Students of Fairfield Jr. High’s Digital Media class found out last week that they were one of the top 10 People’s Choice winners of the national 2018 Follett Challenge. This entitles them to an $8,000 grant!
“It’s so exciting to know that we (the students in digital media) played a part in helping our school,” says Ally Robinson, of Fairfield Junior High School.
As part of the competition, the students submitted a five-minute video and five written components describing how our innovative program prepares students for the demands of the 21st century.
Fairfield’s Digital Media class is under the direction of library media specialist and teacher, Tammy Gawryszewski. “We are thrilled to be selected as a People’s Choice winner,” she says.
“Entering the contest has allowed us to show the world how our new digital media class at FJH has not only exposed students to the processes of developing a high quality news broadcast, but it has also created an innovative technology phenomenon across the entire campus,” continues Gawryszewski.
Their video entry may be watched online at https://follettchallenge.com/videopreviews/1023
The People’s Choice award was based on how many votes each received for their videos from the public. The Fairfield community came through with 3,520 votes, putting Fairfield ISD in the number two slot.
“We would like to thank the community for the constant voting and sharing of our video,” says Gawryszewski.
Organizers of the Follett Challenge unveiled the seventh annual competition’s three diverse Semifinalists, as well as the 10 People’s Choice winners, in an online announcement last week. The Grand Prize winner of the 2018 Follett Challenge will be selected from among an elementary school in Anchorage, Alaska; a middle school in the Bronx, N.Y.; and a high school in Durham, N.C.
A total of 133 schools/districts entered this year’s competition. The 2018 Semifinalists are:
–Elementary: Tudor Elementary School; Anchorage School District; Anchorage, Alaska; video: “Young Global Citizens”
–Middle: MS 343 – Academy of Applied Mathematics and Technology; Bronx, N.Y.; video: “Why We Debate”
–High: North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics; Durham, N.C.; video: “When Your Classroom Spans the State”
From the three, one Grand Prize winner will be chosen and announced April 27. The overall winner will earn a $60,000 prize in Follett products and services, plus a celebration at their school. The other two each will earn $30,000 in products and services.
The video announcement also revealed the 10 People’s Choice winners – those schools whose video submissions received the highest number of online votes from the public. Each of the winning schools earns $8,000 in Follett products and services.
The top 10 are:
1. Marist High School; Chicago;
2. Fairfield Independent School District; Fairfield, Texas;
3. Richard D. Hubbard School; Berlin School District; East Berlin, Conn.;
4. Agua Fria Union High School District; Goodyear, Ariz.;
5. Hemet Unified School District; Hemet, Calif.;
6. Elizabeth Green Elementary School; Newington (Conn.) Public Schools;
7. Mineola High School; Mineola Union Free School District; Garden City Park, N.Y.;
8.Tustin Unified School District; Tustin, Calif.;
9. West Shore Middle School/Milford Public Schools; Milford, Conn.;
10. Orchard Farm High School; Orchard Farm School District; St. Charles, Mo.;
Marist High was easily the competition’s No. 1 vote getter with 6,314 votes; Fairfield ISD finished in second place with 3,520 votes.
The scoring for this year’s Semifinalists – singled out by elementary, middle and high schools – were 80 percent based on the judges’ rubric and 20 percent based on the number of People’s Choice votes received.
“Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Follett Challenge,” Britten Follett, a fifth-generation Follett family and Follett Challenge team member, told entrants in the video announcement. “Your stories of innovation continue to inspire and are a testament to the hard work of each and every one of you.”
Last year’s Grand Prize winner was a 180-student elementary school in Strong City, Kansas. The two semifinalists were a middle school in Mesa, Ariz., and a high school in Pensacola, Fla.
For more information about the Follett Challenge, visit www.FollettChallenge.com; for more on Follett, visit www.FollettLearning.com.
About Follett’s PreK-12 Business
Follett is the largest provider of educational materials and technology solutions to PreK-12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers and school districts in the United States, and a major supplier to educational institutions worldwide. Follett distributes books, reference materials, digital resources, ebooks and audiovisual materials, as well as pre-owned textbooks. Follett also is one of the leading providers of integrated educational technology for the management of physical and digital assets, the tracking, storing and analyzing of academic data, and digital learning environment tools for the classroom focusing on student achievement.
About Follett Corporation
Follett is a $3.4 billion privately held company headquartered in Westchester, Illinois. As a leading provider of education technology, services and physical and digital content, Follett works with 70,000 schools and operates more than 1,250 local campus stores and 1,600 virtual stores. With the 2016 acquisition of Baker & Taylor, LLC, Follett’s reach also extends into the public library and global retail markets.
