Congratulations to our winners!

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt™ is proud to announce the winners of our inaugural Game-Changer Award for charter schools. These educators, nominated by their peers, have demonstrated outstanding service to their schools and students through their innovative contributions aimed at driving student achievement.

Dr. David W. Brown
Chair of Computer Science
Charter School of Wilmington, Wilmington, DE

Dr. Brown is helping prepare students through an emphasis on research that provides real-life exposure. His implementation of a Research Agenda in Human and Computer Interaction has resulted in eight papers published to international conferences in the past 4.5 years, co-authored by teams of high school students, including one that was solely student authored. This program allows students the opportunity to gain experience publishing and presenting to adult, blind peer-reviewed conferences. Additionally, he has garnered funds to produce a computer science research laboratory where students can construct items with a 3-D printer, learn new operating systems, and explore functional languages.

Colleen Crable
Art Teacher
Brooke East Boston, Boston, MA

As founding art educator for her school, Colleen led a network-wide initiative to develop art standards across three schools and nine grade levels. Following her established vision and mission, she implemented new art curriculum, visual arts assessments, rubrics to score assessments and record data, and then analyzed that data for curriculum and instructional improvements. Using this data, she has been able to see significant improvements year over year. Additionally, among other initiatives, she developed an engaging afterschool program incorporating crafts, readings, and other activities related to fairy tales and fables, leading to a 20% improvement in parent satisfaction survey ratings.

Michele LaForge
Head of School
Baxter Academy for Technology and Science, Portland, ME

Michele led Baxter Academy through its opening and continues to be an advocate when challenges are presented. This year the school, like many others throughout the north, saw an excess of snow days. She guided her staff in the creation and implementation of an “anytime/anywhere” learning plan that students could use during snow days in order not to lose instructional time. Many students participated, pushing learning beyond expectations. By advocating to the state charter commission to count these as regular school days, the school hopes to provide a possible solution to others struggling with the same issue.

Sarah McGrath
Third Grade Teacher
Horizon Science Academy Belmont, Chicago, IL

Sarah works diligently to close the achievement gap prevalent in her school’s low-income community in Chicago. Her interactive class activities engage students in ways many others are unable to do. One example was her Valentine’s Day science lab, during which she had students predict the reactions of dropping candy sweethearts in different liquids such as water, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. Her teaching methods and her compassionate way of handling issues have resulted in the lowest number of disciplinary problems and referrals in a school that often sees students act out from issues at home.

Pamela Reichert-Montiel
Principal
Imperial Beach Charter School, Imperial Beach, CA

Pamela positions students for success by her belief in educating the “whole child.” Her policy of positive behavior support encourages students to be safe, responsible, and respectful through weekly lessons and positive reinforcement. She has been at the forefront of providing technology-based programs, including access for students to reliable sources for research through a subscription to the Digital Content Portal provided through the county office of education. Additionally, by establishing a bike-to-school program and several team sports for the new middle school grade levels, she helps students make steps towards healthy life choices.

Vincent Riveroll
Director and Principal
Gompers Preparatory Academy, San Diego, CA

When Vincent took over Gompers Preparatory Academy, the school was fighting a culture of violence and disrespect in which gang activity disrupted learning daily. Over the past decade, Vincent transformed the school into a charter, college preparatory school with astounding success. He has inspired belief in his mission among both teachers and students, revolving around five universal school rules focused on respecting oneself and others. Every other year, Vincent takes on the role of a senior teacher to better understand what they face. His efforts have resulted in a 100% acceptance rate at a two- or four-year university among the same population demographics from ten years ago.

Nick Santos
Math Teacher
Arizona Agribusiness and Equine Center-Red Mountain, Mesa, AZ

Nick strives to change students’ perceptions of math, even of those who struggle in the subject. Rather than viewing math as a series of classes to get through, he encourages students to view math as a lifelong set of problem solving skills. Before showing students how to solve a problem, he explains the concepts behind it and how it is applied in the real world. He challenges them to think outside the box and incorporates technology into the program. Students he motivated to compete in a javascript challenge were awarded sufficient funds to buy two 3-D printers for the school.

Glenna Sigmon
First Grade Team Leader
Palm Pointe Educational Research School at Tradition, Port St. Lucie, FL

Glenna drives change at her school by promoting collaboration and ownership among her fellow educators and students alike. In addition to serving as a mentor for new teachers, she also volunteers her time to host “for teachers by teachers” workshops to enhance the practice of her peers and effect positive change in the academic progress of all students. In her classroom, she engages students in goal setting and tracking, making them stakeholders in both their own learning and that of the group. Her efforts have resulted in approximately a 94% reading rate among the school’s first grade students.

Brett Stousland
Principal
Core Knowledge Charter School, Verona, WI

Principal Stousland has rejuvenated Core Knowledge Charter School during his three-year tenure as an administrator. He has raised approximately $70,000 through grants and fundraising. These funds have supported new initiatives such as a service learning program complete with faculty training and supports, an online world language program for the entire district, and the purchases of a new reading program and much needed classroom technology. Additionally he has implemented new initiatives to improve student outcomes, such as schedule changes in Grades K–8 that provide more academic support opportunities for all students and a school-wide behavior program.

Jennifer Weaver
Dance Faculty
The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, Bethlehem, PA

Jennifer began an innovative, successful program to integrate dance with the academic departments. The first cross-curricular dance project saw students creating a concert-length piece based on the summary, plot, and characters in the epic poem Beowulf which was being studied in English class simultaneously. By acting out key scenes and portraying characters’ emotions, students were able to gain a deeper understanding of the poem, resulting in a higher level of intensity and enthusiasm during in-class discussions and writings. The success of this project has led to a similar collaboration with the history department based on the Civil Rights Movement.

Additional congratulations to all those nominated: