MCHENRY, Ill., Nov 28, 2018 – As the 2019 Follett Challenge entry deadline nears, schools and K-12 districts hoping to showcase their innovative educational programs and share in the $200,000 in products and/or services will need to finish their entries soon. The deadline to enter is 1 p.m. EST Friday, Dec. 14, and there are vast resources available on the website (www.FollettChallenge.com) to help entrants get started or complete the process.
Entrants must fill out an online application and submit a three- to five-minute video describing their program and outlining how it has made a positive impact on their school. The eighth annual contest again will reward groundbreaking educational programs by seeking applications illustrating 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, and submissions are open to all K-12 educators and Parent Teacher Organizations. Follett will reward a total of $200,000 in products and/or services to schools/districts with innovative educational programs that teach 21st century skills to students.
A highlight of the 2019 Follett Challenge is that Kwame Alexander, a New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medalist, will serve as a judge and also make a personal visit to the grand-prize winning school as part of the award celebration. Alexander, one of the country's most acclaimed and innovative children's book authors, recently completed a nationwide tour for his new book, Swing.
"There have been so many inspiring entries over the years, and as a first-time judge of the Follett Challenge I'm looking forward to seeing for myself what amazing things these schools are doing," Alexander said. "As the adage goes, you can't win if you don't enter, and I'm hoping these schools make it really tough on us from a judging standpoint. And, needless to say, I'm so excited to be part of the celebration for the grand-prize winner!"
Three semifinalists are again to be selected—one each from the elementary, middle and high school categories—and will earn $30,000 prizes. The Grand Prize winner, to be selected from the three semifinalists, receives an additional $30,000 for a total of $60,000, plus the visit from Alexander. Ten $8,000 prizes will be awarded to People's Choice winners, which are the schools receiving the highest number of online votes from the public for their submitted videos.
For a complete look at all the Follett Challenge winners over the years, visit https://follettchallenge.com/winners/pastwinners.cfm.
Key 2019 Follett Challenge dates include:
- Oct. 22, 2018: Contest formally launched
- Dec. 14, 2018: Entries close
- Jan. 21, 2019: People's Choice voting begins
- Jan. 25, 2019: People's Choice voting closes
- Feb. 27, 2019: Semifinalists and 10 People's Choice video winners announced
- April 24, 2019: Grand-prize winner announced
For more information about the Follett Challenge, visit www.FollettChallenge.com; for more on Follett, visit www.follettlearning.com.
[To see Kwame Alexander give his personal take on being involved with the eighth annual Follett Challenge, see this 90-second video: https://bit.ly/2PS0IOM.]
About Follett's PreK-12 Business
Follett is the largest provider of educational materials and technology solutions to PreK-12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers and school districts in the United States, and a major supplier to educational institutions worldwide. Follett distributes books, reference materials, digital resources, ebooks and audiovisual materials, as well as pre-owned textbooks. Follett also is one of the leading providers of integrated educational technology for the management of physical and digital assets, the tracking, storing and analyzing of academic data, and digital learning environment tools for the classroom focusing on student achievement.
About Follett Corporation
Follett Corporation is the world's largest single source of books, entertainment products, digital content and multi-media for libraries, schools and retailers. Headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, Follett provides education technology, services and physical and digital content to millions of students at 70,000 schools and more than 2,850 physical and virtual campus stores in North America. Through Baker & Taylor, Follett's reach also extends to the public library and global retail markets.
