O’NEILL CRAIG COMMUNITY PARTNER

O’NEILL CRAIG COMMUNITY PARTNER

Meet Craig O’Neill, THV 11 news anchor, champion of children’s literacy, and longtime EAST supporter. Recently Craig shared how his connection with EAST began and how he has celebrated it for over 20 years.

In addition to loving literacy, Craig is a sports enthusiast, and his position as ESPN Outdoors host on ESPN 2 in the early ’90s led him to his connection with EAST. According to O’Neill the weekday morning show featured EAST students twice as they studied water quality issues in Greenbrier, Arkansas — the city where EAST originated. There to talk about fishing and how water quality affects it, O’Neill and his team were introduced to a group of EAST students working on water samples and recalls: “I was awestruck by their knowledge and their enthusiasm to share their knowledge. It was amazing to feel that energy. It’s the type of energy that makes you want to get plugged into whatever they are doing and learn more!”

Having been aware of EAST since its inception through his good friend Dr. Mary Prentis — a consultant for EAST — O’Neill recalls the work he saw early facilitators do throughout multiple school districts testifying and selling EAST to leaders in education and policy. “The teachers selected were different. They were called facilitators, very appropriate for what was taking place; they worked tirelessly to tell the world how great and unique EAST was. It is difficult to put into words the magic that

happens in EAST, but they did. I believe that each day they would look at those students and say I believe in you and I am going to trust that your imagination and your knowledge are enough to solve problems. And they still do today.” “ Each day they would look at those students and say I believe in you and I am going to trust that your imagination and your knowledge are enough to solve problems. And they still do today.

”

O’Neill went on to say that the same energy and enthusiasm he experienced in 1996 has been consistent during numerous visits to EAST programs. He felt that energy the strongest when he attended EAST Conference. “Conference is like a science fair on steroids! To see that many students come together, grab you by the elbow and engage you about whatever they are learning or whatever problem they are working to solve is so lifechanging!”

When asked what he has observed over the years about the students and facilitators, O’Neill shared that he knew

of no other classroom endeavor that brought students together and taught collaboration, individuality, and real-world problem solving through creativity like EAST. “What happens in EAST is creativity. Projects are like fingerprints; no two are alike and the students are so advanced when they leave. EAST may not reach every student, but the ones who engage are catapulted to another level.”

O’Neill shared that his role as a media friend of EAST has been most rewarding as he often gets to celebrate the success of various EAST programs and highlight the growth of others. Telling the story of EAST and even partnering with programs has helped him stay connected to the EAST network. O’Neill assisted the students of EAST at Carver Magnet Elementary School with their Book Bracket Battle. These students had a goal to increase literacy scores for students at their school and O’Neill was more than happy to assist with announcing the winner as a special guest anchor during their selfproduced morning news show.

“I am a big reader. I believe the great equalizer in our lives are books. The person who reads is going to excel. My goal with ‘Craig’s Reading Roadtrip’ is to demonstrate how much fun reading can be. It lights up the imagination, like EAST.” One of O’Neill’s most recent reads, From STEM to STEAM supports O’Neill’s love for reading and his belief that there is a need to engage and

educate students about how STEM is enhanced by reading. “STEAM brings in the A for art and my art is literacy. I read to students regularly in efforts to help them see that holding a book and reading develops your brain in unique ways. O’Neill shared with a laugh that students are more interested in their devices than a book and how he’d recently had this debate with a third-grader and his stance on why Fortnite was more engaging than any book he could hold and read.

As we wrapped up our talk with O’Neill, he detailed what type of project he would complete if he was an EAST student. “Man, if I was an EAST student I would definitely do something with reading. Maybe a progressive story told by every member of the class, amended for continuity, illustrated and published by students. Yeah, that could be a tremendous project.”