Videos from Past Winners of the Award for Educational Innovation
2024
Honorable Mention:
Media Arts Pathway, Sonoma Valley High School, Sonoma Valley Unified School District
Program Coordinator:
Peter Hansen
Program Goal:
The goal is to introduce students to processes of filmmaking, scriptwriting, editing, cinematography, lighting, sound design, acting, podcasting, motion graphics, animation and more. Both for students planning a career in media arts as well as students interested in media as an elective, the program teaches students about film theory, history, and most importantly, the art of storytelling.
Elementary Category:
Sassarini Elementary School Maker Lab, Sassarini Elementary School, Sonoma Valley Unified School District
Program Coordinator:
Danielle Smith-Wroblewski
Program Goal:
The goal of the Maker Lab is to introduce students to engineering, technology (such as coding), as well as visual arts. Maker Lab creates a space that fosters creativity and growth mindset.
Elementary & Secondary Category:
Cali Green, Climate & Culture
Program Coordinator:
Kristine Behrens
Program Goal:
The goal of the Cali Green program is to educate students about the impacts of their waste on the planet and how they can do something about it.
Secondary Category:
Medical Careers Pathway, Novato High School, Novato Unified School District
Program Coordinator:
Daniel Mikkola and Almas Siddiqui
Program Goal:
The goal of the Novato High School Medical Careers Pathways program is to equip students with comprehensive academic, social, and professional competencies, ensuring their preparedness for college and career pursuits in their chosen medical field.
2023
Honorable Mention:
Riding for Focus, North Bay Met Academy, Windsor Unified School District
Program Coordinator:
Jeremiah Kahmoson
Program Goal:
The goal is to reduce stressors associated with adolescent development during the school day, and to translate that into academic and social success in and out school.
Elementary Category:
Restorative Specialists Program, Santa Rosa City Schools
Program Coordinator:
Kaesa Enemark
Program Goal:
The goal is to bring a restorative approach to a district of twenty-five schools via proactive and responsive steps to build a positive school and classroom culture, and have a way to repair harm through restorative circles and practices. The program also aims to reduce exclusionary, punitive consequences, such as suspension and expulsion.
Secondary Category:
Innovative Ag with AWE Aeroponics, Geyserville New Tech Academy
Program Coordinator:
David Bradford
Program Goal:
The goal of this interdisciplinary agricultural lab science program is for students to create vertical, organic farms without soil, and build and operate an organic aeroponics system. Students experiment with developing new techniques for using aeroponics including developing rootstock for the local viticulture industries.
2022
Honorable Mention:
Virtual Learning Academy, Cotati-Rohnert Park Union School District
Program Coordinators:
Macy Juhola and Lori Krist
Program Goal:
The goal of the program is to provide an engaging, inclusive and rigorous online program for CRPUSD students.
Elementary Category:
Club Connect, Mattie Washburn Elementary
Program Coordinator:
Mariya Cree
Program Goal:
The goal of the program is to provide a creative outlay for students during lunch recess, allowing students to express themselves creatively with hands on activities, learning to share and get along with one another.
Secondary Category:
Pathways Program, Tamiscal High School
Program Coordinators:
Alyssa Callahan & Patchen Homitz
Program Goal:
The goal of the program is to provide an alternative to traditional high school for district 12th grade students who are interested in more deeply exploring and pursuing post-high school options and experiences while in high school.
2021
Elementary Category:
One Book, One School, Riebli Elementary School
Program Coordinator:
Chloe Brewer
Program Goal:
The goal of the program is to create community and encourage family reading time.
Secondary Category:
Rancho 3x3, Rancho Cotate High School
Program Coordinator:
Principal Louis Ganzler
Program Goal:
The goal of Rancho 3x3 was to improve student achievement.
2020
Elementary Category:
Brain Integration Station, Brooks Elementary School
Program Coordinator:
Laurel Green
Program Goal:
The goal of the Brain Integration Station is to provide any school site with a place for students to go to work on re-centering their thinking, their emotions, and their mind, using physical activities that require balance, crossing the midline, audio-visual responses, pulling, jumping, rolling on a ball, and hand-eye coordination. The Brain Integration Station provides a minimum of 13 different activities that can be found here: Brain Integration Station. A huge thank you to Gavin Murray who helped design the posters for the Brain Integration Station as well as created the video with Laurel Green.
Secondary Category:
Friday Academies, Willits Charter School
Program Coordinator:
Melissa Miles
Program Goal:
The goal of the Friday Academies program is to provide a wide variety of enrichment opportunities, life skills, and access to college courses to 6th-12th grade students.
Secondary Category:
Learning Through Interests, Liberty High School
Program Coordinator:
Kimberly Lewis
Program Goal:
The goal of the Learning Through Interests program is to give students an opportunity to learn through their own interests in a real world setting.
2019
Preschool Category:
Lattice Educational Achievement Preschool (LEAP), Lattice Educational Services
Program Coordinators:
Nancy Alcott and Krystal Coleman
Program Goal:
The goal of LEAP is to provide a high quality inclusive preschool program which provides the specialized services needed to meet the needs of children with disabilities.
