The HEART Award
Patti Grossman
Phoenix, AZ
Patti Grossman is a gifted and talented teacher. Now in her thirty-sixth year of teaching, Patti was one of MICROSOCIETY Inc.’s pioneer trainers and remains one today. She has received many honors at the local, state and national levels for her successes in the classroom, and was recently selected again to be included in Who’s Who of American Classroom Teachers – this time nominated by a former student. Patti has recently agreed to assume a position away from her classroom students. We congratulate her on her new endeavor as a teacher mentor/coach for her district.
The George Award for Outstanding Coordinator Achievement
Teri Webber and Heather Zottola
Noah Webster MicroSiociety Magnet School, Hartford, CT
The Multicultural Center Agency contained 22 first and second graders managed by a 6th grade student named Michael. Michael was characterized by his teachers as a somewhat disruptive student who was an underachiever. However, once empowered with the responsibility of managing these younger students and under the expert guidance of facilitator Barbara Schwartz, his attitude toward school improved markedly as did his grades. The Multicultural Center met a variety of social studies standards in addition to giving students a fun opportunity to learn.
The George Award for Outstanding District Administrator Achievement
Gerald Dawkins
Saginaw School District, Saginaw, MI
Gerald Dawkins is an extraordinary district superintendent who leads by example. When he arrived at his school district five years ago, he immediately focused on empowering his principals, teachers and students to share responsibility and authority and help come up with solutions to problems. He includes parents as well in the decision making process and started a Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Council that meets monthly to discuss issues that affect the district. He has an open door policy and a superintendent’s hotline because he so values everyone’s voice. His unwavering support of the MicroSociety program in his district followed through to his attendance last year at MICROSOCIETY, Inc.’s National Conference in Savannah Georgia. During the live Micro event he participated with enthusiasm just like a MicroSociety student, learning first hand why kids love the MicroSociety program.
The George Award for Outstanding Innovator Achievement
Rachel Kharfen
Barlett School, Newton, MA
Rachel is presently a fourth grade teacher at the Bartlett Community Partnership School in Lowell, MA, where she continues to practice the philosophies of the MicroSociety program. For over fifteen years, Rachel was a lead teacher at the first school-wide MICROSOCIETY School in the nation, the McDonough City School in Lowell, MA. She has authored and edited several curriculum pieces for MICROSOCIETY. She was a critical writer and contributing editor for the original MICROSOCIETY Handbook and has remained a trusted advisor, consultant, and trainer for MICROSOCIETY since its inception. In recognition of her range of contributions to the movement, Rachel has been a recipient of the HEART Award and now receives the equally deserved Innovator Award. She is the very proud mom of William Harry and Benjamin Addison Kharfen.
The George Award for Outstanding Parent Achievement
Julie Sprunger
Mid-Michigan Leadership Academy, Lansing, MI
Julie Sprunger is a shining example of the kind of parent that makes the MicroSociety program work. While being the parent of three lively boys probably deserves an award in itself, this recipient is honored for her tireless commitment to the MicroSociety program. At Mid-Michigan, her contributions are countless. She has acted as the facilitator of a MicroSociety venture, she serves as President of the Parent Advisory Council, she leads the school’s fundraising activities, organizes and chaperones field trips, and the list goes on. In the words of her Superintendent, “I can think of no other parent who has accepted as much responsibility for so little recognition.”
The George Award for Outstanding Partner Achievement
Hoon Young Hopgood
Myers Elementary School, Taylor, MI
Hoon Young Hopgood is a product of the very school district to which he returns to offer his expertise. As a successful State Representative, his visits to Myers Elementary inspire the student body. As one student noted, “if he can do it, so can we, because he was one of us.” Representative Hopgood’s efforts to on behalf of Myers Elementary have run the gamut. He has supervised the student legislature so that it mirrors the way that the real Michigan legislature functions. He has sworn in elected officials, administered the oath of citizenship and has highlighted Myers and advocated for MicroSociety programs in newsletters to his constituents.
