Congrats to the 2020 Minneapolis Educator Leadership Award recipients
Kudos to ten outstanding Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) teachers and staff who were awarded a combined $75,000 in Minneapolis Educator Leadership Award (MELA) grants for projects that impact student achievement, student voice and school communities.
Now in its sixth year, MELA provides opportunities for educators to recognize peers who are doing outstanding work in their classrooms and school communities. Candidates are nominated by their colleagues, and finalists are selected by a committee of teachers and staff who are actively working in MPS.
2020 MELA grant recipients and projects include:
- Scott Charlesworth-Seiler from Lucy Laney Elementary School: An Awesome Outdoor Adventure
- Tamiko French from North High School: Opportunity of a Lifetime
- Brandi Grimm from Lucy Laney Elementary School: A Sensory Den for the Laney Timberwolves
- Ruth LeMay from Southwest High School: GuiTaRs UnLocKeD
- Catherine Ludowese from Roosevelt High School: Construction Sheds
- Elizabeth Nelson from Anderson United Community School: You and Your Story Matter—What’s Your Story?
- Sam Quincy, Jefferson Community School: Ethnic and Identity Studies—Exploring the Community and Ourselves
- Michelle Ricart from Districtwide Health Service: Access to the Bridge to Your Future Career Exploration Course
- Melodee Strong from Franklin Middle School: Huedentity—Finding Our Roots in Color
- Samuel Wilbur from North High School: Why Representation in Journalism Matters
MELA grants are administered by AchieveMpls in partnership with the John & Denise Graves Foundation. Applications for the 2021 program will go live in the fall. For more information, contact mpsgrants@achievempls.org.
Meet our 2019 MELA grant recipients.