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GSP Surprises Teachers with $112,000 in TeacherPreneur Grants

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Great Schools Partnership surprised 23 Knox County Schools teachers in October with TeacherPreneur grants totaling $112,399. Great Schools delivered this year’s biggest grant to second grade teacher Amanda Callahan-Mims at Spring Hill Elementary Community School.

Callahan-Mims received $20,000 to fund the creation of an outdoor learning space that incorporates a Music, Art, Science and Sensory Therapy (MASST) approach to encourage student learning and positive behavior. Callahan-Mims’ proposed MAAST approach supports social and emotional learning by providing sensory stimulation through gardening, musical experiences, art stations and areas for large group hands-on learning. This engagement with nature has been proven to lower stress levels in students thus strengthening their readiness to learn. The MAAST approach has been proven to be especially beneficial for students who may be struggling with social/emotional issues.

This is the fifth year that Great Schools Partnership has partnered with Knox County Schools to offer teachers funding to pursue their creative ideas in the classroom through its TeacherPreneur grant program. Since the program’s inception, Great Schools has awarded $541,000 to 68 Knox County teachers.

“Our teachers are always looking for better ways to reach and engage their students. With the TeacherPreneur grants, we’re partnering with teachers to turn their innovative teaching ideas into reality,” said Stephanie Welch, president of Great Schools Partnership. “While teachers are the recipients of the awards, it is Knox County’s 60,000 students who are the true beneficiaries of this program.”

Great Schools received 71 entries for this year’s TeacherPreneur grants. The 23 winning teachers were awarded grants ranging from $1,100 to $20,000 from the Great Schools Partnership. The amount of each grant is based on the winning teacher’s individual request.

TeacherPreneur is a grant award program funded by Great Schools Partnership and administered in partnership with Knox County Schools. It aims to promote KCS teachers as educational leaders and creative problem solvers by encouraging them to use their expertise and creativity to improve the district and the learning opportunities provided to Knox County students. All full-time Knox County teachers are eligible.

14 Teachers Receive $100,000 in TeacherPreneur Grants from Great Schools Partnership

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Green Magnet Academy received TeacherPreneur grant from Great Schools Partnership to purchase Virtual Reality Learning package.

Green Magnet Academy’s Sandy Morris received a TeacherPreneur grant from Great Schools Partnership to purchase Virtual Reality Learning  technology for the school.

Fourteen Knox County Schools teachers received grants totally more than $100,000 from the Great Schools Partnership this month.

This is the third year that the Great Schools Partnership has offered teachers funding to pursue their creative ideas in the classroom through its TeacherPreneur Grant Program

“We received the largest number of proposals to date – 54, so choosing our winners was definitely not an easy task,” said Stephanie Welch, Great Schools Partnership’s interim president. “Each project represents the creativity of KCS teachers in bringing innovative, out-of-the-box thinking to their instruction. Some of the projects are brand new, ground breaking ideas. Others are based on existing ideas or technology, but with a new twist to meet the unique needs of the students in their classroom.”

The Great Schools Partnership worked with Knox County School’s Office of Innovation and a team of teacher/peer grant reviewers to vet the applications, interview finalists and choose this year’s winners.

Two of the winners, Sandy Morris from Green Magnet Academy and Rich McKinney from Vine Middle School, received funding for Virtual Reality technology to use in their schools.

“We really think our students will love this new technology,” said Sandy Morris, the magnet coordinator at Green Magnet Academy. “The Virtual Reality kit allows our students to experience the topics they’re learning. It’s the difference between being told the Great Pyramid is 481 feet tall and standing next to the structure and looking at how high it is.”

The following educators were this year’s TeacherPreneur grant recipients.

Knox County School Educator
South Doyle High School Emily Frei
Dogwood Elementary Nancy Friedrich
Green Magnet Academy Tommie Branscum
Green Magnet Academy Sandy Morris
Vine Middle School Rich McKinney
Beaumont Magnet Academy Cheryl Burchett
Rocky Hill Elementary Jordan Haney
Hardin Valley Academy John Tilson
Hardin Valley Academy Andre Caballero
Hardin Valley Academy Frank Chen
Ridgedale Alternative School Miller Foutch
Northwest Middle School Melanie McCardel
Central High School Jennifer Sullivan

TeacherPreneur is a grant award program funded by Great Schools Partnership and administered in partnership with Knox County Schools Office of Innovation. In alignment with the Knox County School’s strategic plan, TeacherPreneur aims to promote KNS teachers as educational leaders and creative problem solvers by encouraging them to use their expertise and creativity to improve our district and the learning opportunities we provide Knox County students. All full-time Knox County teachers are eligible for the awards. For more information on TeacherPreneur and the Great Schools Partnership, please go to: https://www.greatschoolspartnership.com/teacherpreneur/.

