Sandra Makielski and Rufo de Leon

Makielski’s and de Leon’s innovative teaching idea, “More Than Words,” focuses on helping students build global relationships that will foster empathy as well as knowledge to understand and develop global connections. The Voya Unsung Heroes grant will be used to purchase teacher resource materials and student novels to support the school’s 200 underserved 7^th grade students, who will participate in teacher-directed lessons and read novels by and about underserved populations. Upon the completion of this project, Davisville Middle School students will create videos and share their own stories with students in Jose Rizal University, which is located in the Philippines.