An initiative of the Durham Catholic District School Board and the Anti-Black Racism and Black Excellence Advisory Committee, the DCDSB Black Student Excellence Awards honour Grade 11 and Grade 12 students who self-identify as Black and have demonstrated leadership and/or commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion efforts.
DCDSB Black Student Excellence Awards are granted once per year. Two (2) students from each DCDSB secondary school may be nominated in each school year. Nominees will be honoured during an awards ceremony and will receive a $100 bursary, a certificate and a letter of recognition.
The Anti-Black Racism and Black Excellence Committee will select one overall award winner to receive the Distinguished Black Student Excellence Award. The award recipient will receive a $500 bursary, a glass award trophy, and a letter of recognition.
All students will be recognized during an awards ceremony which will be held at 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 7, 2024, at the Pope Francis Centre (652 Rossland Rd. West, Oshawa, L1J 8M7).
On Thursday, November 7, 2024, the Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB) hosted the inaugural Black Student Excellence Awards. At the awards ceremony, all nominees were honoured, and provided with a certificate, a letter of recognition, and a $100 bursary.
The nominees honoured were:
After much deliberation, the committee was pleased to present Sadé L., a Grade 12 student at Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School in Whitby, with the Black Student Excellence Award for the 2024-2025 school year. Sadé was recognized at the awards ceremony and received a certificate, a letter of recognition, a glass trophy, and a $500 bursary.
Click here to learn more about the Black Student Excellence Award recipient and nominees.
To be eligible to receive the Black Student Excellence Award, students must meet the following requirements:
Nominations for the Black Student Excellence Awards must be submitted via the online nomination form by Friday, October 11, 2024. Nominations can only be made from DCDSB secondary school staff or school administration. The principal, or designate, will seek feedback from the school community and will submit up to two (2) nominations on behalf of the school. Please note that if you are nominating two students, we kindly ask that you fill out a separate nomination form for each student.
Note: the nomination form is only available for staff to submit. Incomplete and/or late submissions will not be considered.
Nominations must include:
During each awards cycle, submissions for the Black Student Excellence Award will be evaluated by the Anti-Black Racism and Black Excellence Advisory Committee to identify eligible students who have demonstrated leadership qualities and excelled in making significant contributions to the advancement of equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives.
The Anti-Black Racism and Black Excellence Committee will select one overall award winner to receive the Distinguished Black Student Excellence Award.
The award recipient and all nominees will be honoured during an awards ceremony on Thursday, November 7, 2024.
For further details, please contact Kayode Akomolafe, Human Rights & Equity Advisor, at Kayode.Akomolafe@dcdsb.ca.