Awards Gala

Ms. Irwin and Ms. Schall increase their students’ literacy skills and content knowledge by creating mini-library carts, filled with fictional and non-fictional books. Students select readings for discussion in literature circles, written reports, and learning ... more »

Mr. Sousa, Ms. Brousseau, and Mr. Hey develop a WeatherNet Classroom program to give students career-relevant experiences. Students collect and analyze weather data to generate daily weather forecasts, understand how weather affects culture and historical events, and learn ... more »

Through “Rising Stars,” Mr. Rosencranz and his partners seek to reduce the achievement gap in the Cheltenham School District by helping minority students to succeed in higher-level courses. Students learn technology and teachers use research-based strategies to ... more »

Mr. Jaffe and Ms. Block use handheld computers to increase their students’ knowledge across curricula. Using software, students personify characters from their readings, visualize the solar system, study plate tectonics, and collect and manipulate geographic data.

Mr. McNairy and his partners implement “Alternative Avenues,” a program that uses experiential-based activities to help at-risk students understand their civic responsibility. Students participate in several wilderness adventures including backpacking, ... more »

Integrating language arts with citizenship learning, Mr. Heilman and Ms. Meyer form an international ePal program. Students use a Web camera to see each other as they engage in discussions with peers throughout the world about customs, traditions, and beliefs. At the ... more »

Mr. Boehmer and Ms. Johnson enhance the science and environmental knowledge of their students through a project on ecosystems. Students form peer-learning groups to research an ecosystem of their choosing and use plants, animals, and materials to create an ecosystem in ... more »

Through the “Basketball Poets Program,” Ms. Mentzer and Ms. Allen use basketball to motivate students to analyze and write poetry. Students write an original poem to participate in the group. Dividing their time between basketball and poetry, students study ... more »

Mr. Julian and Mr. Cornish connect science and math to real-world experiences through a unit on motion. Students learn to use a motion detector, and explore the relationship between position- and velocity-time graphs.

To enhance their middle school students’ mathematics, science, and technology skills, Mr. Horowitz and Mr. Lapidus create a project focused on rotorcraft vehicles. Students apply mathematics and science theories to construct a full-size helicopter.

Connecting literature with science, Ms. Kirchmer and her partners design a project that investigates the biological and physiological effects of high-altitude hiking. After researching these effects, students read Into Thin Air and identify passages that describe the ... more »

Ms. Kalacheva and Mr. Keys develop an interdisciplinary project to motivate their minority students to learn German poetry. Students in German classes study German poetry and culture and compose and record music to accompany these poems. At the conclusion of the project, ... more »

Ms. McCool and her partners establish a writing center and implement the 6+1 Trait™ Writing model to enhance their students’ writing skills. Students demonstrate their reading and writing skills by creating a brochure on local history sites. To connect to their ... more »

With rising numbers of Mexican and other Latin American students attending their school, Ms. Koskie and Mr. Craner design a curriculum that explores Latin American cultures and builds community within the school. Students study the Latin American art, music, and dance of ... more »

Ms. Tuttle and Ms. Volain use botanical sculpture to integrate science and art. Students research invasive plants at local parks and design and construct a functional sculpture for their school courtyard. To share their learning with the community, students invite the media ... more »

Working with kindergarten teachers throughout the district, Ms. Burke and Ms. Rheaume integrate science and technology by creating a unit on the lunar moth and painted lady butterfly. Students participate in a field trip to the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory and Gardens ... more »

Mr. Soliday and his partners use “Inquiring Minds,” a program that integrates science and language arts, to build their students’ literacy and science inquiry skills. Combining the Four Blocks® Literacy Model with high-interest scientific materials, ... more »

To address the unique learning needs of their students, Ms. McGrath and her partner have created “History Smart Gallery Project.” Using a “Jeopardy” game show format, students learn about economics, folk music, and theater. At the project’s ... more »

Partnering with local schools, preservice teachers learn about adolescent development and behavior. Dr. Smith and Dr. Shumow solicit documentary autobiographies from adolescents, and edit the videotapes for classroom instruction. Students use the documentaries to reflect on ... more »

Collaborating with faculty from Tennessee Technical University, Mr. Schultz and Mr. Billings create “Writing and Technology,” a mentoring project among doctoral and fifth-grade students. The fifth-grade students explore different genres of literature and learn ... more »

Eighth-grade English language learners improve their literacy and science skills by creating laboratory manuals for elementary students. To develop these documents, the older students photograph each stage of the various experiments and add step-by-step instructions. To ... more »

Ms. Skelly and Ms. Tonaki build students’ knowledge of science and environmental issues through a curriculum on ecosystems. Students learn about local ecosystems, produce a musical on the environment, and investigate environmental preservation issues. As a final ... more »

With an integrated classroom, Ms. Hermstad and her partners use service learning to help students apply their content knowledge. Students identify a community problem and create short public service announcements to address the issue. After researching and filming a topic, ... more »

By integrating art across disciplines, Ms. Roach, Ms. Hameed, and Ms. Mackey develop thematic lessons to enhance their students’ critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Students learn how art affects their lives, from the clothing they wear to the houses in ... more »

The “Invasive Plant Field Study” project applies environmental science to the students’ lives. Mr. Rodrigues, Mr. Dashefsky, and Ms. LeBlonde help students conduct field research to investigate the detrimental effects invasive organisms and purple ... more »

