The HEART Award
Sheryl Dunton
Talbot Hill Elementary School
Renton, WA
Sheryl Dunton is the principal at Talbot Hill Elementary, an award winning MICROSOCIETY school in Renton, Washington. Talbot Hill has been implementing 
the MicroSociety Program since 1993. Named one of twenty of Intel’s 21st Century Schools of Distinction, its innovative use of technology has transformed instruction and is embedded throughout the school’s democratic society from scanners and digital cameras used in the student-run newspaper to the TV New station broadcasting the daily news. Talbot has received many honors and grants including ones from Boeing, Social Venture Partners – Seattle, Gates Foundation Model School award and Blue Ribbon Lighthouse award.
The George Award for Outstanding Community Partner
Gilbert Moreno
Sageland Elementary School
El Paso, TX
Few partners in the MicroSociety movement fall in the league of Mr. Moreno. He embodies the spirit of entrepreneurship. After landing a prestigious position at IBM, one of the world’s leading tech companies, Moreno left it all to build his own educational consulting firm. What was the seed that prompted this move? When his volunteer work with Junior Achievement led him to the MicroSociety program at Sageland Elementary School where he has continued to volunteer for the past 14 years and has grown into one of Sageland’s and MICROSOCIETY’s most trusted and cherished friends. He has trained management teams in strategic planning, provided business plans, mentored at-risk students, and rallied business and community partners.
The George Award for Outstanding Coordinator Achievement
Hether Pflasterer
Alexander Elementary School
Jackson, TN
In a high pressure school environment, the positive energy and creative ideas of your co-workers is a must-have resource. Work The successes demonstrated by these two colleagues is unparalleled. Their buoyant spirit enlivens the entire school community. Our first honoree worked for many years as an intermediate grade teacher and the principal’s bona-fide right-hand woman before taking a position at the district. Under her current role as curriculum coordinator, she has installed an ambitious plan to organize state standards into a calendar that allowed students to master one skill per week. This feat is only one example of our honoree’s organizational prowess.
Our second honoree began her career as a special education teacher before becoming a most-cherished MICROSOCIETY Coordinator. She is known throughout her school for her incredible compassion and the degree to which she takes the experiences of her students to Heart. She also possesses an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the skills and talents of each of her students.
The George Award for Outstanding Innovator Achievement
Jorge Ramirez
Chula Vista Learning Community School
Chula Vista, CA
Dr. Jorge Ramirez is a founding member of the Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School - a dual language (inter-generational) MicroSociety School and the first start-up charter school in the Chula Vista Elementary School District. A strong proponent of international and multicultural education, Dr. Ramirez has created a school community that fosters a global perspective. The Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School values student voice as a powerful mechanism to bring leadership into the 21st century and prides itself on providing a place where students are challenged to get involved in social justice. Dr. Ramirez is a professor at San Diego State University where he teaches democratic education to Master’s students and participates in the Queretaro, the Mexico Multiple Subject Teaching Credential Bilingual Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development Program.
The George Award for Outstanding Principal Achievement
Michael Tellone
Chocachatti Elementary School
Brooksville, FL
The recipient of this year’s George Award for Outstanding Principal is a true visionary
. When preparing to open his school, he initially expected to launch two programs: the MicroSociety program and Performing Arts. Quickly he realized that separating them was unnecessary and self defeating. His fusion of the two launched the nation’s first MICROSOCIETY Performing Arts School. So what did this mean? All MICROSOCIETY business ventures became arts related. From steel drums to drama, business became an opportunity to fuse curriculum with life through the arts. Parent involvement, community partnerships and service learning soared. When the students were invited to “go on the road” delivering live musical performances at local community events with increasing frequency, they became tremendous fundraising events to underwrite future professional development and program expansion and sustainability. They are also proud to claim they are one of the top fundraisers for the American Cancer Society.
The George Award for Outstanding Teacher Achievement
Frances Murphy
Noah Webster MICROSOCIETY Magnet School
Hartford, CT
Over the past 5 years, Frances has facilitated numerous thematic ventures and agencies in her MicroSociety school that have been both engaging and strongly tied to the curriculum. Most recently, she helped first grade students create a weather museum. Various interactive exhibits included the water cycle, a matching game about clouds, a weathervane for museum customers to sample, and a rainwater collection with detailed descriptions of the process. In the museum shop, students could purchase a bracelet with beads representing the different phases of the water cycle. Her students even started a campaign to “recycle” school uniforms and started collecting them to create a swap shop.
The Tom Malone Lifetime Achievement Award
Christyn Pope
Chula Vista Learning Community School
Chula Vista, CA
Christyn has been involved with the MicroSociety program for more than 15 years. She was a long-time MicroSociety program coordinator for Sherman Elementary Business and Government Preparatory Magnet School in San Diego, CA, one of the first MicroSociety schools on the west coast. In her long history of participation in the MicroSociety program, she has facilitated the court, bank, warehouse, city hall, treasury and planning department. She also helped coordinate MICROSOCIETY Inc. ’s National Conference in 1997 in San Diego. In addition to her coordinating and mentoring responsibilities, Christyn is a MICROSOCIETY Certified Trainer and helped train our first multi-school project in Philadelphia, Pa.
The George Award for Outstanding Business Venture
Chic Boutique
Chiles Academy
Port Orange, FL
This venture offers an opportunity for students to make their Micro dollars stretch and get outstanding quality goods they can use even at home - it’s for clothing and accessories, of course! Donated wares are cleaned and repaired, then displayed so attractively that students compete with community members who want to shop here as well!
The George Award for Outstanding Business Venture
The Insect Zoo
Alexander Elementary School
Jackson, TN
Natalie Pflasterer, Manager
This is the place to go if you want to learn all about insects found around Jackson, TN. Manned mostly by first graders, the insect zoo contains live insects, plastic models, diagrams, and even a gift shop. Insects are a huge success it turns out - especially the real ones that move!
The George Award for Outstanding Business Agency