Two Rivers Teacher, students Win National, classroom Innovation award

According to a press release, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) announced the winners of the inaugural Think It Up Innovation Awards, honoring eight teams of students and teachers who exemplify the great work happening in America’s classrooms.

The winners were chosen from thousands of nationwide entries, with topics ranging from bullying-prevention to beekeeping. All winning projects fostered curiosity and learning, academic rigor, leadership, character and student-teacher collaboration – and standing out in the top eight was Two Rivers School from the Snoqualmie Valley School District.

Two Rivers, ‘Changing our Community Through Gardening Project

A group of high school students created a greenhouse to teach their peers about the importance of nutrition and healthy eating, and how to prepare nutritious meals on a budget. Through the greenhouse, students were able to cook the food grown in their garden for their local homeless shelter and create a community at school that prepares monthly lunches for students. The project promoted a culture of social responsibility, compassion and citizenship in both the school and greater community.

According to DonorChoose.org, Ms. Weinkauf’s class started with a raised-bed garden, inspired by the local food bank’s Grow them a Row initiative. The kids decided they wanted to grow food year round and enlisted the help of donations to get a greenhouse built on school grounds. The project blossomed from there – and as they say, the rest is history.

Big Reward for Small School

Each winning team will receive $5,000 in DonorsChoose.org funding credits to advance their outstanding work in the classroom. EIF launched thinkitup.org, a first-of-its-kind platform to fund student-powered, teacher-led learning projects in partnership with DonorsChoose.org, the popular teacher crowdfunding charity.  To date, Think It Up has brought over 2,700 classroom learning projects to life throughout the country.

“What an impressive group of teacher-student teams! These are among the most innovative ideas I’ve seen in the 16-year history of DonorsChoose.org,” said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org, adding, “Not a small feat for this first year of Think It Up.”

Congratulations – and Great Work!

[Two Rivers offers an alternative learning that emphasizes goal setting and personal responsibility for students in grades 6-12 who prefer a smaller school environment as they work toward a high school diploma. It began as a part-time evening program in 1987, expanded to its North Bend location in 1997, and now serves approximately 110 high school  and 13 middle school students.]