Add as a preferred source on Google

Winners of Sally Ride-Deloitte Awards for Teaching Innovation in STEM Announced; Teacher-Created Computer Programming Curriculum Takes Top Prize

  • 03/02/15

San Diego, Calif. – Sally Ride Science today announced the winners of a nationwide contest for K-12 educators in the U.S. to recognize innovations in instruction related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as STEM careers.

The Sally Ride-Deloitte Award for Teaching Innovation in STEM, launched in summer 2014, received more than 100 entries from across the United States. Entries were submitted via Sally Ride Science’s STEMCentral.com, an online library of resources for educators where the winning entries may be viewed.

The winners were chosen by a panel of judges that included: Ira Flatow, the award-winning TV journalist and host of PRI’s Science Friday radio show; René McCormick, Executive Director of Science Programs at the National Math and Science Initiative; and Dr. Sandra Magnus, former NASA astronaut and Executive Director at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

The first-place winner is Ryan York, an administrator at RePublic Schools in Tennessee and Mississippi. His innovation—a free, open-source computer programming curriculum and teacher training program—was hailed by the judges as one that “fills a practical need and looks toward the future,” and that “hopes to shatter the statistic that not a single female, African-American, or Latino student took the AP Computer Science Exam in Mississippi.”

RePublic Schools will be receiving a $5,000 cash prize as well as a Sally Ride STEM License (valued at $3,500)—which will deliver innovative online professional development, dozens of Teacher Guides with lessons and activities, and interactive eBooks to an entire RePublic school.

"At RePublic, we’re teaching our scholars — most of whom come from low-income backgrounds — to code because we believe it will help them break the cycle of poverty," said Lee Pedinoff, Director of Talent and Development for RePublic Schools. "We are honored to be the grand prize winner and are fired up to leverage the Sally Ride platform with our scholars and teachers."

Cofounder and CEO of Sally Ride Science Dr. Tam O’Shaughnessy says of the contest, “Introducing students to the opportunities in STEM fields is a growing priority throughout our educational system. We know that we need to cultivate scientific literacy throughout the K-12 years, and teachers will be the ones to make that happen. We are grateful that Deloitte has generously taken this step with us, to reward the ideas that are already out there, and spur even more innovation around STEM learning in the years ahead.”

Two second-prize winners each received $2,500 for their schools, and Sally Ride STEM Licenses for their schools as well. Additionally, there were five third-place finishers, each of whom earned a $1,000 award for their schools. To view winning entries, visit: https://sallyridescience.com/stem-central/innovation-award-2014

Featured

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • How One School Reimagined Learning Spaces—and What Others Can Learn

    When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tenn., needed a new elementary building, we faced the choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be. Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them.

  • UC Riverside Completes $285M, Multi-School Student Housing Development

    The University of California, Riverside, recently announced the completion of a $285-million student housing complex offering 1,568 beds across 429 units, according to a news release.

  • Tennessee Tech Starts Construction on New ACME Building

    Tennessee Tech University recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Advanced Construction and Manufacturing Engineering (ACME) Building on its campus in Cookeville, Tenn., according to university news. The $89.6-million facility is the second in a recent expansion of the College of Engineering’s buildings on campus. It’s currently scheduled to open at the end of 2028.

Digital Edition