The MCD Awards for Initiative and Innovation in Educational Practices

The MCD Awards for Initiative and Innovation in Educational Practices are designed to encourage and support the employees of Chesterfield County Public Schools in pioneering new instructional strategies and generally for improving the way we do business as a school division. Individuals and teams are invited to submit proposals to fund development and implementation of creative new approaches to public education.

The MCD Awards Program is funded through an endowment established in 1997.
Contributions to the MCD endowment are welcome, appreciated and tax deductible. Contributions may be sent to the Chesterfield Public Education Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 3883, Richmond Virginia, 23235.

For More Information
Thank you for your interest in the MCD Awards program. Please submit any questions about the MCD Awards via e-mail to jcarlson@cpefound.org or you may contact the Chesterfield Public Education Foundation at 379-1551.

The Chesterfield Public Education Foundation is located at 1911 Huguenot Road, Suite 100, Richmond, Virginia. For more information, please visit www.cpefound.org

2008-2009 MCD Awards for Initiative and Innovation in Educational Practices:

Dream Girls
Project coordinator Sylvia Bland, Chesterfield Community High School

The Dream Girls initiative is aimed at helping young women realize their potential. Participants in the program will be mentored in social, ethical and human issues. They will also learn problem solving, information literacy, civic responsibility and gain multicultural awareness. Activities incorporated in the program will include
guest speakers, workshops and field trips. The MCD grant is for $5,000.

Hands and Pans Percussion Ensemble
Project coordinator Bryan Sheetz, Chalkley Elementary School

The cross-disciplinary program Hands and Pans uses steel drums and hand percussion to help students learn the skills of an integrated curriculum. The diverse subjects covered will include music, social studies, math and science. Hands and Pans will facilitate the development of critical thinking skills and teamwork for students in the Manchester High feeder program, concentrating primarily on Chalkley Elementary and Manchester Middle. The MCD grant is for $4,689.

Jump Start
Project coordinator David Copsmith, Gates Elementary School

This motivational, hands-on project will allow 12 fifth-grade students to build a Soap Box Derby racer. The MCD grant is for $1,822.50.

Spanish Online
Project coordinator Jennifer Kuchno, Reams Road Elementary School

Spanish Online is a staff development project to create a curriculum for an introductory Spanish language-training course, a portion of which will be online. Spanish Online will support elementary teachers who work with English as a Second Language students and families. The MCD grant is for $5,000.

MCD² Award

MCD² is a new award, which encourages replication and expansion of a previous MCD project. Project Explore: An Interdisciplinary Global Experience, this year’s winner, is a collaborative effort among middle school teachers, technology integrators and an instructional specialist. Lamar Brandt from Manchester Middle will coordinate the project, which allows students to use scientific technology to study weather and water quality. The MCD² award is for $10,000.

MCD Awards for Initiative and Innovation in Educational Practices 2007-08 Recipients:

Schoolyard Excavation: Archaeology, History and English In and Out of the Classroom
Matt Edinger of Perrymont Middle - $1,447

Over 10 weeks, students will follow the scientific method, explore the history of
Perrymont Middle and conduct an archaeological dig. An archaeologist, historian and anthropology graduate students will visit the school before all Perrymont students begin a three-week excavation on the school grounds. The project includes a visit to the Jamestown archaeology museum and cataloging of artifacts found in the Perrymont dig. The goal is not only to teach the basic concepts of physical, earth, life and environmental science but also to foster a higher degree of science literacy.

Academic Exercise Experience
Cindy Jones of Clover Hill Elementary - $3,485

This project combines science and physical education for Clover Hill Elementary students in grades 3-5, using physical activity to build knowledge as well as healthy bodies. Incorporating children's engineering activities, this project includes self-propelled simple machines and relays that demonstrate electrical and magnetic concepts. There will also be a focus on fitness, nutrition and eye-hand coordination.

Begin with the End in Mind
Christa Hornberger of Meadowbrook High - $5,000

Begin With the End in Mind is a cross-curricular senior project that will benefit the entire student body of Meadowbrook High. Responses from a survey of seniors will be used to create a career pathways booklet for freshmen, sophomores and juniors that will provide information on how to get the most out of high school as they plan for the next phase of their lives.

