What is the RISE Challenge Utah?
The RISE Challenge is a collaboration between students and their actual lived experiences, teachers/facilitators, and local experts to generate real community change around natural hazards!
The goals of RISE Challenge Utah are to:
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Improve community engagement in developing resilience. When students participate in local problem-solving, their experience is durable, becoming adults more likely to engage with their communities.
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Improve student learning. This method, where students drive their own learning, is the cornerstone of the deep understanding that young people need in order to thrive in a world driven by change.
How It Works:
The RISE Challenge Utah is open to Utah educators and students in grades 6 – 12 at no cost. Educators can lead the RISE Challenge alone or team up with colleagues for cross-curricular learning.
Participants learn about the natural hazards impacting their communities, select an issue to focus on, conduct in-depth research, engage community stakeholders, define a strategy for addressing their natural hazard issue, and present it in an action plan proposal. Groups with the top proposals will be invited to present to a panel of expert judges at the summit for the chance to win prize money!
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All proposal entries are eligible to request funding for project implementation supplies.
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Awards will be presented to the top five (5) winning proposals, determined on summit day as a combined score of the written proposal and summit day presentation. Prizes range from $1,000 for 1st place to $300 for 5th place.
Why the RISE Challenge Utah?
Transforms classrooms by grounding learning in issues students care about the most!
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Deepens learning by asking students to leverage experience, harness internal and external resources, develop a plan, and implement that plan in their community.
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Builds problem-solving skills by giving students hands-on experience designing and implementing a project in their community.
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Develops citizenship and important youth-adult relationships by supporting students as they engage with community stakeholders to solve a local problem.
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Develops skills in resilience as well as creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication – the foundation for 21st-century learning.
How to Get Started:
Complete our interest form, and we will contact you with more information on timeline, training and support. If you have questions, please reach out to David Kimberly at .