As we begin 2025, we're excited about our first-ever Empowering Educators Fellowship! Last semester, to inspire and support our teachers, we invited any interested UCPS teachers to submit proposals for projects that would increase student engagement, promote creativity, improve learning outcomes, and foster a lifelong love of learning. Three winners were chosen by our selection committee to receive up to $1,000 to implement these innovative and creative projects in their classrooms.
After careful review of many outstanding applications, our committee has selected three exceptional teachers who have demonstrated a commitment to innovation and student engagement. Please join us in congratulating Abby Wheaton, Sakara Bruce, and Margie McGraw! We're incredibly proud of these educators and excited to see the positive impact their projects will have on our students. Here are descriptions of each of their cool, innovative projects!
Abby Wheaton
Ever wonder how villains are made? 🤔 At Union County Middle School, GT students in Abigail Wheaton's class will be exploring the "Villain's Journey!" Using Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey" as a guide, they'll create their own villains, design a board game based on their story, and even make their own comic books! This innovative project, funded by the Empowering Educators Fellowship, is all about student-driven learning and creative expression. What an amazing opportunity for creativity in the classroom!
Sakara Bruce
Learning is about to get a whole lot more fun at Sturgis Elementary! 🎉 Congrats to Sakara Bruce, recipient of the Empowering Educators Fellowship, for bringing Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs) into the classroom! Students will learn history, math, and more through exciting, interactive gameplay. This is such an exciting opportunity for our students!
Margie McGraw
Thanks to Mrs. McGraw, UCHS students will have an even cooler way to learn coding – with programmable robots called Seekers!
These robots will allow students to put their coding skills to the test in real-world scenarios, making learning more engaging and practical. Students can design, program, and solve problems with the Seekers, fostering creativity, teamwork, and critical thinking.
This project will not only benefit the 69 students enrolled this year, but also an average of 75 students annually! Plus, the Seekers can be used to showcase the Computer Programming Pathway at parent nights and even lead coding sessions for younger students, sparking their interest in STEM education. What an amazing way to empower future generations of coders!
We're so proud of all of our teachers and their creative ideas! We can't way to see these exciting projects in action!
