AdvancED STEM Certification provides a proven, research-based framework and criteria from which to assess and validate the quality, rigor, and substance of STEM educational programs. AdvancED STEM Certification is a mark of STEM distinction and excellence for those institutions that are granted the certification.
The Five Star School Award was created by the Commissioner's Community Involvement Council and is presented annually to those schools that have shown evidence of exemplary community involvement. In order to earn Five Star School recognition, a school must show documentation that it has achieved 100 percent of the established criteria in the following categories. Schools must also earn a grade of "C" or above, or school improvement rating of "maintaining or improving" for the year of nomination.