2009-2010 Winners

Jodi Cusick-Acosta (Spanish Teacher), Rebeca Garcia (Special Services Teacher), Tiffany Heinlein (Counselor), Vernon Hills High School -- Latino Leadership Team:  A full day leadership team building event will be held to develop a Latino Leadership Committee. The training will include low and high ropes courses. Topics featured include working with others, reaching out to the community, finding commonalities among one another, and what it takes to be a good leader. The group will then work together to provide translation services at evening programs and events for parents. 

Andrea Townsend (Speech-Language Pathologist), Libertyville and Vernon Hills High Schools -- Social Thinking Curriculum:  Addressing the needs of students with social-cognitive deficits, this program will be introduced at both schools. The speech-language pathologist will work with the Special Services social workers at each school to run groups that will teach this curriculum to the students.  The grant money would be used to purchase materials (books, posters, DVDs) for both schools. 

Tiffany Heinlein (Counselor), Wendy Meister-Louria (English Teacher), Vernon Hills High School -- Culture, Identity, and Knowledge: Ernesto Mejia student Lunch & Learn and Latino Parent/Student evening Program:  This program will cover issues of identity and culture and how they impact our lives. The student portion of this program will be open to all students. The primary audience is ELL students, students of immigrant parents, and/or students who are immigrants themselves. The keynote speaker, Ernesto Mejia, will deliver a keynote address. Group discussion and activities will follow.  An evening program for students and their families, delivered in Spanish, will discuss issues such as family and the importance of education. 

Jason Heath (Music Teacher), Libertyville High School -- Orchestra Collaborative Composition Project:  Orchestra students will work with a professional composer in multiple sessions during a classroom module on musical composition. The composer will write a piece for the orchestra, involving students in the step-by-step writing processes he uses. He will also listen to, evaluate, and offer guidance for group compositions created by the students. Groups will do creative video recordings of their compositions for CatTube and perform them live at a public concert. 

Sherri Rukes (Chemistry Teacher), Libertyville High School -- Good Eats: The Chemistry of Food:  Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. Students will explore, learn and understand the chemistry behind preparing food through various lab activities and demonstrations. By adding food chemistry to topics already covered, the course content will be enhanced and students will be given additional examples of how chemistry is connected to so many aspects of life. The grant money will be used to purchase equipment and food items necessary to provide the instruction.

Sherri Rukes (Chemistry Teacher), Libertyville High School -- Introduction to Material Science Unit:  One of the fastest growing college majors, Material Science, encompasses metals, ceramics, polymers and composites. The project will allow the students to examine, test and understand the various types of materials and learn how chemistry relates to other subjects and jobs. The grant money will be used to purchase equipment and materials to provide the instruction.

Meredith Tarczynski, David Widzisz (English Teachers), Libertyville High School -- Elluminate in the Classroom: Using Synchronous and Asynchronous Virtual Meeting Space as Supplementary Education:  Using the software product Elluminate, students can log on as an entire class to a virtual classroom from their home computer in order to receive supplemental education, from review sessions led by the teacher to presentations given by the students themselves. Sessions are conducted in real time online, and then recorded so that students who might miss the session can recall the session at their leisure. Funding would provide licensing for one year in one classroom. This can be considered a pilot program for this type of teaching.

 Bryan Wilcox (Driver Education Teacher), Libertyville High School -- Safe Navigation: G.P.S. Units (Go Places Safely):  The Driver Education staff will utilize portable GPS units to enhance instruction. Students will be taught how to use the technology safely and how to utilize features that can help in case of emergencies. The units will also enhance classroom projects related to trip planning and map reading skills. The grant money will be used to purchase 3 Garmin Nuvi 1250 units.