Griswold Elementary School One of Six Schools Crowned Follett Challenge Winners

Griswold School's 'Get out the vote' campaign was a huge success as it netted the Library a $5,000 prize in the Follett Challenge. 

Educators and students across the country gathered in front of their computer monitors for the announcement of the winners of the Follett Challenge. Seven months and 452,776 votes later, in a live webcast this afternoon, Follett crowned six schools as the most innovative in the world!   

This second Follett Challenge contest awarded $200,000 in Follett products and services to innovative K-12 schools that are expertly aligning their curriculum to teach 21st century learning skills. The advocacy contest challenged entrants to incorporate four skills – critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration – into their video and written entries and then promote their entry in their communities to earn votes.  

In today’s live webcast, Tom Schenck, president and COO of Follett School Solutions Group (FSSG), announced, out of 115 entries, the dual grand-prize honors went to Maplewood Richmond Heights School District in St. Louis, Mo., and Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, Calif. Follett, a global education solutions provider, will not only award $60,000 in products and services to each school but also will throw a party for the two grand-prize winners at their respective schools.  

The six Follett Challenge winners are (school, district, location, entry name, contest prize):  

Grand Prize #1: Maplewood Richmond Heights School District; St. Louis, Mo.; “Cornerstone Transforms the Library into the R&D”; $60,000.

Grand Prize #2: Henry M. Gunn High School; Palo Alto Unified School District; Palo Alto, Calif.; “Voices from the Idea Lab”; $60,000.

Third Place: Berwick Academy; South Berwick, Maine; “Jackson Library - Berwick Innovation Center”; $35,000.

Fourth Place: Goochland High School; Goochland County Public Schools; Goochland, Va.; “Not Grandma's Library”; $25,000.

Fifth Place: Seneca High School; Lenape Regional High School District; Tabernacle, N.J.; “How One Book Caught Fire: Seneca's One Book/One School Experience”; $15,000.

Sixth Place (People’s Choice Video 26,369 votes): Mary E. Griswold Elementary School; Berlin Public Schools Kensington, Conn.; Berlin Public Schools; Mary E. Griswold Elementary School Library; $5,000.

"Everybody is just thrilled, and the $5,000 award will greatly enrich our library and school resources," said Danielle Salina, head of the library at Griswold School. 

In today’s webcast Schenck explained, “Maplewood Richmond Heights was one of the grand-prize winners because 10 years ago it ranked among the St. Louis area’s lowest performing schools. Last year, the school was named an International Center for Leadership in Education Model School and an Apple Distinguished School. This one-to-one laptop school has an innovative, student-mentored technology integration program. It has transformed its dated library model into the Research & Design Center, where kids can meet their resource needs and engage in activities that help them network with mentors and social entrepreneurs in the community, preparing them for the job world.”  

Britten Follett highlighted the contest’s “Get out and vote” campaign to determine the winner of the “People’s Choice Award.” Many of the entries, including the eventual winner – Mary E. Griswold Elementary School in Kensington, Conn. – “were not afraid to tell their story,”

Follett emphasized. Griswold Elementary earned 26,369 votes.   “We encouraged each entrant to use the tool kit we put together with sample news releases, social media posts, and web banners to encourage their school communities to vote,” she said. “And it worked. When we closed voting last month, the Follett Challenge videos generated 452,776 votes!”