Elementary Category:
A Creek Runs Through It, Mark West School
Program Coordinators:
Gary Graves
Program Goal:
The goal of A Creek Runs Through It is to create young scientists who have a true connection to the world around them.
Secondary Category:
Vocational Training School (VTS), Greenacre Homes & School
Program Coordinators:
Jesper Nordqvist and Andrew Saffold
Program Goal:
The goal of VTS is teaching employment readiness through student-run businesses.
2018
Elementary Category:
Fairfield-Suisun Public Safety Academy, Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District
Program Coordinators:
Laurie Halcomb and Katie Lee
Program Goal:
The mission of the Public Safety Academy is to develop college- and career-ready cadets, with an emphasis on the Public Safety Field, through a process of rigorous academics, realistic hands-on training, fitness, discipline, and attitude and leadership development.
Secondary Category:
Fairfield-Suisun Adult School Trade Classes, Fairfield-Suisun Adult School
Program Coordinators:
James Woods and Elizabeth Kolakoski
Program Goal:
Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District's Adult School offers Professional Trades programs to students with the opportunity to learn skills leading to well-paying careers. Highly qualified and industry trained instructors provide engaging curriculum to students in hands-on classrooms designed to give students employable skills at an accelerated pace. These services are currently provided at no cost to the student as we build quality programs to serve our community and region.
2017
Engineering, Design and Technology Academy, Sonoma Valley High School
Program Coordinators:
Andrew Ryan, Vice Principal, and Drue Jacobs, Teacher
Program Goal:
In 2012, Sonoma Valley High School, working closely with industry representatives and the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation launched our Engineering, Design and Technology (EDT) Academy. Shortly thereafter, we aligned our practice with the National Academy Foundation (NAF). Students enrolling in this program are offered a wide array of Work-Based Learning experiences ranging from field trips and job shadows to compensated internships. We use Project Lead The Way (PLTW) curriculum; a long standing staple in rigorous secondary engineering curriculum and offer our students a bevy of industry skill development through our MakerSpace.
2016
Early/Elementary Category:
A Living Systems Curriculum for Early Education, Sonoma State Children’s School
Program Coordinators:
Lia Thompson-Clark, Director and Lynn Lyle, Teacher
Program Goal:
We are all researchers here at the Children’s School; we have inherited the environment and have been developing it for many years. Our challenge, or calling, is how to make it the best laboratory that we can for young researchers to learn about life, to learn about concepts of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, literacy, and all matters of the heart.
Secondary Category:
KTV Broadcast Media, Kenilworth Junior High School, Petaluma
Program Coordinators:
Laura Bradley and Issac Raya, Teachers
Program Goal:
Give students ownership of and responsibility for a significant final product; teach students the skills necessary to plan, produce and broadcast a daily news program; providing engaging delivery of school information to keep students, staff and community members updated; provide a wide audience for student work.
2015
Early/Elementary Category:
El Verano Community School, Sonoma
Program Coordinators:
Maite Iturri, Principal
Program Goal:
Provide a strong core instructional program designed to enrich the learning of health, mental health, and social services to promote students well being and remove barriers to learning.
Secondary Category:
Health Science and Biotechnology, Piner High School, Santa Rosa
Program Coordinators:
Judy Barcelon, Mark Mantoani, Dante DePaola
Program Goal:
Provide comprehensive overview of careers in field of health sciences and biotechnology.
2014
Early/Elementary Category:
Adlerian Positive Discipline Program, Santa Rosa Charter School, Santa Rosa, LaDonna Moore and Catherine McCracken, Directors
International Bacchalaureate World School Program, Park Side Elementary School, Sebastopol, Jude Kreissman, Program Director
Secondary Category:
Project Make Program, Comstock Middle School, Santa Rosa City Schools
Program Coordinators:
John Lundblad and Dawn Thomas
2013
Early/Elementary Category:
Arts Integration Program, Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts, Santa Rosa City Schools, Santa Rosa
Program Coordinators:
Elizabeth Evans, Principal and Kim Jason, Teacher
Secondary Category (award 1):
Northwest Prep Reinvented, Northwest Prep Charter School, Piner Olivet Union School District, Santa Rosa,
Program Coordinators:
Tony Harris, Principal
Secondary Category (award 2):
Science Club, Lawrence Cook Middle School, Santa Rosa City School District, Santa Rosa,
Program Coordinators:
Allegra Buschman, Teacher
2012
Elementary Category:
Primos, Oak Grove Elementary School, Santa Rosa
Program Coordinator:
Nancy Saylor
Program Goal:
Bring together high school mentors and elementary English language learners to improve academic skills and foster a desire to succeed.
Secondary Category:
Windsor High School, Windsor
Program Coordinator:
Marie Ganister
Program Goal:
Vineyard Academy is dedicated to the education of our students with an emphasis on the hospitality and culinary environment of Sonoma County
