With newly added opportunities for PreK-12 schools and districts to win prizes, the Follett Challenge today launched its ninth annual contest rewarding innovative educational programs. For 2020, the Follett Challenge is increasing the number of semifinalists to nine.
Follett will reward a total of $200,000 (USD) in products and/or services to groundbreaking educational programs that illustrate critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration. All public and private K-12 schools/districts in the United States, Canada, and Australia are eligible to apply.
Author and global literacy advocate James Patterson will serve as a judge for this year’s contest. Earlier this year, Patterson announced a partnership with Follett and its “All Books for All Kids” initiative, which works to ensure children have access to a wide range of books no matter their background.
A total of 19 prizes will be awarded for the 2020 Follett Challenge contest:
- Semifinalists: The judges will select three winners each from the elementary, middle and high school categories. Each semifinalist will receive $15,000 in Follett products and services.
- Grand Prize: From the nine semifinalists, a grand-prize winner is to be selected and will receive an additional $15,000, for a total of $30,000 in products and services.
- ‘People's Choice’ Winners: The contest again will reward the 10 schools that receive the highest number of online votes from the public for their submitted videos. The winners each will receive $5,000 in products and services. Semifinalists are not eligible for the “People's Choice” awards.
Eighty percent of an entrant’s score will be based on the judges’ evaluation, with the remaining 20 percent based on the number of votes generated for their submitted video, which is required along with an online application. The grand prize winner will be selected solely from the judges’ rubric score.
For a look at all the winners over the first eight years, visit follettchallenge.com/winners/pastwinners.cfm.
Submissions for the 2020 Follett Challenge are open to all PreK-12 educators and Parent Teacher Organizations. There are resources on the website to help entrants get started; the entry period is open for eight weeks.
Key 2020 Follett Challenge dates are (all times Eastern):
· Oct. 21, 2019 ........ Contest formally launches; entries open
· Dec. 12, 2019 ........ Entries close at 5 p.m.
· Jan. 20, 2020 ......... People’s Choice voting begins at 9 a.m.
· Jan. 24, 2020 ......... People’s Choice voting closes at 5 p.m.
· March 23, 2020 ..... Grand Prize, Semifinalists, and People’s Choice winners are announced
For more information about the Follett Challenge, visit www.FollettChallenge.com; for more on Follett, visit www.follettlearning.com.
