Funding for the Prodigy Awards is provided by a designated annual donation by a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
"I first got involved with the Education Foundation of Bloomington around 1996 as a volunteer to help with the Prodigy Award and when I was invited to be on the EFB Board in 2002 I continued with the event. The purpose of the award is to recognize team effort in making the environment of the workplace of our schools a positive and safe learning environment for our children and staff." – Flora Tsukayama
Nominations now are open for the Education Foundation of Bloomington’s Prodigy Awards. The annual awards recognize teams of Bloomington School District staff who successfully organize their members, set goals to improve their results and measure their achievements. Recipients of the seven Prodigy Team Awards will be honored at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year for their excellent teamwork in teaching or educational support in the 2011-12 school year. For more information, contact Flora Tsukayama at 952-944-9459. Read more
Prodigy Award Nomination Forms (click here). Nominations are due Friday, April 27, at 4 p.m.
Setting educational goals and organizing successful teams to achieve them and measuring the expected outcomes form a successful strategy in the Bloomington Public Schools. The Foundation’s Prodigy Awards recognize the importance of teamwork in improving learning, maximizing budgets and improving staff efficiency and morale.
A 2010 Prodigy Award winner, the Bloomington School District Technology Support Team provides outstanding technical support throughout the Bloomington School District’s classrooms and offices.
Team members (l to r) Larry Waege, Russ Spiess, Eric Egger, Mike Holman, Chris Wondra and Marcy Ager sustain a wide array of information technology. Their successful teamwork enables students and staff to make the efficient and effective use of technology.
The technology team’s determined and hard-working efforts met the growing technology demands of a large metropolitan high school’s students and staff.
This team achieves the “best practice” standards of effective staff development as its members deliver job-embedded, ongoing support to teachers who in turn strengthen student achievement.
The fifth grade teacher team effectively prepares students for success in middle school. The teachers impress students with the importance of responsibility and the logical consequences of missing homework assignments or not contributing in a group learning activity.
Parents and school staff teamed up to design an all-school Read-A-Thon focusing on literacy development and fund raising. Students supported the effort and raised $17,000 for the media center and student activities by reading 2,305 hours.
The team has led the Jefferson High School theater experience to new heights of performance quality and student participation. The team developed an annual show to introduce all Bloomington elementary students to theater experiences.
Hennepin County Library: This school-library-community team coordinates support for families needing help with homework and English language skills through a partnership with International Kids Club, International Welcome Club, Family Read to Me, Family Literacy Connection, Rocking Readers and Family Homework Connection. Trained volunteers work with families, the libraries provide space and staff support and Friends of the Oxboro Library provides materials.
Leadership for SHAPE’s adult learning opportunities is this team’s focus. Curriculum work, technology training and volunteer support led to a continuous improvement in testing goals. The results mean that SHAPE students have improved learning and engagement with education, which makes a difference in their lives.
Curriculum and learning opportunities that serve Special Education students moving into a new Transition Center program at Oak Grove resulted from this team’s successful work. The team designed learning experiences that help students develop vocational and social skills and independence as they volunteer in schools, businesses and community service programs.
The PBIS Team fosters a school culture that teaches respect and good decision-making skills to enable students to become productive members of society. Students and school staff achieved a 60 percent reduction in quiet room referrals through class activities and visual reminders of high expectations.