Mountain View Middle School in Running for Innovation Prize

Mountain View Middle School in Beaverton is hoping that the story of how they transformed their library from a room full of books into a place where students go, innovate, and learn to prepare for life in the 21st Century is enough to help them win a share of a national education prize. They are only the school competing in the annual Follett Challenge.

The challenge offers $200,000 in prizes that recognize what they consider the most unique and inventive K-12 programs. Ten of the prizes are $8,000 grants that are awarded solely based on how many votes applicants receive for videos they made. It's called the People's Choice category.

Mountain View's application is centered around their library.

“Participating in the Follett Challenge is a way for Mountain View to call attention to the exciting transformation taking place in
the heart of our school," says Steve Lent, the school's library and instructional technology teacher.
"We are rebuilding our library space to better help our students develop essential
skills necessary for a successful future. With the limited resources we’re working with, we have to get creative when it comes to funding the changes that need to take place in order to create a future-ready library."

After registering, users can cast one vote per day through Friday, January 27, when voting ends, Lent says. Not only are the public’s votes significant in the video-voting portion of the contest, but they also will play a role in the overall scoring as 20 percent of each school’s final score is based on the number of votes generated for
their video.

The main prize is $60,000. Two second-place winners get $30,000 each. Ten other winners get $8,000.

The judges will be seeking applications that illustrate critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration between students and among teachers and other members of the school staff. The 2017 Grand Prize winner will be announced April 28.

Photo Mountain View Middle School