This past winter, TV host Ellen DeGeneres honored inspirational second grade teacher Michael Bonner for his unique and fun teaching methods that have captivated his students at South Greenville Elementary School, a Title I school with a 100% poverty rate.
This summer, Bonner, South Greenville’s “Teacher of the Year,” has joined the staff at Horizons at The Oakwood School in Greenville, NC.
At Horizons, low-income students from Pitt County public schools have the opportunity to attend a tuition-free, 6-week summer program on Oakwood’s campus. In small classes led by professional teachers, students dive into a rich curriculum with a focus on reading, STEM, and art. Swimming and other confidence-boosting activities break down barriers to success and expose children to new opportunities.
Said Bonner, “I could have done a lot of things this summer, but I am excited about this opportunity to impact kids in critical ways while having the freedom to build and create my own curriculum.”
First opened in 2016, Horizons at the Oakwood School currently serves 15 kindergarten students and 14 first-grade students from Lakeforest and Falkland Elementary Schools. They’ll stay with the program all the way to high school as the program grows, one grade at a time, to its full capacity of 135 students.
All Horizons programs encourage creative teaching, and we welcome Mr. Bonner! Come this fall, when the school year starts again, we hope Mr. Bonner's students will see firsthand what he’s learned at Horizons this summer!
See videos:
Michael Bonner on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Mr. Bonner Returns to Ellen with his Students
"Read It!" -- The Ellen Remix