2019 Contest Winners

The 2019 Popcorn Pep Club challenge drew an impressive array of creative entries from schools across the nation, showcasing the heart and soul of teachers and students alike. It is an absolute pleasure to look through these entries every year and learn more about you and what makes you tick, so thank you for taking the time to make us smile. We are proud of you all! Your 2019 Popcorn Pep Club winners are:

Grand Prize - $2,500

Mountain Sky Middle School | Phoenix, AZ

Teachers: Julia Wright

Principal: Perry Mason

"What do art, music, economics, entrepreneurship, and PE have in common? Popcorn, of course! Our Popcorn Pep Club Project started as a discussion in a department meeting and grew into an ambitious project reaching more than 400 students spanning five different subjects. The teachers involved in the project decided that the 8th Grade Entrepreneurship class, led by teacher Mr. Jamaal Scott, would be the hub. Those students, acting as business developers and entrepreneurs, would employ the services of the other classes to provide market researcher, production and advertising. Project elements included: project design, surveys, yield/cost/testing, nutrition facts, packaging, solar popping (an experiment that did not work but evoked the Michael Jordan quote “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”), music, and video production.

The result was the development of over 75 popcorn business logos, dozens of packaging prototypes, 35 PowerPoint presentations, and much, much more. As a result of this cross-curricular project, teachers gained a better understanding of each other’s disciplines. Though this shared experience, we formed stronger bonds among the teachers in the electives department.

This project served as a proof of concept for further integration of electives in multidisciplinary instruction. Additionally, projects like this one provide real world, authentic learning experiences for our students. Thank you to the Popcorn Board for inspiring us to create this project."

2nd Prize - $1,000

Delwood Elementary School | Delmar, Iowa

Teacher: Jenna Stevens, Ag in The Classroom Consultant

Principal: Marty Marshall