Newsletter: MERIT Program Update
by Krause Center for Innovation The 2011 MERIT cohort graduated April 12. This lively group of educators not only learned how to use a variety of technologies to help students learn more effectively, they also created nearly 200 educational resources for free, online libraries; posted dozens of videos sharing insights on what students encounter in school; and began to present at regional conferences, starting with the Silicon Valley CUE conference in March.
We have already selected the 2012 MERIT cohort and are gearing up for July. Over the last two years, we have continued to expand our reach, and this year we expect to have more states represented than ever before. Applications came in from Washington, Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Oregon, and, of course, California. We will have two Italians on the team again and look forward to reaching other counties.
One of the KCI goals is to expand our pool of excellent instructors, and MERIT graduates have stepped up to the challenge. We’re pleased to welcome this year’s instructional team:
- David Cross (Earn While You Learn 2004);
- Nicole Dalesio (MERIT 2010);
- Roni Habib (MERIT 2009);
- Lisa Highfill (MERIT 2010);
- Karen Larson (MERIT 2011);
- Diane Main (MERIT 2011Instructional Team);
- Gene Tognetti (MERIT 2011); and
- Sean Williams (Los Angeles area).
We also welcome Cobey Doi and Kristin Tarnas, two participants from MERIT 2010 from the Hawaii Preparatory Academy (HPA), as the first non-Californians to join the instructional team. Cobey and Kristin are training to take the MERIT Program back to HPA, as we are in discussions on how their academy might replicate the program.
MERIT will be held the last two weeks in July. If you’d like to visit the MERIT Program in session and see transformation in action, please call or e-mail KCI Executive Director Gay Krause at (650) 949-7113 or .