NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Pre-K blended classroom at Kirkpatrick Enhanced Option School has been named the winner of the weekly NFL PLAY 60 DonorsChoose.org Showdown. The showdown is in conjunction with *Thursday Night Football *and was launched this season through a partnership between the NFL and DonorsChoose.org.
The Titans project with 4,589 votes was the winner over the Steelers project with 2,820 votes in the NFL PLAY 60 DonorsChoose.org Showdown.
"We would like to give a huge thanks to everyone in the Titans community who voted, told a friend or family member about the contest, spread the word via Facebook, sent out an email or just passed along kind words of encouragement.," said Katie Elam, the Kirkpatrick teacher whose project was selected for the competition. "We are truly honored and humbled by the support that's come out for our class and for Kirkpatrick Enhanced Option School. The books, puppets, games, stickers and posters included in this project are so important for our kids. Many lessons, conversations, and learning opportunities centered on character development will now be possible for our students because of this project and the NFL Play 60 Showdown. Thank you to everyone who has helped get them in to our classroom!"
Each week a DonorsChoose.org proposal from each of the participating teams' cities is selected for a voting process. The proposal with the most votes receives full funding up to $1,000 from NFL PLAY 60, and the proposal that finishes second will receive half funding up to $500.
Kirkpatrick Enhanced Option Pre-K teacher Katie Elam's blended classroom has 4-year-old students of various development levels. Some students have developed typically when compared with peers but others have developmental delays or other special needs.
Elam submitted the DonorsChoose.org proposal entitled "Character, Community, and Connections" to reinforce the school's three rules: be respectful, be responsible, and be safe. Elam would like to use the grant money to primarily acquire books but also puzzles posters and stickers that can be used to teach lessons that emphasize citizenship and encourage the children to embrace each other's diversities.
"This project has lots of books in it," Elam said. "Books that will help us teach lessons about being a good friend, being a good student, but also help us talk about being respectful and responsible and introducing character concepts that may be new to our kids."
About DonorsChoose.org
Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America post requests, and individuals can give directly to the ones that inspire them. To date, 240,000 public and charter school teachers have used DonorsChoose.org to secure $121 million in books, art supplies, technology, and other resources that their students need to learn.
More from Metro Nashville Public Schools: The Metro Schools First Choice Festival is Thursday, Oct. 18 at McGavock High School. Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools serves 81,000 students with the goal of being the first choice for families in Nashville and Davidson County. The governing body for MNPS is the Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County Board of Public Education, a nine-member group elected by residents of Metropolitan Nashville. For more information, please visit www.mnps.org.
