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Some of the best ideas occur spontaneously-serendipitously. Such is the impetus for our annual back-of-the-envelope award. Way back in July 1992, several of us were working to support a group of elementary math teachers in Mississippi. These teachers-identified as leaders among their peers-were to teach data analysis and statistics to their colleagues across the state of Mississippi. First, we asked them to implement the curriculum in their own classrooms. For this they needed some materials. And, to share what they had learned with their colleagues, they needed additional support.

Of an evening the staff developers, project coordinators, and state department leader working with these teachers met during the one-week summer workshop the teachers were attending. Among these was Dr. Katherine Bunch who pushed for agreement....consent..... affirmation to support these teachers. As the concrete aspects of the conversation materialized, Dr. Katherine Bunch extracted an envelope from her purse. So began the agreement between the staff developers and project coordinators with the state department leader. As this group of five agreed on materials the teachers would receive, staff development opportunities for them, and curriculum materials they would have available, Katherine Bunch noted these on the back of the envelope. Here is what the envelope looked like once Katherine finished scribing on it.

And this is what the teachers-ultimately the leaders in the project-received as a result of the envelope that Katherine Bunch retrieved from her purse, on which she wrote the agreement, and had signed to ensure that the teachers had what they needed. The back-of-the-envelope agreement was one of the factors that contributed to the success of the project and has led to our annual Back-of-the-Envelope Award.

What the teachers received as a result of the back-of-the-envelope agreement was really a small thing. What was not so small was the fact that they felt supported and encouraged. The back-of-the-envelope award is designed to recognize the efforts that are modest, consistent, thoughtful acts that lead to making a difference in the lives of children and young adults. Each year muscella.com and GRANTS award two individuals-nominated by colleagues, parents, administrators, or children-the Dr. Katherine Bunch Back-of-the-Envelope Award.