The Great Schools Partnership serves as a catalyst, think tank, incubator, start-up funder and operational partner for Knox County Schools. Together, we are working to create the best school system in the South.

TeacherPreneur Grant Winners Announced

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Forty-five entries. Twelve winning ideas. Congratulations to this year’s TeacherPreneurs! These Knox County teachers embody the spirit of innovation and we’re eager to see their ideas come to life.

Great Schools Partnership received an $85,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help fund this year’s TeacherPreneur grant program. TeacherPreneur is an a initiative of Great Schools Partnership and KCS Office of Innovation that invites Knox County teachers to be creative problem solvers by developing new instructional ideas to improve student learning. The most promising ideas are identified by a panel of educational experts and funded by Great Schools for pilot testing. Results are carefully measured, and successful pilots may be scaled up and shared with others.

 

Please note: Some of the winning ideas were joint proposals among multiple teachers, but checks we delivered to the Lead Teacher listed on the submissions.

Apply for a TeacherPreneur Grant

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Great Schools Partnership has received an $85,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help fund this year’s TeacherPreneur grant program!

TeacherPreneur, an a initiative of Great Schools and KCS Office of Innovation, invites Knox County teachers to be creative problem solvers by developing new instructional ideas to improve student learning. The most promising ideas are identified by a panel of educational experts and funded by Great Schools for pilot testing. Results are carefully measured, and successful pilots may be scaled up and shared with others.

Learn How to Apply for TeacherPreneur

If you know a Knox County teacher who may be interested in applying, please share this with them.

Thank A Teacher Week Starts Monday

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Thank A Teacher logo 2015 copyMaybe it was the third grade teacher whose volcano experiment launched your passion for science, or the high school English teacher who coaxed the creation of an inspiring college essay. We each have an experience with a teacher who made a difference in our lives, and now we can make a difference in theirs. The Great Schools Partnership invites the community to help us say thank you and celebrate the work of our Knox County Educators during the week of September 28 – October 2, 2015.

Top 10 Ways to “Thank A Teacher”

1. Send a handwritten note of thanks to a teacher in your community.
2. Deliver a basket of homemade goodies to the office for teachers to enjoy.
3. Learn what teachers want or need in their classroom and approach local business about helping out with that need.
4. Use the Twitter hashtag #KCSThankATeacher to spread the word.
5. Learn about the Knox County Council PTA, or your local unit PTA, and get involved.
6. Say “Thank You!”
7. Show appreciation to all teachers, including those that may be neighbors, church members, or people that attend your gym.
8. Offer to help by volunteering, donating or getting the word out about a school or classroom event.
9. Share your success with a teacher who made a difference in your life.
10. Display a Thank A Teacher poster.

TeacherPreneur 2015 to be announced during Thank A Teacher Week!
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on the grant program that encourages teachers to use their expertise and creativity to improve our district and the learning opportunities we provide to Knox County students.

Hardin Valley World Language, TeacherPreneur Grant

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Our students are benefiting from the generous TeacherPreneur grant! The iPad Minis arrived and were loaded with tracking software and several apps. Micki Daniels, Technology Specialist for Knox County, provided a PLC training for HVA’s World Language teachers, and students are now using them.

iPads connect world languages

iPads connect world languages.

One class is using the iPads to research famous Latinos and create a presentation. Students record their presentation and share it for peer editing. Post feedback, they re-record the presentation and place it in their digital portfolio, which is maintained on Canvas.

Another class is using the iPads to address the challenges of education in Spanish speaking countries. Through research, the students gain understanding of the disparities in many Spanish-speaking countries. They are designing a campaign to illustrate how the private sector in Latin American schools can enrich student learning and will demonstrate how investing in children means investing in future productive adult citizens. They will produce a commercial, interview, or radio spot and send their message to contacts abroad. The goal is a school-created product that can be applied in the real world to make a difference.

In French I, the devices are saving so much class time, as students can upload speaking interviews all at once. Before, the teacher had to listen to individual students or groups in the hallway while the other students did a writing activity in the classroom. AP students are thrilled to practice their interpersonal and presentational speaking with the iPads, and HVA’s AP Coordinator is considering use of the iPads during exams. Practicing with the software prior to the exam will remove the fear of the unknown for students – and perhaps will make taking exams more fun!