JACKSON TWP — A teacher in the Seneca Valley School District is going back to school with a $2,000 grant after becoming one of 100 teachers nationwide to earn the prize.

Amy Broman teaches English at the Seneca Valley Middle School. She recently won an ING Unsung Heroes grant, which recognizes the nation’s most innovative teachers.

Broman will use the money to help implement her idea called “Community of Writers,” a technology-based writing class that immerses students in digital media.

The teacher said she will use the $2,000 to buy several Apple iPad’s for her classroom to use new technology to teach old principles.

“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense shoving paper and pencils down kids’ throats when they’re texting and going online all the time,” Broman said. “It’s time to embrace 21st century principles in the classroom.”

As part of her grant-winning idea, Broman’s students will use new forms of technology to write creative stories in the classroom.

They will then embed audio and other features to their stories to create a movie trailer-type production, which will be placed on the Internet and edited by their peers.

Broman of Karns City now will compete against the other teachers for larger grants worth $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000.

While Broman said she’s excited to take the $2,000 back to Seneca Valley, she said the additional prize money could go a long way in helping to implement her program.

“I’m very excited because I knew there were three other teachers in the district who applied for the grant,” she said. “So I’m very excited, but I’m not going to lie. I’d love to have the extra $5,000 or $10,000 to try to establish an integrated technology writing program, and that extra money would be very helpful.”

Started in 1996, the ING Unsung Heroes grant has awarded nearly $4 million to teachers across the country for their innovative ideas.

This year’s winners were chosen from more than 1,300 applicants. Broman learned in July she had won the $2,000.

The winners of the larger grants will be announced in October.