Collinsville Middle School has entered the 2019-20 Follett Challenge and needs community support to win $5,000 in the video portion of the challenge and points in the overall competition.
Collinsville CUSD 10 schools partners with Follett for library resources. The Follett Challenge asks schools to highlight innovative programs that “change the way you teach and your students learn.” Schools that earn top recognition in the contest earn a share of $200,000 in Follett products and services.
Michael Hayman, library/media specialist at CMS, submitted the CUSD 10 “Digital Citizenship – #thekahokway” online program. The program is designed to “Engage and educate the Collinsville Community about the dangers, benefits, and best practices of the digital realm,” says Hayman. Students, staff, and families access monthly collections to read, listen, discuss and watch specially selected resources.
If Collinsville Middle School’s Follett Challenge submission is successful, they have a chance at one of the 19 prizes that will be awarded to recognize the most unique and inventive K-12 program. In addition to completing an online application for the annual Follett Challenge, Collinsville Middle School also submitted a short video to promote its program that teaches students the 21st century skills they need to be prepared for life.
Ten of the prizes, valued at $5,000 each, to be given away are from the People’s Choice category and will solely be based on how many votes applicants have received for their videos from the public. Video voting begins January 20, 2020. Collinsville Middle School’s video is posted on the Follett Challenge website at THIS LINK.
After registering, users can cast one vote per day through January 24, 2020, at 4:00 pm CST when voting ends. Not only are the public’s votes significant in the video-voting portion of the contest, but they also will play a role in the overall rubric as twenty-percent of each school’s final score is based on the number of votes generated for their video.
“We hope our community will support us by viewing our video and voting for our submission,” said Michael Hayman, Library/Media Specialist. “Participating in the Follett Challenge recognizes our educators for the great job they are doing with the limited resources they have and, should we win, reward them with resources to do more. It also will give our educators here a platform to share their innovation with other schools across the country and throughout the world.”
With a total prize value of $200,000 USD in products and services from Follett – a global education solutions leader – the overall winner will earn a $30,000 USD prize. Each of the other eight Semi-Finalists will earn $15,000 USD prizes. The 10 People’s Choice awards are worth $5,000 each in products and services. This year’s Follett Challenge will honor a total of nine Semi-Finalist winners, three winners in each of the following categories: elementary, middle and high school.
The judges will be seeking applications that illustrate critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration between students and among teachers and other members of the school staff. The winners of the 2020 Follett Challenge, including the Grand-Prize winner will be announced March 23, 2020.