Grand Prize #1:$60,000- Henry M. Gunn High School/Palo Alto Unified School District, Palo Alto, CA
Grand Prize #2:$60,000- Maplewood Richmond Heights School District, St. Louis, MO
Winner #3:$35,000- Berwick Academy, South Berwick, ME
Winner #4:$25,000- Goochland High School, Goochland, VA
Winner #5:$15,000- Seneca High School/Lenape Regional High School District, Tabernacle, NJ
Video Winner #6:$5,000- Mary E. Griswold Elementary, Kensington, CT

In today’s live webcast Schenck explained, “Maplewood Richmond Heights was one of the grand-prize winners because 10 years ago it ranked among the St. Louis area’s lowest performing schools.  Last year, the school was named an International Center for Leadership in Education Model School and an Apple Distinguished School.  This one-to-one laptop school has an innovative, student-mentored technology integration program.  It has transformed its dated library model into the Research & Design Center, where kids can meet their resource needs and engage in activities that help them network with mentors and social entrepreneurs in the community, preparing them for the job world.”

Henry M. Gunn High School, Schenck said, was selected as the other grand-prize winner because, “In Gunn High School’s innovative Library Idea Lab, students and teachers use a green screen media lab, moveable furnishings, portable whiteboards, and technology tools that inspire creativity through unique library programs.  These programs challenge students to take their learning outside of the library and into the community. With a focus on student production, the program has hatched services and programs to get students to think critically about their surroundings and become active producers within their environments.”

Follett Challenge team member, Britten Follett,  told webcast viewers the Follett Challenge was originally created as a platform to give librarians an opportunity to share the innovative programs in their libraries. “This year,” Follett said, “we expanded the program to include the entire school because we believe true innovation is woven through every educator and student in a building.”

She also highlighted the contest’s “Get out and vote” campaign to determine the winner of the “People’s Choice Award.” Many of the entries, including the eventual winner – Mary E. Griswold Elementary School in Kensington, Conn. – “were not afraid to tell their story,” Follett emphasized.  Griswold Elementary earned 26,369 votes.

“We encouraged each entrant to use the tool kit we put together with sample news releases, social media posts, and web banners to encourage their school communities to vote,” she said. “And it worked. When we closed voting last month, the Follett Challenge videos generated 452,776 votes!”

Get ready to promote your entry video to become the most viewed for the Follett Challenge.

Starting February 6, all of the submitted videos will be posted on the FollettChallenge.com site, and you’ll need the help of your students, teachers and community to get all the votes you can. Encourage everyone you know to visit the site and vote for your video—each person can vote once daily, and voting will close on March 15.

Need help in spreading the word? We’ll be offering a collection of marketing materials that you can access from the FollettChallenge.com site to get the ball rolling. You’ve worked hard on your entry, so get your community behind your outstanding effort!

A panel of six expert judges has been named to rate and rank entries for the Follett Challenge. This group of veterans includes teachers, IT professionals, librarians and education experts:

Isabel Chipungu, who manages the Ocoee (Fla.) Elementary School's Media Center, which serves and teaches 850 children, ages 4 to 11.  Chipungu's entry, "Creating a Culture of Literacy," captured the $35,000 grand prize in last year's inaugural Follett Challenge.

Michael Gorman, 1:1 coordinator at Southwest Allen County Schools in Fort Wayne, Ind.  He consults for Discovery Ed, November Learning, PBS, and BIE.

Michelle Luhtala, library department chair of New Canaan (Ct.) High School, which won the AASL National School Library Program of the Year Award in 2010.  The Carnegie Corporation of New York, in conjunction with The New York Times, recognized Luhtala as one of 10 recipients of the 2011 I Love My Librarian award.

Andrew Miller, who has taught both in the brick-and-mortar classroom and online.  He currently serves on the National Faculty for the Buck Institute for Education and ASCD.

Paul R. Sanfrancesco, who is director of IT for the Garnet Valley School District (Glen Mills, Pa.).  He was named as one of the "20 to Watch" Educators for 2008 by the National School Board Association for his work in IT.

Susan Adelmann, who is vice president for strategic partnerships for Follett School and Library Group.  She was recently named to the board of directors for Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Learn more about our star line-up.

The contest is underway, with submissions being taken until January 4, 2012. Don’t miss this opportunity to grab some of the $200,000 in Follett products and services! For more information on the Challenge, visit www.follettchallenge.com.

The Follett Challenge is back bigger than ever. Last year, Follett awarded $100,000 in products and services to six deserving K-12 schools. This year, the total prize has doubled to $200,000.

The “super six” includes two $60,000 grand-prize winners—3^rd through 6^th place awards will run from $35,000 to $5,000, including a “People’s Choice” award.

Show us how you are aligning curriculum to teach 21st century learning skills, establishing collaborative programs throughout your school, and preparing students for life-long learning. Give us examples of how you are developing critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration between students and among educators. We know that you’re doing this every day—let us reward you for it!

Ready to get started? Enter the Follett Challenge today!

Swan Valley High School's Library Media Specialist Kay Wejrowski shares a view of some of the Follett products and services that she's purchased with her award money:

We're pretty sure that Follett Corporation President & CEO Chuck Follett "likes" this!