Charles R. Drew Charter School Teacher Claudia Fitzwater is one of three Georgia educators to win the 2016-2017 Innovation in Teaching Competition. Gov. Nathan Deal announced the winners on Tuesday, January 17. Fitzwater is an elementary Spanish teacher at Drew Charter School. According to the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, this year’s competition rewarded teachers focused on one of the following priority areas: applied learning with a focus on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education, language and literacy skills, blended learning and innovative practices to close the achievement gap. Click HERE to Read Fitz’s winning unit.
“Effective, engaging teachers are essential to preparing Georgia’s students for the workforce or higher education,” said Gov. Deal. “With the Innovation in Teaching Competition, we are recognizing and rewarding educators who are at the forefront of developing innovative classroom methods. By learning from these teachers, we are building upon their success to improve education in classrooms across the state.”
As a winner of the teaching competition, Fitzwater will receive a $3,000 stipend and a $4,000 school grant, which will support innovative instructional strategies. Georgia Public Broadcasting also plans to film Fitzwater and the other winners teaching their winning units. The video will be made available to the public.
The Innovation Fund began as a more than $19 million dollar fund under Georgia’s Race to the Top plan. Since that time, Gov. Deal has The goal of the Innovation fund is to advance academic achievement for Georgia’s students. Read more about the Innovation Fund on The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement website.
