by state and territory, is available here https://www2.ed.gov/programs/presedaward/awards.html.