It was Abby Rase’s planning period when a fellow teacher called and asked her for help finding something missing in the science lab. As the science department chair, Rase hung up the phone and ran upstairs to assist in the Halls High School Biology laboratory. But there wasn’t anything missing. The phone call was part of a ruse to get Ms. Rase to walk into a surprise announcement that she was the grand prize winner of ORAU’s $25,000 Extreme Classroom Makeover.
Watch Ms. Rase’s reaction to our surprise announcement:
Halls High School science lab to receive $25,000 makeover
The 2025 grand prize winner is Abby Rase, the science department chair and biology, anatomy/physiology teacher at Halls High School. ORAU reviewed dozens of applications from educators around East Tennessee who were vying for $25,000 to improve the technology in their classrooms. The Halls High science teacher’s application and video submission stood out because she cleverly played off the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” television show theme.