Teachers Compete For Innovation Grants

Four teams of teachers compete tonight for innovation grants. It's money that will help them try to find out new ideas in their classrooms. 

Fifteen teachers spent time clarifying ideas and solutions. Tonight, they'll pitch their ideas and share $20 thousand to get started. 

"We've noticed the students are not engaged in their learning," said Teaching Innovator Jenny Dungan. 

For Dungan, the first idea was to move students outdoors more. 

"I came in with an idea, but once I got with my team, the idea changed so that was the neat part of the collaboration. You come in with something but it changes midway and that's okay," said Dungan. 

This group of teachers is the first class of Innovation Fellows charged with identifying a problem and finding a creative solution. The staff at 36 Degrees North helped move the innovative ideas along. 

"It's not about a huge systematic change, it's about making one little impact in their school," said Dustin Curzon of 36 Degrees North. 

Another team plans to encourage students interest by bringing outside experts to the classroom more. 

The teams will share the grant money and the winner will get the largest share. However, the plan is to put all the ideas into action, see what works, and encourage new teams of innovators in the schools.