ING Unsung Heroes® Previous Award Winners

Johnson’s innovative “Parent Resource Lending Library” is her winning program designed to help build community and encourage families to view Goose Bay Elementary as an inviting place that nourishes the relationship between home and school. Parents will have a place to comfortably visit with other parents, interact with their children and use learning materials, and they will have the ability to check several different kinds of materials out.

“Green Learning Lab” is Ball’s winning program. Judsonia Elementary lacks an area for students to observe nature and its surroundings. They currently have 12-foot-by-12-foot planter beds for each grade level to enhance their learning experiences. Designed to benefit all 330 students in grades kindergarten through sixth, the finalization of the Green Lab will enhance their learning process and meet the required Arkansas Standards. They will be able to observe environmental changes, and record and compile data that will then be turned into charts, graphs and photos.

“Geometry in Construction Alternative Energy Initiative” is Burke’s winning innovative project where his ninth and 10^th grade geometry students will gain practical knowledge by applying academic know-how to the construction of a home for local housing initiative. Expanding on the current Geometry in Construction program, Burke, with the use of the ING grant, will integrate alternative energy components into existing curriculum, allowing the students to develop effective strategies, lessons and models in the hands-on labs.

Cook’s “Powerful Numbers Expedition” winning project will help her Algebra II students with the analytical skills they need to conduct compelling, data-driven advocacy campaigns. The Capital City Public Charter School students, who mostly come from low-income environments, will be able to use the numeracy skills gained through this project to articulate logical positions derived through data analysis. Unique to this project is that the entire lens of the mathematics instruction will be the examination and manipulation of HIV/AIDS data pertaining to Washington, D.C.’s public health crisis.

Werbrich’s winning project, “Leasure’s Math POWER Band Program”, is for the students in grades two through five at Leasure Elementary, to be motivated to become more proficient in math and ultimately more successful in the classroom and on achievement tests.

Ko’s winning innovative project, “Second Grade Book Swap”, stresses the  importance of early reading and will allow parents and children at Kalei’opu’u to have new books to read weekly without having to spend time or resources purchasing or sourcing new books. Because of the ING grant, each week all 150 second-grade students will get an envelope of books and then swap with another child the next week.

“Cutting Edge English” is Cantrall’s winning project that is designed to take the curriculum content to another level by incorporating technology to have students convert a chapter of the book, The Outsiders, into a script, perform the script, videotape the performance and appropriately edit the performance. This will require students at Peet Junior High School to analyze the chapter in great detail and have a strong understanding of each of the roles and components of the story line. The drama and poetry units will also be impacted.

Birch’s “Rainforest Technology” will allow her second-grade students at Mary McPherson Elementary to investigate and report about a rainforest animal, using one of the five classroom computers or an Apple iPad purchased with the ING grant funds to research information. Students will then present their Microsoft PowerPoint presentations to parents using the classroom document camera/projector and REDCAT Speaker system at a class produced Rainforest Exhibition. Guests will also get to eat foods from the rainforest.

“Check it Out: An Engaging Classroom Math Library” is Leliaert’s winning project designed to engage students and foster the development of a deeper understanding of math concepts. Through the project, students at Maxwell Intermediate School will be able to check out mathematical activities that encourage parents and siblings to explore math challenges through family-friendly activities. The “take-home bag” will consist of a book, manipulatives, family-friendly directions and a notebook for recording strategies used in the activities.