Nominate remarkable Northeast Ohio high school students, teachers and coaches for the

CLEVELAND, Ohio– Want to celebrate a remarkable young adult, high school teacher or coach in your community? Look no further than the 2022 High School Standouts Awards, which is accepting nominations beginning Tuesday.

The program presented by Advance Ohio, which includes The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, will honor Northeast Ohio high school students, teachers and coaches for their stories of triumph in and out of the classroom.

They will be honored June 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Agora Theater and Ballroom in Cleveland. More than 400 people are expected to attend the red-carpet event, which is inspired by other awards shows like the Academy Awards and the ESPYs.

Honorees will attend the event at no cost thanks to donations from local businesses, said Beate Blaich-Smith, the manager of Midwest event marketing for Advance Ohio.

“We really want to make sure with this program to capture almost all areas of high school life,” she said.

The program is not a “one size fits all” event; students from public or underfunded schools are highly encouraged to participate, Blaich-Smith said.

The event will feature a red carpet and photo opportunities and a mocktail hour. The event will also feature a performance from the Cavaliers Scream Team.

Local and celebrity guest speakers will include Terry Pluto, columnist and sportswriter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer; Katie Nageotte, a Lakewood native who won a gold medal in pole vaulting at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; Cleveland Guardians mascot Slider; Rocky River native and TikTok star Sir Yacht; Ethan Holmes, a Shaker Heights native and entrepreneur who founded Holmes Mouthwatering Applesauce; and Lisa Quine, a local artist and creative consultant.

How it works

Any high school student, teacher or coach in Northeast Ohio can participate. To nominate, go here. The deadline is March 22, 2022.

The following are required for the submission process :

• Brief description of what the individual has done or is doing to become a standout in their category (no more than 200 words)
• Nominee details (Full name, high school, city, postal code, current year in school)
• Nominee’s legal guardian details (Full name, phone number, email address)
• Nominator’s details (Full name)

A voting board comprised of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer editorial, sports and marketing staff members will review nominations from March 22 until April 22. Honorees will be notified the week of April 24.

There will be 19 award categories to choose from, and the winners of each category will be announced live at the event. Winners will also be recognized in a special section in the Plain Dealer and on cleveland.com on Sunday, June 19.