Seven Award Winning Programs Open Up Classrooms Beyond School Walls and Into Communities

Canadian educators honoured with the Ken Spencer Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

TORONTO, March 1, 2013 /CNW/ - Educators from across the country have developed ambitious school-wide initiatives where students are driven by their own curiosity and community involvement, and in the process are creating exemplar program models for other school districts to follow.

For more details on the winning projects, visit: www.cea-ace.ca/kenspenceraward

For a booklet on all 15 Ken Spencer Award finalists:
http://cea-ace.s3.amazonaws.com/media/CEA-2013-Ken-Spencer-Award-Finalists-Booklet.pdf

First Place	Le Studio PURE Engaging students through active community entrepreneurship	École Camille-Vautour - District scolaire francophone Sud Saint-Antoine, New Brunswick
Second Place	Saint Anne's Inquiry-based Learning Community Hallways filled with students' projects help them to articulate their learning	Saint Anne School - Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Honourable Mention	HWDSB Commons A district wide blogging network that hones students' digital citizenship	Hamilton Wentworth District School Board Hamilton, Ontario
Honourable Mention	HGI News and Entertainment Telling the neighbourhood's story, one broadcast at a time	Henry G. Izatt Middle School - Pembina Trails School Division Winnipeg, Manitoba
Honourable Mention	Summer Learning Gets R.E.A.L. (Resilient, Engaged, Active, Learning) A summer school like no other gives at-risk students a new outlook for the fall	School District 42 - Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Pitt Meadows, B.C.
Honourable Mention	The High School Flexibility Enhancement Pilot Project Students are now unable to go unnoticed and fall between the cracks	Wm. E. Hay Composite High School - Clearview School Division #71 Stettler, Alberta
Honourable Mention	Académie Parhélie Opening minds beyond school walls	École Émilie-Tremblay - Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon Whitehorse, Yukon

Some of these winning entries retool the notion of classrooms with fast-paced real-world creative and entrepreneurial focused projects that include student flex time, collaborative learning labs, and the active participation of community organizations and businesses; while others centre on teachers building deeper connections, trust, and engagement with their students - many of whom are high-risk and special needs learners.

"It's encouraging to see education leaders who have made the courageous decision to address student engagement throughout their schools to tackle all of their students' diverse learning needs," says Canadian Education Association (CEA) President & CEO Ron Canuel.

Ken Spencer Award recognition ceremonies are being planned in the communities of each of the seven winners. This is the fourth year of this award, and CEA would like to thank all of the school and school district staff for their time and effort in the preparation of nomination packages.

The Ken Spencer Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning was established with the generous contribution of Dr. Ken Spencer to recognize and publicize innovative work that is sustainable and has the potential of being taken up by others; to encourage a focus on transformative change in schools; and to provide profile for classroom innovation within school districts, schools, and the media. http://www.cea-ace.ca/kenspenceraward

Founded in 1891, the Canadian Education Association (CEA) is a network of passionate educators advancing ideas for greater student and teacher engagement in public education. CEA does this by conducting research and spreading useful ideas through its publications, website, workshops, symposia, blog, videos, and social media channels, and supporting education systems to be more adaptive to the rapidly changing needs of all learners in an effort to reverse the trend of students 'tuning out' of their learning opportunities. http://www.cea-ace.ca

 

SOURCE: Canadian Education Association

Max Cooke
CEA Director of Communications (bilingual)
416-427-6454
[email protected]   Twitter: @max_cooke