Nine teacher-designed and student-inspired projects awarded to advance the goals of #TigerInnovation #TigerGrowth and #TigerCare across the district

Loveland, Ohio – From the establishment of an Innovation Lab at Loveland Primary School (LPS) to encourage educational risk taking to the creation of Virtual Reality Environments at Loveland Middle School (LMS) to help students with special needs – the Loveland City School District is excited to announce the district will help fund nine projects for the 2018-19 school year as part of the annual Innovative Classroom Grant program. The selection of winners was presented to the Loveland Board of Education during the April 17 Board Business Meeting.

“With this next iteration of the Innovative Classroom Grant, we have learned so much about what innovation truly means and looks like across our classrooms,” said Loveland Director of Technology and Innovation David Knapp. “Innovation is not about things. It’s about embracing the perspective of our students to think about teaching and learning differently.

“We could not be more excited to see the growth and development of these teacher-generated and student-inspired ideas that resulted from this year’s grant opportunity. As we plan and eventually implement these new ideas that will impact so many of our students immediately, we are also piloting experiences that could impact our students for years to come in thinking about the next phase of our Loveland classrooms and learning experiences.”

The district established Innovative Classroom Grants during the 2016-17 school year to fund innovative teacher ideas that would enhance the district’s three key goals of providing Tiger academic Growth, Innovation and Care. In the program’s debut year, the district funded 11 projects, including flexible learning spaces, MakerSpace and digital microscopes. This year, projects will continue to impact Tigers at all age levels, with continued focus on Growth, Innovation and Care.

“Loveland Middle School plans to design a space with social and emotional learning supports for our students who struggle with anxiety and anger,” said LMS Counselor Kim Shafer – who was part of a winning grant team. “We will have tools and programs to help our students take a minute away from class to reset emotionally – with the goal to rejoin the class. This will be a powerful way for the district to provide Tiger Care.”

“Our grant idea was inspired by watching our students at Loveland Primary School work with MakerSpace – which was part of the grant selection last year,” said Innovative Instructional Coach Traci Stubenrauch – who was a part of a winning grant team. “Our hope for the LPS Innovation Lab is that it will be a place for students and teachers to be able to take educational risks, try new things, collaborate, share and give each other feedback.”

“This is an important investment to continue to make as we develop a world-class student experience for our Tigers that is unlike any other,” said Loveland Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse. “This opportunity puts our rock star educators in a position to game-change the traditional classroom for their students. We appreciate the support of our Board of Education as we take opportunities like these to enhance our core business – preparing students for tomorrow, today – in unique ways.” 

The winning projects included (by building):

Loveland Primary School

LPS Innovation Lab – Cristin Kiefer and Traci Stubenrauch

Loveland Elementary School

iPods for Personalized Learning – Heidi Weber

Loveland Intermediate School

Team Model for Flexible Learning – Kelly Coldiron and John Waple

Flexible Space for Collaborative Learning – Natasha Young

Loveland Middle School

Virtual Reality Environments – Rachael Angel

Social and Emotional Learning Supports – Lauren Cripe, Kim Shafer and Anita Winning

Student Designed Flexible Learning Space – Chloe Jackson

Digital Art Creation – Kacey Watkins

Loveland High School

Gamified Flexible Learning Space – Chris Herbert