Real Life Survivors
Stacey Strayer of Manchester Middle - $3,749

This initiative will be part of a Manchester Middle study skills class for students who have been retained and is designed to motivate students to improve their grades, work and study skills and behavior. Using play money as an incentive to achieve, students will earn money for the time they spend in school. Opportunities will be given to earn extra money, taxes will be deducted, rent will be charged for desks and fines will be levied for bad behavior. Students who save a certain amount each nine weeks will get a special opportunity, such as camping, rock climbing or a basketball game, which will further boost real-life survival traits, including team building and self-confidence.

An Inquiry-Based Energy Unit for Middle School
Jeremy Lloyd of the Instruction Division Center - $4,460

This project pilots a new science curriculum with sixth- and seventh-grade students in the Center Based Gifted programs at Manchester Middle and Matoaca Middle. Using 21st-century skills, students will study energy topics, identify energy-related problems, then design investigations to find solutions. One focus, which is supported by the Chesterfield Office of Energy Management, will be energy usage and potential savings.

Talent, Trade, and Elementary Trade Books
Cheryl Moss of the Facilities Department - $4,050

Skilled plumbers, electricians, mechanics and other employees in the school system's Facilities Department will volunteer their time to talk with students in grades 3-5 about their trades. For example, a plumber might read a book to students about what plumbers do, then demonstrate in class how to take apart pipes or repair a leak. Research indicates that, in the future, many jobs in the United States will be in the service and trades industries. If students are exposed to a variety of skilled trades at an early age, then their interest may be sparked to pursue a career.

MCD Awards for Initiative and Innovation in Educational Practices 2006-07 Recipients

Relay the Message about Cancer: A Biology-English Cross-Curricular Project
Amy Azano and Tim Crane of James River High School - $2,044.95

This project seeks to raise awareness about Relay for Life, an annual event benefiting the American Cancer Society, and to connect school learning with real-life experiences. Biology students will study the causes and effects of cancer while English students study interviewing and feature writing. Together, the two groups will interview oncologists and cancer survivors and write about their experiences. The students will design and publish a magazine titled "Relay the Message," then sell it to raise funds for Relay for Life.

P*R*I*D*E: Portfolio Reflecting Intellectual Development and Excellence
Carolyn Henly of Meadowbrook High School - $4,605.76

This project will help students develop the habit of producing excellent work. Project components that will lead students to excellence are using outside experts to provide feedback, public performance or display of the work by students to strangers and creation of a portfolio at the end of the semester. The first two elements will help motivate students to care about the quality of their work. The third element will help them assess their progress, reflect on what it took to create excellent work and understand why excellence matters.

Children's Engineering Integration
Janet Evans of J.B. Watkins Elementary School - $4,709.74

Children's Engineering Integration is a hands-on, multisensory approach to problem solving and design technology. This is an ongoing project at every grade level, and in special education and art classes, at J.B. Watkins Elementary School. Students are given a problem and must formulate a solution. Students brainstorm possible solutions, choose a solution to design, then test that solution. Resources will be purchased to help teachers implement Children's Engineering in their classrooms.

Lunch Date with Our Future
Laura Tolbert of Bellwood Elementary School - $5,000

This initiative seeks to prepare Bellwood Elementary fifth-grade students for success in the 21st century by teaching manners and etiquette in a supportive environment. The students will start the year with a six-week "Minding Your Manners" course run by the Protocol Experts of Virginia. This will be followed with monthly class lunches, ending with lunch at Salisbury Country Club in June. The goal is for students to look past their current socioeconomic situation and into a future of opportunities, which in turn will promote self-confidence and pride.

Fine Arts Program for Secondary Students with Moderate Mental Disabilities
Rachel Garner of Monacan High School - $4,997.64

This project will give secondary students who have moderate mental disabilities the opportunity to fully participate in fine arts classes including photography, dance, theater, computer graphics, instrumental performance, jewelry making, puppetry and clowning.

