On September 10th, George Hall was honored to receive the title Intel School of Distinction for Elementary Mathematics at a ceremony in Washington, DC. George Hall was represented by Terri Tomlinson, Principal, Amy Lowe, 5th grade teacher, Meghan Everette, 4th grade teacher, Tiffany Miller, 3rd grade teacher and Christy Amick, Math Support Teacher.
George Hall Elementary School Wins Elementary Math Category at Intel Schools of Distinction Award
Nation’s Most Innovative Math and Science Schools
Celebrated as Intel Schools of Distinction
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
·George Hall Elementary School from Mobile, Alabama won $10,000.
·Schools with exceptional math and science programs were recognized in Washington, D.C. at the Intel Schools of Distinction Awards.
Mobile, Alabama September 13, 2012 – George Hall Elementary in Mobile, Alabama received an award for math excellence in the Intel Schools of Distinction Awards. The Intel Schools of Distinction Awards recognizes K-12 schools that have some of the most successful educational programs in the country. Honored schools provide a rich, rigorous science or mathematics curriculum by incorporating hands-on investigative experiences that prepare students for future jobs.
“Intel is proud to honor the Intel Schools of Distinction Award winners for their commitment to encouraging and engaging students in science and math,” said Wendy Hawkins, executive director of the Intel Foundation. “Through the recognition of these innovative programs, Intel hopes to form a greater awareness of the tangible successes schools can achieve by cultivating a hands-on science and math environment.”
The Intel Foundation and sponsoring companies distributed $560,000 in cash grants and awards to the winning schools. Each winning school at a minimum won an estimated $75,000 in a combination of cash grants from the Intel Foundation and an award package that includes curriculum materials, professional development resources, hardware and software from such sponsors as Adaptive Curriculum, BrainWare Safari, DreamBox Learning, LanSchool, Pearson and SMART, which has been an anchor benefactor of this program since its 2004 inception.
The students and teachers at George Hall Elementary focus on hands-on use of math tools and make real-world connections to computation and problem solving. Teachers from George Hall learned from the 2010 Intel Schools of Distinction Awards that more focus could be placed on involving parents, students and the community with local, state, and national mathematics connections. Locally, George Hall teachers and the other schools in the Williamson High School Feeder pattern developed a College and Career Fair for students and parents in the Maysville Community. The school also involves parents in learning mathematical strategies by inviting them to themed Family Math and Reading Nights such as: “Johnny Appleseed, Circus of the Kids, and Clifford the Big Red Dog.” At the state-level, girls in grades 3 – 5 are invited to participate in Girls Engaged in Math and Science University (GEMS-U) through the Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX). On the National Level, George Hall sends teacher representatives to conferences on Financial Literacy, Singapore Math, and National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). These teachers in turn come back to the local school and teach colleagues the strategies learned.
Amy Lowe, 5th grade teacher, states, “Math is at an all time high at George Hall. Our students love math and enjoy problem solving. We focus on real world application not just the right answer. Our students are learning to be productive members of our community and the future leaders. We are training them for jobs that haven’t been developed yet. It is our goal to inspire them as we facilitate their learning.”
Winners were selected from a pool of 18 schools that were recognized as finalists from 176 applications from 35 states. Finalists were:
