NEW YORK, June 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Teaching Matters announces eleven semi-finalists for the first annual Elizabeth Rohatyn Prize for School Innovation -- $15,000 awarded to a school principal to support, sustain or further an innovative or burgeoning school program or practice that has the potential to be replicated by other schools. The eleven semi-finalist schools were chosen from a field of over 100 nominations. The general public will have an opportunity to vote for five finalists from June 10 to June 17, 2011 on the Teaching Matters website. The top five schools will move on to a final round of judging. The recipient of the Elizabeth Rohatyn Prize will be announced on July 11, 2011 at the annual Teaching Matters Principals' Forum. Funding is made available by contributors to the Elizabeth Rohatyn Innovation Fund.

The semi-finalists were chosen by an esteemed selection committee including Marilyn Reznick, Executive Director, Educational Leadership, AT&T Public Affairs; Lisa Belzberg, Founder and Executive Chairperson of PENCIL; Bill Tally, Senior Researcher and Designer, Center for Children and Technology; Ron Thorpe, Vice President and Director, Education, WNET/Thirteen and Gideon Boateng, former NYC student and current college student at Rochester Institute of Technology

To learn more about each semi-finalist and cast a vote for your favorite, please visit http://teachingmatters.org/rohatyn_entries.

Elizabeth Rohatyn Prize for School Innovation Semi-Finalists (in alphabetical order):

Academy Street Elementary, Bayport, Long Island. Project: Using tablets with developmentally delayed students across the curriculum.

Baruch College Campus High School, Manhattan, NY. Project: Placing learning in the hands of students through the development of individualized learning plans incorporating 21st century skills.

Bell Academy(Q294), Queens, NY. Project: Expanding video conferencing to support the school's project-based learning philosophy; make "classroom walls become invisible."

Brownsville Academy High School, Brooklyn, NY. Project: Supporting over-aged, under-credited students in preparing for college and careers through online self-paced instruction.

Chester Park(PS 62), Queens, NY. Project: Using Google Apps for sharing practices in and out of school, impacting instruction for both teachers and students.

David A. Boody (IS 228), Brooklyn, NY. Project: Using iPads and Google Apps for data analysis and collaborative inquiry in the English Language Arts Department.

Dorothy BonawitKole (PS 49), Queens, NY. Project: Expanding arts-related, technology-based curriculum resources in support of projects involving student research and project-based learning.

John J. Pershing (IS 220), Brooklyn, NY. Project: Using Google Apps for parents and students to access student work and homework from school and home, as part of the NYC Connected Learning grant.

Peekskill Middle School, Peekskill, NY. Project: Implementing a wide range of 21st century strategies to improve student achievement in a highly challenging school.

Sheepshead Bay High School, Brooklyn, NY. Project: Creating an independent study program as an alternate pathway to accessing learning opportunities, enabling more students to stay in school.

West Side Collaborative (MS250), Manhattan, NY. Project: Building teacher effectiveness through the expansion of the school's online collaborative community.

Contact:
Naomi Cooperman, Ed. D.
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Teaching Matters
ncooperman@teachingmatters.org
Include the subject line: Elizabeth Rohatyn Prize

SOURCE Teaching Matters