During this time of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, alliantgroup wants to continue to offer support and hope for a brighter future ahead. We believe now more than ever it is important to keep our students engaged and excited about learning and that is why we are excited to recognize our Elementary Science Teacher Award finalists despite our current situation.
This is the second year alliantgroup has partnered with the Houston Independent School District to sponsor the Elementary Science Teacher Award! This award was created to reward local teachers who are increasing student achievement and engagement through innovative lesson plans that emphasize the importance and intrigue of science. The nominees were chosen from a pool of several applicants and the HISD science curriculum department selected the finalists based on the program model guidelines. One finalist was chosen from each of the six Houston ISD regions in February 2020.
The grand prize winner of the alliantgroup Houston ISD Elementary Science Teacher Award was selected during a virtual interview meeting with all the finalists and four judges. The judge’s panel included Dr. Franklin Allaire, Assistant Professor of Science Education, at the University of Houston Downtown, , XFL’s Houston Roughnecks President Brian Cooper, alliantgroup Strategic Advisory Board Member and former Congressman representing Washington state Rick White and Ebony Wiley from the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership.
Five of the finalists will receive a cash award of $1,300 as well as $500 for their classrooms. The grand prize winner will receive a cash prize of $3,500 as well as $500 to make their classroom even more exciting!
On Tuesday, April 28, Sharron Melton announced the 2020 alliantgroup – Houston ISD Elementary Science Teacher Award Winner live during the CW39’s Morning Dose morning show!
We are happy to announce that our 2020 winner is:
Kirk Coppes– Ashford Elementary School!
Our other five amazing finalists were:
- Gretchen Campbell – Southmayd Elementary School
- Henrietta Dixon – Hartsfield Elementary School
- Shawn Flores – Bruce Elementary School
- Yolanda Guzman – Smith Elementary School
- Kassandra Rios – Marshall Elementary School
This year we collaborated with the Houston Chronicle and we had two articles published, “Award-Winning Science Teachers Add Wow Factor to Their Classroom” and “ How Houston teachers Earn A+” that celebrate the hard work and dedication of teachers!
To make things more interactive with our community, we decided to also have a People’s Choice Award through the Houston Chronicle online platform! People from the community were able to cast their vote online to select their favorite teacher and the winner was announced on April 24. In an effort to support our local restaurants during this difficult time, the People’s Choice Award winner gets to select a $100 gift certificate to the Greater Houston Area restaurant of their choice.
Our 2020 Houston Chronicle People’s Choice Award Winner was:
Kirk Coppes– Ashford Elementary School. He got over 53,000 votes and chose a $100 gift certificate to Maggiano’s Little Italy!
Houston ISD has one hundred and sixty elementary schools, therefore there many wonderful teachers across the district. That is why our program would also like to recognize our Honorable Mentions, who are also doing great things in the classroom and are on their way to become our next finalists!
Our 2020 Honorable Mentions were:
- Sara Izquierdo – Lyons Elementary School
- Brittnay Douglas – Young Elementary School
- Claudia Buitrago – Benbrook Elementary School
- Amanda Philpott – Hobby Elementary School
- Arva Dorsey – Northline Elementary School
This award is just one of many educational initiatives alliantgroup supports as part of its continuing commitment to STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education.
