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FACTS Teacher Innovation Awards
FACTS Teacher Innovation Awards
What are the FACTS Teacher Innovation Awards?
FACTS believes that supporting classroom innovation in the private, faith-based K-12 school community will create lasting education impact.
It takes creative thinkers and bold initiatives to make educational dreams possible through service and technology. Based on our mission, FACTS annually gives an award that demonstrates excellence in the classroom by honoring 5 outstanding teachers for their innovation, creativity, and commitment to the students they serve.
The 5 Innovation Award Winners receive:
- $5000 for the winning teacher
- $1000 for the teacher’s school
- A free trip to Elevate 2025 in Salt Lake City for the winning teacher to present their innovative concept to the FACTS community (includes registration, travel to Salt Lake City, meals, and hotel)
- A profile on FACTS’ site and newsletter
- An on-campus check presentation with your FACTS representative, filmed by the FACTS team
- Winner’s badge in FACTS^SPACE
Congratulations to our 2024 Winners
Anna Leigh Sargent
Holy Family Catholic School – Galveston, TX
WINNING SUBMISSION:
Adventures in Economics
Anna Leigh has been a teacher for six years. She loves to learn and to help students discover the joy of learning through project-based experiences. Third-grade social studies standards specify that students should be able to explain how a business operates. To help students better understand these concepts, Anna Leigh implemented a hands-on project where they learn this process by researching business ideas, creating a budget, raising capital, implementing an advertising plan, and designing and selling their products.
Denise Carvin
Radiant STEM Academy – Irving, TX
WINNING SUBMISSION:
CSI Europe History Lab: The Black Plague
For 10+ years, Denise has brought a passion for making learning meaningful and memorable to the classroom. Her project-based approach integrates STEM subjects into history lessons to create immersive experiences. History becomes more than dates and events—it transforms into a living story that students can step into. This project transformed her classroom into a “crime scene” with a plague-ravaged skeleton and various historical artifacts. Students learned what caused the Black Plague by working as detectives.
Dr. Verity Kahn
Holy Family Catholic School – Austin, TX
WINNING SUBMISSION:
The Everything-arium: Bringing Books to Life Through Interactive Library Shows
Dr. Kahn manages library programming for her school. She also teaches an 8th-grade elective library class, in which students run a publishing house to publish books from fellow classmates. The Everything-arium is a new initiative in which she chooses a book and transforms the library into that book through curated videos, grade-level tailored presentations, ambient music, smells, and more. Shows that Dr. Kahn has put on so far in this series include a planetarium, oceanarium, and forestarium.
Ashley Caldwell
Bethlehem Christian Academy – Bethlehem, GA
WINNING SUBMISSION:
Newton’s Arcade Project
Ashley teaches 8th-grade Honors Physical Science and 12th-grade Honors Anatomy and Physiology. She describes teaching as her calling and has been recognized numerous times by parents, students, and peers for her dedication. Each year, she puts students’ knowledge of physics into action by having them build an arcade game that demonstrates one or more of Newton’s Laws of Motion. Through this project, students practice many skills, including creative problem-solving, budgeting, building, and public speaking.
Lillian Otero
Evangelical Christian School – Fort Myers, FL
WINNING SUBMISSION:
Synergy Squad: Collaborating to Solve Global Challenges, Empowered by the Tools of Technology
Lillian has six years of experience teaching history. She believes the classroom is not just a place for lectures and textbooks; It’s a space where creativity, technology, and real-world connections transform learning. When asked to teach study hall, Lillian saw an opportunity. Synergy Squad was born, providing students with a dynamic space to harness the power of technology and cultivate essential research skills to solve real-world challenges related to the environment, justice, and more.
Criteria for Submission
- Teachers must submit their OWN nomination. You may not submit a nomination on behalf of someone else. Feel free to forward the submission link to a teacher that you think should apply.
- Submissions MUST include the following:
- Teacher Biography
- Description of your Classroom Innovation project
- Multimedia Component (either video or photo)
- Multimedia component must be in the form of a link (Video can be Youtube, Vimeo, etc; Photos can be Google Docs, Google Slides, Dropbox link, etc.)
- Only one teacher per submission. Group submissions will not be accepted.
- You must include the name and contact information of your Principal in your submission.
Timeline
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Friday, November 1, 2024
Innovation Award Nominations Open
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Friday, December 13, 2024
Innovation Award Nomination Due Date (by 11:59pm)
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December 16-20, 2024
Evaluation by FACTS Innovation Award Committee and FACTS Executive Team, Ten finalists selected
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Friday, December 20, 2024
Ten finalists notified via email
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Monday, January 6, 2025
Five winners notified via email
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Monday, January 13, 2025
Winners announced on FACTS website
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February & March, 2025
FACTS visits to winners’ schools to present checks
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June 24-26, 2025
Innovation Award winners travel to Elevate in Salt Lake City to present their winning submissions
