The Essor Recognition Awards pay tribute to the dedicated work of teachers and other people in the education system who carry out innovative art projects based on the idea of culture. These projects foster commitment, student perseverance and educational success.

By recognizing projects that are simultaneously educational, artistic and cultural, the Ministère de l’Éducation, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications and their partners seek to promote:

  • the importance of quality training in the arts
  • instruction enhanced by a cultural approach
  • the excellent work done by schools in partnership with artists, writers and cultural organizations in the various regions of Québec.

Awards

Provincial Grand Prize
This prize is awarded to a project that satisfies, to an exceptional degree, the entire set of criteria associated with the Essor Recognition Awards.
 
A school that has won the Provincial Grand Prize is not eligible to receive this prize for the subsequent three years.
Partnership Prize
This prize is awarded to a project distinguished by a dynamic partnership between the school, cultural circles and other partners (associations, municipalities, organizations, businesses, etc.).
Culture Prize
This prize is awarded to a project that stands out for the quality of its artistic and cultural approach, and the relevance of the methods used to raise students’ cultural awareness.
Pedagogical Development Prize
This prize is awarded to a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary project that demonstrates outstanding achievement in the way it makes pedagogical and cultural content in the Québec Education Program thoroughly accessible to students.
Isabelle-Aubin Prize
This prize is awarded to an imaginative and high-quality project that demonstrates outstanding commitment on the part of educators, partners and young people.
Innovation Prize
This prize is awarded to a project that stands out for its innovative approach and the importance placed on the student’s choices and initiatives.
Exposure Prize 
This prize is awarded to a project that promotes the arts and culture, and in doing so, reaches a wide audience in both the school and the community.
Sustainable Development Prize 
This prize is awarded to a project that demonstrates outstanding achievement in activities that encourage student involvement in matters relating to environmental protection, social equity and economic efficiency.
 
To learn more, consult the web page on sustainable development in the school system This hyperlink will open in a new window., available in French.
Cultural Mediator Prize
This prize is awarded to an outstanding project mentored by educators whose commitment to incorporating the cultural dimension is fully apparent at every stage of the process.
Horizon Prize
This prize is awarded to an outstanding project that encourages students to cultivate an open-minded attitude to social and cultural pluralism.
Cultural Citizenship Prize
This prix is awarded to an outstanding project that calls on students to develop a sense of cultural citizenship and to enrich the cultural life of their community.

Schools Host an Artist or Writer Prize 
This prize is awarded to a project undertaken as part of the Schools Host an Artist or Writer component of the Culture in the Schools program This hyperlink will open in a new window. that demonstrates outstanding achievement with regard to the experimental work of the students, the creative process of the artist and the impacts of the project.
Projects falling under the Schools Host an Artist or Writer component are only eligible for this prize.
Initiative Prize
This prize is awarded for the initiatives and vitality of the educational and cultural environments in the various regions of Québec.

Partners

The Essor Recognition Awards are made possible by contributions from Télé-Québec and l’Association québécoise des comités culturels scolaires (AQCCS).

Eligibility

The following groups and organizations may submit a project:

  • a team representing an elementary or secondary school in the public or private sector, or a group of such schools
  • a team representing one or more adult education centres
  • a school service centre / school board or a group of school service centres / school boards that has developed an arts or cultural project in collaboration with a school cultural committee

The project must meet the following requirements:

  • It must be structured around at least one of the four Arts Education subjects (Drama, Visual Arts, Dance, Music).
  • Its activities must be carried out in collaboration with the Arts Education teacher and comply with the approach used in teaching the Arts Education subjects in question.
  • It must be carried out during the current school year, mainly during school hours or as an extension of the Arts Education courses.
  • It must be consistent with the educational orientations and values of the Québec Education Program.
  • It must comply with the provisions of the Copyright Act with respect to the works used in the project.

Moreover, a school that has already won an Essor Recognition Award must submit a different project to once again be considered eligible for a prize.

Please note that projects funded as part of the Schools Host an Artist or Writer component of the Culture in the Schools program are eligible only for the Schools Host an Artist or Writer prize.

Selection process

A Screening Committee ensures that the application packages contain all the required documents and meet the eligibility criteria. If necessary, the project coordinator may be asked to supply additional information.

A second committee evaluates the applications based on the following criteria:

  • the role of the arts in the project
  • the relevance of the approach used in teaching each arts subject as it relates to the educational orientations and values promoted in the Arts Education programs
  • the quality of the project and creative process involved
  • the scope of the project, specifically:
    • the number of students involved
    • the number of subjects targeted
    • the duration of the project
    • collaboration by the various resource people in academic, cultural, artistic, family and community environments
  • the originality and innovative quality of the activities included in the project
  • the project’s visibility and its impact on the school community and the community at large, if applicable
  • the inclusion of activities that involve students in a process that reflects the broad principles of sustainable development as they relate to the environment, social equity and economic efficiency.

In the interest of fairness, the project budget and the main source of funding will be taken into account when analyzing project submissions.

Its members are drawn from:

  • art teacher associations (individuals take turns representing the four associations involved)
  • the Association québécoise des comités culturels scolaires
  • the education sector (an Arts Education consultant)
  • the cultural sector
  • the Ministère de l’Éducation
  • the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications

Documents