The people engaged in the long and hard work of serving individuals who have fallen through the cracks of the nation’s educational system are not often recognized. The organizers of the Alternative Accountability Policy Forum are seeking to change that.

This year’s conference — an annual gathering of educators and advocates working to better demonstrate appropriate and accurate accountability across all types of schools and programs — will feature the inaugural Reaching At-Promise Student Awards, which spotlight the work being done to support students across the country.

Nominations for the Courage, Heart and Vision awards — intended for students, educators and administrators, respectively — are being taken through Sept. 30.

This year’s forum will also welcome for the first time representatives from Policy Analysis for California Education, who will be writing the annual conference report. PACE is an independent, nonpartisan research center based at Stanford University, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Davis, which seeks to define and sustain a long-term strategy for comprehensive policy reform and continuous improvement in performance at all levels of California’s education system.

Other presenters will include Jennifer Brown Lerner of the American Youth Policy Forum, Jennifer DePaoli of Civic Enterprises, Russ Rumberger of the California Dropout Research Project, Andrew Moore of the National League of Cities, and others who are striving to improve accountability for schools and programs serving at-risk students.