Call FOR NOMINATIONS

The Board of Directors of the Virginia Chapter of the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (VEFP) hereby calls for nominations for the 2009 Virginia Planner of the Year.  The successful nominee will be announced at the annual VEFP conference to be held February 22-23, 2010, at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center.  The Board will subsequently submit the name of the Virginia Planner of the Year to the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International’s Southeast Region (CEFPI-SE) as Virginia’s nominee for the Thomas Morgan SE Planner of the Year award, if the recipient is also an active member of CEFPI.

Nominations may be made by a VEFP member or other educational-related professional who is actively involved in the design, planning, or management of educational facilities in Virginia.  The Board of Directors appoints a committee composed from the general membership of VEFP to review and select the winner from the nominees.

VEFP established the “Virginia Planner of the Year” award to be given annually and the VEFP Board has established the same criteria that CEFPI-SE uses in its selection process for the Thomas Morgan SE Planner of the Year award.  The nominee shall be an active member of CEFPI.  Once a nomination is made, the VEFP Board will in turn contact the nominee to obtain a professional resume, a description of the nominee’s current role pertaining to the planning or management of educational facilities, and a one-page statement by the nominee outlining his/her philosophy and contributions to educational facilities.  Letters of reference from supervisors or clients, attesting to the nominee’s professional status, may also be requested.

Please start by identifying someone you think may be deserving of this recognition and providing his/her name and other information on the application you can find by clicking on the below link.   If you have questions you may contact Bill Bradley, VEFP Past-President, or Tina Carr, Executive Assistant to the VEFP Board, with the subject “VEFP Planner of the Year 2010.”  We look forward to hearing from you about the great talent we have here in Virginia

 

Submit a Planner of the Year nomination on-line.

 

2009 Award Winner Dr. Thomas H. Debolt

Dr. DeBolt is in his fourteenth year as Superintendent of Manassas Park City Schools and prior to this, served as a high school principal for 23 years. In Manassas Park, he is very involved in helping this rapidly growing school system achieve sustained student and school division success.  The fact that the Manassas Park City Schools are exemplary in numerous ways is certainly a tribute to Dr. DeBolt’s fourteen years of leadership as Superintendent.  Dr. DeBolt and his school division have developed outstanding programs and initiatives in the following areas:  vision and planning, student achievement, curriculum/instruction, staff development, technology, school design and construction, fiscal resource enhancement, and school-community relations.  Under Dr. DeBolt’s leadership, Manassas Park City Schools has constructed four world-class facilities – Manassas Park High School opened in 1998, Cougar Elementary School opened in 2001, Manassas Park Middle School opened in 2006, and the new Manassas Park Elementary School will open in April 2009.  To date, Manassas Park City Schools buildings have received thirteen state and national awards for architectural excellence.  

Recently, the Virginia State Board of Education honored MPCS as one of only four school districts of the 134 in Virginia to earn full accreditation for each of its schools. MPCS and also received division-wide accreditation from SACS CASI.  MPCS is only one of fourteen school divisions to earn the rare distinction of having each of its schools and the school division achieve AYP under NCLB.  The significant improvement of MPCS, and the work of Dr. DeBolt and many others during the last ten years, is the story told by UVA Professor, Dr. Daniel Duke in his recently published book, The Little School System that Could, State University of New York 2008.  Beyond Dr. DeBolt’s leadership contribution to his own school division, he has served as a generous contributor to professional organizations, other school divisions and the Department of Education.  He is certainly an important contributor for the improvement of education in Virginia.

Read more about Dr. Debolt

  Read a letter from Dr. Debolt

Selection Committee Comments

All four candidates for this year’s Planner of the Year have clearly demonstrated and embodied the values and mission of CEFPI.  They have each contributed significantly to the field of educational planning and facility design in Virginia.  In selecting the Planner of the Year, the committee considered the entire career of each nominee in regard to their impact on student learning, enhancing learning environments, and the legacy left by their work. 

The award recipient excelled in all of these areas and is a true advocate for providing excellence in student learning environments. Through the Planner of the Year’s vision and leadership the entire school division was transformed into a high achieving district with new educational facilities at the high, middle and elementary levels where students and teachers alike want to participate and learn.  This complete transformation has provided a new found sense of pride for students and members of the community.  This remarkable achievement has become the focus of a recent book entitled The Little School System That Could: Transforming a School District, by Daniel Duke.

It is the committee’s unanimous decision to award this year’s Virginia Planner of the Year Award to Dr. Thomas H. DeBolt, Superintendent of the Manassas Park City Schools.

Planner of the Year Committee Members

Paige Stutz, REFP, Program Administrator, Planning & Development, Chesapeake Public Schools
Douglas D.  Westmoreland, AIA, REFP, LEEP AP, Vice-President, Moseley Architects
Vijay Ramnarain, Architectural Consultant, Virginia Department of Education
Hunter Barnes, Architectural Consultant, Virginia Department of Education

AWARD DESCRIPTION

The annual Planner of the Year Award is the highest and most distinguished honor conferred by the VEFP. Selection is made by the Planner of the Year Committee. The Planner of the Year jury consists of the Immediate Past President as the Chairperson, plus one member appointed by each region.

Past Planner of the Year Award Winners

Click here to read about our past Planner of the Year Award winners.

  • 2008--Paige Stutz
  • 2007--Doug Westmoreland
  • 2006--Dr. Glen Earthman
  • 2005--Mr. Jim Copeland, AIA, REFP
  • 2004--Mr. William T. Brown, III, AIA, REFP, LEED AP
  • 2003--Dr. Linda LeMasters