The Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township has announced the winners of the 2023 Excellence Design Challenge, sponsored by the Lawrence Township School Foundation.
The winning project will lead to a greenhouse-focused agricultural program.
The annual design challenge offers a cash prize to staff members for an innovative idea that, if implemented, will have a meaningful impact. The winning project, identified from several finalists, included a comprehensive research and development phase outside of the contract day, as well as a progress report to the administrative team midway through this phase
The $20,000 grand prize winners are Adriana McCullough and Adrianne Martin of Fall Creek Valley Middle School. The team’s proposal, titled “The Watering Can,” was identified by district leadership as the best for its potential impacts on efficiency, effectiveness and outcomes.
The goals of the initiative are to:
- Establish a functional and sustainable greenhouse that will provide hands-on learning opportunities for K-12 students in the MSD of Lawrence Township.
- Incorporate a greenhouse-related curriculum for K-12 students that fosters personalized learning and opportunities for community engagement.
- Promote an agricultural pathway to provide students with work-based learning opportunities and an additional career pathway.
- Support the food security needs of our community by providing fresh produce to local food banks and other district organizations serving vulnerable populations.
- Facilitate greater national acknowledgement of the MSD of Lawrence Township as a “Green Ribbon District.”
“I am proud to celebrate the innovation of the challenge winners and finalists and am grateful to the foundation for their role in bringing this program to fruition,” MSD of Lawrence Township Superintendent Shawn Smith said. “Ms. McCullough and Ms. Martin’s proposal represents the innovative thinking taking place throughout the district, supporting both the broadening of our graduation pathways as well as our strategic plan.”
McCullough and Martin are the joint recipients of the $20,000 personal prize, and their project will be implemented during the 2023-2024 school year.