The George Award for Outstanding Principal Achievement
Ellen Decker
Calvin Coolidge Elementary School, Hillside, NJ
Ellen Decker believed school should be focused on the students and that learning should be fun and relevant – the reason she chose the MicroSociety program over many other better-known whole school reform models. She was always on the alert for ways in which she could bring authentic and hands-on experiences to her students so that they could make the important real-world connections to the curriculum, so necessary in the learning process. The late Mrs. Decker was legendary for her ability as a grant writer and was responsible for securing literally millions of dollars in resources for her children. Her greatest legacy, however, is her vision. She innately understood how to empower others and as a result, her staff as well as her students excelled. She embodied the 7 core principles of the MicroSociety program so well it almost seems like they were created to describe her own educational vision. This principal’s educational vision lives on through the students and teachers whose lives she touched.
The George Award for Outstanding Teacher Achievement
Tony Shopinski and Judy Robinson
William 
Davidson Elementary School, Detroit, MI
Tony and Judy have been implementing the MicroSociety program at this elementary school located in downtown Detroit for more than a decade. Their partnership began their involvement as part of a team of teachers, administrators and parents who, in 1994, researched their district’s options for a Whole School Reform model, and became hooked on the MicroSociety program from the start. Since that time both educators have played seminal roles in developing and sustaining the program. Judy serves on the MICROSOCIETY leadership team and has facilitated the school news and video recording studio, “WDTV” as well as “Happy Feet Dance Company,” a venture that allows students to learn about running a business while engaging in vital exercise and working on gross motor skills. Tony is the designer of the school’s MICROSOCIETY logo. As an art teacher, he has infused the arts into the program with a special focus on technology and ensures that both are connected back to the classroom throughout the year, all year long. What a team!
The Evans Clinchy Award for Scholarship
Sheryl Dunton
Talbot Hill Elementary School, Renton, WA
Sheryl Dunton is the principal at Talbot Hill Elementary in Renton, Washington. Prior to being principal, she was the MICROSOCIETY Coordinator at the school for 10 years. Other experience before her Coordinator role included work in special education and bilingual assessment. Talbot Hill has been implementing the MicroSociety program since 1993. During this time they have received numerous awards and grants, including a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Model School award, a Blue Ribbon School’s Lighthouse award, and was named one of twenty of Intel’s 21st Century School of Distinction for innovative use of technology. Sheryl recently published an article, Building a MICROSOCIETY in ASCD’s Educational Leadership (May 2006), and recently presented at the National Association for Elementary School Principals with MSI’s Keith Pierce on MICROSOCIETY.
The Tom Malone Lifetime Achievement
Lorol Brackx
Maximo MICROSOCIETY and Visual Arts Elementary School, St. Petersburg, FL
Lorol is currently the MICROSOCIETY Coordinator at Maximo MICROSOCIETY and Visual Art
s Elementary School where she facilitates the daily morning broadcast called “Wake Up Maximo.” Recently, Lorol participated in the Pinellas County Economics Expo and received several awards including a 1st place award for a “MICROSOCIETY Marketplace” technovations project. In 2006 Lorol wrote and received a Learn and Serve Grant for Maximo and in 2005 she was awarded second place in a Pinellas County Career Prep-Tech Education competition for a lesson she submitted. Before moving to her current MICROSOCIETY school, Lorol lived in Detroit and helped launch one of the nation’s first MICROSOCIETY schools at William Davison Elementary School and remained there 25 years as the MICROSOCIETY coordinator. In that position she was partially responsible for Davison receiving a one million dollar grant from the Kellogg Foundation to renovate their facility and convert it into a modern day miniature society for their MicroSociety program. Lorol has been a MICROSOCIETY certified trainer for many years and brings expertise in the areas of special education and Early Childhood to the movement.
The George Award for Outstanding Business Venture