Exemplary School Designation

Photo by Jati Lindsay

The Arts Schools Network (ASN), in collaboration with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Precollegiate Arts Schools (ACCPAS), has devoted significant effort to defining, supporting, and assessing exemplary practices in arts education. Each year, the Art Schools’ Network Exemplary Schools Award celebrates schools that exemplify excellence in arts education through innovative practice, inclusive culture, and sustained commitment to student growth. 

This designation is designed to honor schools that not only achieve high standards in arts education but also serve as models for creative learning and leadership across the nation. Beginning this year, the application has been redesigned around five shared beliefs that reflect ASN’s core principles of exemplary arts education. Each belief highlights a key area of practice and invites schools to reflect deeply on how these principles come to life in their programs.

Key areas of Practice:

• Curriculum                      
• Leadership
• Teaching and learning
• Community engagement
• Sustainability

Each section includes:

• An “Our Shared Belief” statement defining the principle.
• Reflective writing prompts to guide your school’s 500-word narrative.
• A corresponding rubric that assesses both the narrative and supporting documentation is provided at the end of the application.

We encourage schools to not only describe their programs, but also to reflect on purpose, practice, and impact, celebrating what is strong while acknowledging aspirations for continued growth. Our goal is to make this process reflective, equitable, and meaningful.  We hope that in applying, you find renewed clarity in your school’s vision, renewed pride in your community’s accomplishments, and renewed inspiration for the work ahead.

The ASN Exemplary Schools Committee looks forward to learning from your journey and celebrating your commitment to advancing arts education for all.

View Application Overview HERE

2026 Program Timeline

• January 6, 2026: Annual Application Portal Opens
• March 31, 2026: Application/Nomination deadline
  
• May 8, 2026: Award Winner notification
• October 20-22, 2026: Recognition/Presentation at 2026 Annual Conference, San Diego, CA

Nominations for ASN’s Exemplary Designation

Nominations are completed online through Acceptd. Users must create an account in Acceptd. Before making your nomination, please review the Exemplary School Designation: How to Apply linked below to learn what is required.

Supporting documents will be a part of the official nomination. Presentation of materials is considered and may be posted on our website as examples to motivate future applicants. 

Fees:  The application fee is $225 which may be paid by credit card through the online portal. Please contact ASN if payment by check is needed ([email protected].)

To achieve and maintain Exemplary School status through ASN, the school must be a member in good standing (current membership dues paid and timely renewal received). Designations last for five years. After five years, designated schools must submit a full application to be considered again.

Award Winners Receive:

• ASN press release
• Engraved award presented at annual conference
• Use of the ASN Award winner logo
• One discounted conference registration ($250)

 For questions, please contact: [email protected]

Apply Here!

Note: While the designation indicates exemplary practice, it does not represent or replace any accreditation or certification of schools or their programs. From ACCPAS’s inception, ASN has been involved in drafting and revising accreditation standards; it continues to support ACCPAS in developing and implementing its accreditation system. ASN encourages member schools to pursue accreditation, if they deem it appropriate, as a means of developing and recognizing the achievements of the institution.

"The ASN Exemplary Schools Designation is a wonderful way to show our community that the work our teachers and students do every day is being recognized. It validates our efforts in providing an engaging, challenging, and rewarding arts program to our students and lets prospective students and parents know that there is a small but mighty school that can help them get one step closer to their dreams!" ~Anne Maschler, Principal, Art Theater Entertainment School (ArTES), San Fernando, California  

 “The [ASN Exemplary School application] exercise was incredibly productive. I would encourage every school to go through the process. It raised more relevant questions and caused us to re-evaluate our approaches. Interestingly, I received some push-back about the need for change given our successes … your self-assessment made the team realize that we owed it to our faculty, students, and community to always keep moving and changing.” ~Scott Walker, former Principal, Las Vegas Academy for the Arts, Las Vegas, NV