Make Your Move!
Connecting Students to the Past, Present, and Future of Transportation and Travel
Sponsorship Opportunities
Meet our teams
Impact stories
Sustainable Transportation Student Challenge
Teams of students, teachers, and partners work together to research transportation and travel challenges in their communities, brainstorm potential solutions, create a prototype to test, and share their story. Organizations working in sustainability, education, transportation, and travel can support this initiative in order to develop the citizens and workforce of tomorrow, as they solve the transportation and travel challenges of today, and learn from the innovators of the past.
Fueling the Future
We need new solutions for moving people, products, and information more sustainably and equitably, and North Carolina is becoming a leader in this work from electric vehicle infrastructure and battery manufacturing to innovations in rail, walkable communities, and bridging the digital divide. In order to fuel this work and shape the future, we need a diverse workforce of STEM problem solvers.
Inspired by the Past
Make Your Move! was inspired by the story of a team of high school students, teachers, and partners from northeastern North Carolina that converted a gas-powered car into an electric-powered car in 1994, winning the first of many competitions. That team is part of a rich tradition of transportation innovation in North Carolina from the Wright Brothers, to the shipping container, to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail – all stories of teams solving transportation problems. Students will learn how Team Shocker and others worked together to solve problems.
RootEd in the Here and Now.
RootEd was founded on the belief that the best way to prepare students, schools, and communities for tomorrow, is to engage them in solving the challenges of today, right in their backyard. RootEd is a community of educators, students, coaches, and partners working together to solve local and regional challenges. We know that bold, authentic learning experiences have the power to transform and strengthen learning communities. We also know that making these experiences attainable and sustainable for all North Carolinians, requires a strong network of support. That’s RootEd. Scroll down to see stories of how our partner schools are already solving problems in their communities.
Industry Involvement and Philanthropy
Sponsorship opportunities for the Make Your Move! student challenge are available for industry and philanthropic partners. Partners can choose to sponsor the challenge as a whole, or a specific team. Reach out to Jay Korreck or Darrell Kain if you have an interest in developing the citizens and workforce of tomorrow as they solve the transportation challenges of today and learn from the innovators of the past.
Southern Conservation Partners serves as the fiscal sponsor for Constructive Learning Design’s RootEd program and the Make Your Move! challenge. SCP promotes innovative collaborations designed to conserve and care for the South’s natural and cultural heritage and ecological health.
Individuals and organizations can make a direct tax-deductible donation by clicking on the button below, and selecting RootEd from the drop down menu. If you would prefer to sponsor a specific Make Your Move! team keep scrolling.
Meet Some of Our Partners
Team Shocker
How can an EV team from the past inspire the next generation of transportation professionals and problem solvers?
Learn More and Contact jkorreck@constructiveld.org for Sponsorship Opportunities.
Team Pitstop
What if EV charging stations were also migratory bird habitats created and maintained by students?
Learn More and Contact jkorreck@constructiveld.org for Sponsorship Opportunities.
Powerful Learning with Teachers, Students, and Partners
RootEd works with teachers, students, and community partners to provide them with everything they need to create bold community-connected learning experiences, and nothing they don’t. As part of a cohort, RootEd teachers engage in a year-long blended learning experience that includes the following options:
- Professional learning and study visits
- On-demand co-teaching support
- Networking with peers, partners, and coaches
- Online resources and tools
- CEUs
- Partnership development support
- Storytelling support
Current and Past RootEd Projects
Polk Middle School Students Improving Laughter Pond
“My kids are very concerned about justice and fairness…We can sit here and complain or we can actually do something to make things more equitable for our whole community. I think that taking ownership has made them feel a lot more confident and a lot more engaged.” – Jeanne Ferran, Polk County Middle School Teacher
ASU Academy at Elkin Building a Trail to the Public Library and the MST
Students and teachers from Appalachian State University’s Academy at Elkin lab school have partnered with the Elkin Valley Trails Association to create a trail that connects their school to the Elkin Public Library and the Mountains-to-Sea trail.
Wake Students Designing App for Black History Walking Tour
“A group of 10th-grade students at Wake Early College of Information and Biotechnologies will be creating an app highlighting Black history in downtown Raleigh, including the new park on the corner of North Wilmington Street and East Lane Street.” – Destinee Patterson, WRAL Reporter
Polk 5th Graders Redesign Campus Nature Trail; Create Interactive Trail Signs
Over the course of the 2022-2023 school year, Polk Central Elementary School fifth graders redesigned their campus nature trail by removing invasive species, and installing new interactive trail signs.