Archive: Around Town

The Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) may be best known for its grants for Ithaca City School District (ICSD) teachers and for the Kids Discover the Trail! collaboration with the ICSD and Discovery Trail. Yet, IPEI also manages numerous Awards funds including seven presented each June to students, a teacher, a student organization, and district activities.

Ann Caren, IPEI’s Awards Committee Chair presented the Raymond C. Loehr Innovative Science Teaching Award for 2011 to Wayne Gottlieb. She made the announcement at the Opening Day Convocation for ICSD employees on September 6 in Kulp Auditorium.
 
Caren said she was “delighted to represent IPEI that manages a number of funds established by community members to honor and remember special people through annual scholarships and awards. The Loehr Innovative Science Teaching Fund was established ten years ago by the Loehr family to honor the life and teaching career of their father on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Any teacher of science in the ICSD is eligible for this annual cash award.”
 
Gottlieb is a science teacher at DeWitt Middle School who engages his students in inquiry-based science. He encourages students to develop independence in their work, which includes the care and maintenance of the school’s aquariums and a coral reef tank. During the past school years, he received a series of grants to build a garden at the school. Gottlieb’s students studied soils, plant needs, anatomy and nutrition. They designed their own beds, chose and grew the plants from seed and harvested the produce, which was used for lunches in the school cafeteria.
 
Colleagues recognize him as a resource for planning and inspiration, according to Caren. His 2009 sabbatic project focused on the study and promotion of inquiry- based science across the district; a website he created continues to serve as a source of information and guidance. Gottlieb has also been involved with DeWitt’s Green Team for many years, organizing initiatives around school-based recycling and composting.
 
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