MCD Awards for Initiative and Innovation in Educational Practices 2005-06 MCD Recipients

"Moving Experiences"
Sharon Austin, Midlothian High School – $1,500.00

The Moving Experiences project, publishing and sharing writing, enables high school students to use their writing ability to inspire younger students. Sophomores will publish narrative essays about childhood experiences in a professionally bound anthology. A class set of the anthologies will be given to two sixth-grade classes, a copy to the libraries of both schools served, and a copy to the Midlothian Public Library. The anthologies, supplemental nonfiction reading material, will serve as samples of good narrative writing, connoting prestige and authority to the high school writers, adding to the influence of being a student in a high school where middle school students may attend. Additionally, high school students, an authentic audience, provide motivation for improving writing skills of focus and elaboration for young writers. This project empowers high school students to share their academic abilities and positive experiences, moving others to succeed.

"Read it, Play it, and Read it Again Curriculum for Early Childhood Special Education"
Patti Pugh, Curtis Elementary School – $5,000.00

A team of Early Childhood Special Education teachers is working very hard to produce a new curriculum for the all the ECSE teachers in Chesterfield County that is based on repeated reading of children's literature. Recent research has found that preschool children with special needs benefit from this repeated reading of and acting out the same story. Other activities such as cooking, songs, crafts and games will be used to enhance the retelling of the selected storybook. These activities will involve the children in the process of reading, enhances language development and provide a solid foundation of pre- literacy skills for future reading. Best of all -the kids love to do it, and they learn to love books!

"Boyz II Positive Men"
Gregory Hutchings, Falling Creek Middle School – $4,899.25

Boyz II Positive Men (B2PM) will work with 8th grade boys from disadvantaged economic, social and/or family circumstances. B2PM will actively search to enrich the lives of young boys whose parents and schools have had difficulty reaching them both academically and behaviorally. B2PM will promote positive self-image and enhance positive leadership potential.

"Journey to Jamestown"
Barbara Unger, Robious Elementary School – $5,000.00

In anticipation of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, third grade students will produce an interactive website and print brochure which will be used as learning tools for all 3rd graders across the United States. In the process, students will conduct fieldwork on site, study artifacts, and engage in authentic research using primary sources and technology.

MCD Awards for Initiative and Innovation in Educational Practices Donors:
Aetna Investment Services, Inc.
Anonymous Donors
Bon Air Rotary Club
Robin Byrd
Columbia Gas of Virginia
Columbia Propane
Judy Davis
Dominion Virginia Power
Gregory W. Doepke
East-West Partners
Gary and Patti Fenchuk
Honeywell
The Community Foundation
Dave E. Lucado
Midlothian Rotary Club
Mr. and Mrs. Milton E. Parrish
NBC 12
Philip Morris, USA
Douglas and Stephanie Pick
John and Shirley Seibert
Lee Showalter Fund
South Richmond Rotary
Barbara S. Wells
Lynn Wilson

Board of Trustees
Officers

Victor K. Branch, President
Susan L. Genovese, Vice President, Operations
M. Imad Damaj, Vice President, Programs
Cheryl R. Moore, Secretary
Jeffrey A. McDonald, Treasurer
Paul R. Trapp, Immediate Past President

Members
Matthew M. Alexander, Bowman T. Bowles III, M. Imad Damaj Jr., Valerie A. Freund, Frank M. Geovannello, Kyle Grinnage, Granville G. Gwaltney Jr., James R. Hoover, Otis S. Jones, Robert L. Mills, Margarita R. Mohta, Cheryl R. Moore, Vincent J. Nadder, Donna O. Procise, Patrick A. De Ridder, Dave W. Saunders, Michael T. Uliano, Edward Witthoefft

Jane H. Carlson, Executive Director
Bonnie Bradford, Administrative Assistant

Ex-Officio Members
Dr. Marcus J. Newsome
Dr. Sharon A. Thomas

School Board Liaisons
Dianne E. Pettitt
David S. Wyman

Honorary Co-chairs
Dr. William C. Bosher Jr.
Dr. Billy K. Cannaday Jr.
Thomas R. Fulghum