In a four-week unit on human biology, ninth-grade students at Amity Junior High School create an illustrated children’s book on the human body. Students research a system in the human body, and then create a children’s book about that system. At the conclusion ... more »

Ms. Carlson, Ms. Kevorkian, and Ms. Namnoun-Allen design a multidisciplinary curriculum that improves students’ social studies, art, and literacy skills. Collaborating with a local museum, students research the history of one of Hartford’s landmarks, the ... more »

Ms. Pepin and Mr. Oystrick provide their inner-city students with opportunities to explore nature in several hands-on environmental activities. Students research and monitor water quality at a local park, teach lessons on nature to local elementary students, and participate ... more »

Ms. Mickey and Ms. Williams develop inquiry-based activities to help their students learn about marine ecosystems. Students research, write, and illustrate books on animals and explore current environmental issues. At the unit’s conclusion, students visit a floating ... more »

Students with special needs and those in general education classes collaborate to produce a school newspaper. Ms. Scott and her partners train students to use digital cameras and computer software, and lead a field trip to a local newspaper. After choosing a topic for their ... more »

Mr. Swann, Ms. Richardson, and Mr. Watson design an applied science unit on sound waves. After learning about sound, students work in groups to build musical instruments and create an original composition. Students perform and record their composition and use the recording ... more »

Collaborating with the University of Alabama, Ms. Alfreda Williams and Ms. JoAnne Williams create a summer school reading and acting program to improve the literacy skills of their disadvantaged students. Students study Greek mythology and other classical literature and ... more »

To become more effective writing teachers, Mr. Brown and his learning group study how writers write. Led by a consultant, the participating teachers work collaboratively in ten demonstration lessons on writing theory. Teachers, students, and literacy coaches work ... more »

Ms. Binz and her partners form In-Depth Study Groups through half-day workshops to help students read independently, understand and discuss books, and become life-long readers. After attending the Reading and Writing Institute at the Teacher’s College at ... more »

Ms. Ghinaudo and her partners form a learning group to create campus-based science teacher resource centers. Each campus will host six students whose work will be assessed and teachers will engage in book study using books chosen by students. Lessons are recorded ... more »

Ms. Carroll and her partners form a study group to examine the connection between illustrations and literacy. Teachers develop lesson plans to teach kindergarten students to become authors and illustrators. Study-group participants meet twice per month to evaluate ... more »

Ms. Delgado leads a study group on gender preferences and education. Participants will facilitate single-sex reading clubs for low-performing reading students to determine the various responses of boys and girls to reading materials. During each school day, ... more »

Ms. Mercural and her partners form a study group to learn about the most current and effective ways to teach reading comprehension. Teachers meet with each other to develop reading comprehension strategies and lesson plans for struggling readers in their classrooms, ... more »

Ms. Eldridge and her partners form a study group to identify strategies to improve three specific areas of student writing: writing effective beginnings, using satisfactory endings, and including supporting details. Teachers read “6 + 1 Traits of Writing” ... more »

Ms. Rumph and Ms. Kinder form a mathematics learning group to increase student achievement by expanding their knowledge of the curriculum. Participants review research literature about teaching mathematics and view videos on how to use student work to assess student ... more »

Ms. Anderson leads a study group involving two groups of middle school mathematics teachers who increase their knowledge of mathematics, improve their assessment of student learning, and improve the quality of their lessons. Through two lesson study groups, teachers ... more »

Ms. Crowe learns how to create a community-based remedial program to help improve mathematics and reading skills of students. She participates in workshops sponsored by the Mott Foundation that address program management, curriculum integration, staff development, and ... more »

As he analyzes how his teaching methods enhance individual student learning, Mr. Lodwig prepares for National Board Certification. He reflects on the teaching and learning strategies he uses to enhance student achievement, collaborates with colleagues to analyze student ... more »

Ms. Batt-Behar attends the Digital Storytelling Conference and Festival in June 2004 to learn the principals and practices of digital storytelling. She uses what she learns to improve the communication skills of her English-language-learner students, who create digital ... more »

Ms. Koch, who is well-versed on the Latin American culture and language, travels to Spain to capture in-depth knowledge of Spanish culture and society. In July 2004, she enrolls in several university programs to learn vocabulary, dance, and teaching techniques that are ... more »

Heritage Elementary School’s kindergarten team—which includes a school psychologist, speech pathologist, and a paraprofessional—learn about neurodevelopment and associated learning difficulties. The team devises a developmental learning profile for each ... more »

Ms. Melchior and her partners form a study group to learn best practices for mentoring pre-service and beginning teachers. Bi-weekly, the group meets and discusses data on current mentoring relationships and creates a framework for the district to use to develop and train ... more »

To reduce the attrition rate at their school, Ms. Abitabilo and her partners analyze teacher efficacy, its relationship to increasing student achievement, and its decline in teachers who teach less than ten years. Once a month the group explores issues such as classroom ... more »

Joining Earthwatch Research in summer 2004, Ms. Shaw explores orcas, a species of endangered whales that show high levels of toxins in their tissues. She travels to Puget Sound in Washington to track and observe orca behaviors. From this research, she develops a unit on ... more »

During the summer 2004, Ms. Dinarello and her partners—who include teachers across Massachusetts—travel to East Africa as part of a Fulbright Scholarship to learn about Muslim societies in Kenya and Tanzania. The group visits mosques, schools, and cultural sites ... more »