Acmetonia Primary School teacher McCall Emerick often looks for opportunities for grant funding and new opportunities for students and teachers in the Allegheny Valley School District.
So when the chance to attend a conference at Disneyland in California arose, the sixth-grade science teacher submitted an application to learn more.
On May 5, Emerick was recognized as one of the 100 Disney Imagination Campus Teachers at Disneyland. Teachers nationwide submitted stories on how they are using imagination-powered learning in their communities, she said.
For her application essay, Emerick wrote about her farm-to-table and tank-to-table programs in her classroom. She said the tank-to-table program teaches students about the concept of aquaponic farming. Students learn how plants can be grown in water environments, such as a fish tank, while fish fertilize plants as they grow.
“It was another way of having students grow something in a different medium,” Emerick said.
The projects enable Emerick to focus on a more flexible learning environment, she said, and it brings the outdoors inside. Students also get to try healthy food options with what they grow in class. “And then I was fortunate enough to win, which was amazing,” she said.
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