Delaware, OH - The Delaware Area Career Center's Media Center Specialist, Grace Hammond, is sharing her award-winning teen-centered programs with educators both locally and nationally. Last year, Hamond was awarded the Innovation in Teen Services award from the Young Adult Library Service Association (YALSA) for her program, "Work Smarter Bootcamp."
The program, designed by Hammond, focuses on helping teens develop essential skills for stress management and organization, empowering them to work smarter, not harder. As a result of this achievement, Hammond was recently invited to present at a National Conference in Baltimore and just last month, she presented in a webinar for the American Library Association, where she shared her insights and expertise on supporting teens with organization and stress management skills.
“I feel like Work Smarter has helped me throughout my senior year with focusing and being able to understand why I procrastinate and how to fix that,” said Liz Ward, a student in DACC’s Early Childhood Education program. “Mrs. Hammond has greatly helped me with focusing, working, and even simply with different things throughout life.”
Additionally, on June 14th, Hammond will be presenting to local teachers on the topic of "Work Better, Feel Better - Supporting Executive Functions Skills for Students Stress Relief." This presentation will provide insights into the development of executive function skills and how teachers can support their students in building these crucial skills for success.
Most recently, Hammond was honored with the Tech Innovation Award by the Ohio Educational Library Media Association (OELMA). The OELMA Tech Innovation Award honors a licensed school library media specialist who uses technology as a tool for learning and collaborates to promote the integration of technology throughout curriculum.
According to Hammond, the Work Smarter Bootcamp has grown organically over the past several years with ongoing student feedback. “It started with a student advisory team and has expanded from there,” said Hammond. “I feel like what we’re doing here is fantastic because I every time I run the program, I get more input from students and I get to continuously tweak the program. This is the most fun work that I get to do because I was able to build it with the students.”
The Delaware Area Career Center is proud to have her as a member of their team and congratulates her on this well-deserved recognition.