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	Last updated 6.15.05

Innovation Grants: Winter 2003 Recipients

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CONNECTICUT

Frank LaBanca, Stamford
9th to 12th Grade Teacher
Newtown High School
Partner: Tara Coelho
Partnering with a local marine environmental organization, Mr. LaBanca and Ms. Coelho have designed a hands-on, inquiry-based scientific study for their disadvantaged biology and mathematics students. Students conduct field research on Holly Pond, an enclosed salt-water pond, to assess how water quality affects organisms in Long Island Sound. At the conclusion of the study, students present their research to the community during a symposium.

FLORIDA

Priscilla Kurceba, Jacksonville
4th and 5th Grade Teacher
West Riverside Elementary School
Partner: Nicole Cotton
Ms. Kurceba and Ms. Cotton lead their fourth-grade students on a multidisciplinary journey of the Elizabethan era. Assuming roles as writer, historian, and artist, students study Shakespeare and the period in preparation to host a Shakespeare Festival. Students learn calligraphy to create invitations and a playbill, and design and build props for the festival. After working with local high school drama students to learn acting skills, the fourth-grade students perform two Shakespearean plays and period dances at the festival.

ILLINOIS

Tod Schnowske, Plainfield
Service Learning Coordinator
Plainfield School District 202
Partners: Cindy Alcott, Alan Bank
Mr. Schnowske, Ms. Alcott, and Mr. Bank collaborate with a landscape architect to provide a hands-on environmental biology experience for emotionally disabled students at Plainfield High School. Students research plants and meet with the architect and community leaders to plan, design, and create a community landscape. After deciding on a site and selecting plants for the landscape, students develop a cost analysis for the project, make scale drawings of the site, and present their design to the community.

MAINE

Ellen Holmes, Bangor
4th Grade Teacher
Fairmount Elementary School
Partner: Mary Lindsay
With "Living and Working in Space," Ms. Holmes and Ms. Lindsay collaborate with NASA education specialists, local scientists, and engineering students to create a scientific design challenge to teach their fourth-grade students about Newton's Laws and introduce them to careers in science. Students work in teams to develop a balloon-powered rocket car that can travel the longest distance. Once the students test and refine their design, they make a presentation on the design's effectiveness.

WISCONSIN

Robin Booth, Milwaukee
2nd Grade Teacher
Garfield Elementary School
Partners: Mary Little, John Thomas
Ms. Booth, Ms. Little, and Mr. Thomas create a home-school connection through "Super Science Friday Clubs." Each week, students conduct inquiry-based science experiments. The teachers give students materials to recreate and build on these experiments at home with their parents. After completing the assignments, students and their families answer open-ended questions and share their discoveries on the school web site.