Tonya Nicholls and Jeff Anderson - Pleasant Run Elementary School, Northwest Local Schools

2021 George B. Milbourn Award for Excellence in Team Teaching

          “Each year our building is excited to learn what new projects or partnerships this dynamic duo is planning for their next class of students. We are proud to have these team members as part of Pleasant Run Elementary and couldn’t be more excited to see how they will continue to positively impact students!” ~ Jemel Weathers, Principal, Pleasant Run Elementary School

      Fifth-grade teachers Jeff Anderson and Tonya Nicholls have been teaching partners for many years at Pleasant Run Elementary School, a racially-diverse suburban school just north of Cincinnati.  With expertise in different subject areas, they seamlessly integrate mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts to increase student interest and engagement in all subjects.

     As a team, the teachers believe students learn deeply when content is integrated. They foster a hands-on, minds-on approach to learning that requires students to think, ask questions, and actively participate in the process. They teach children of all abilities and set high expectations that challenge each child to learn and grow.

     “Our classrooms are academically challenging,” the teachers write in their application for the Foundation’s Team Teaching award, adding that they view their roles as facilitators as the students work independently and/or collaboratively in small groups.  “Students benefit from opportunities to express their creativity, which leads to intellectual curiosity, innovation, and self-satisfaction.  Our goal is to foster a learning environment that embraces 21st Century learning skills, literacy skills, and life skills.”

     Pleasant Run Principal, Jemel Weathers says the team’s influence on students has been “rich and authentic,” and that their work has had a lasting, positive impact on their community.

       Mr. Anderson and Ms. Nicholls emphasize STEM applications and tools as a way for students to apply what they have gleaned from content areas.  “Students should have opportunities to problem-solve within a meaningful context,” the teachers explain.  With funding from the Team Teaching award, they plan to further integrate literacy with science, technology, engineering, and math and inspire in-depth learning through the use of Picture Perfect Science, Book Creator, Whiteboard.fi, and sets of nonfiction books. “STEM learning,” they write, “helps students make connections between real-world problem-solving situations and inspires them to be creative and innovative.”

     Once incorporated within their teaching, they believe the STEM materials will align with deep learning; motivate students to become self-directed, critical thinkers; and extend learning beyond the classroom.

     The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation recognizes one exceptional Ohio teaching team each year with the George B. Milbourn Award for Excellence in Team Teaching. The award is presented at the Foundation’s annual Educators Retreat.