Regina Catholic School Division awarded Follett Challenge for innovation

The Regina Catholic School Division was honoured on Wednesday after winning the grand prize in the annual Follett Challenge.

The challenge is an international education competition seeking the most innovative K-12 programs that teach 21st-century skills.

For the first time in its history, a school or district has won the award outside the United States.

“We look for programs that really articulate how the community connects with the school and a sustainable program that demonstrates innovation,” said Britten Follett, Follett School Solutions marketing and communications director.

“The fact that we are in Canada for our first Canadian winner is wonderful.”

Two years ago, the school division introduced its Tinker Tub project, an inquiry-based learning method intended to ignite critical thinking, communication and collaboration.

The project consists of a series of bins, each filled with hands-on material geared toward eight different topics, such as architecture, robotics and digital storytelling.

“We tried to put something together that would highlight the 21st-century skills that we’re hoping our students will learn and take into the future as they start preparing for careers and jobs once they finish school,” said Sherry Chase, Regina Catholic School Division curricular coordinator.

“We’ve done a good job of that by all the tubs we created.”

The school division was named a semifinalist in March, earning them a US$30,000 in Follett products and services. The school division will receive an additional $30,000 in products and services for winning the award.

The Follett Challenge is open to all schools in Canada, the United States and Australia, with three semifinalists — one each in the elementary, middle and high school categories — chosen each year.

The two semifinalists were elementary school from Valley Stream, N.Y., and a high school from Chicago, Ill.

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