Eric Crouch

Eric Crouch was moved to go into teaching as a result of his own struggles in education. As a child, Crouch had attention issues due to a lack of sympathetic support and meaningful work. Now, as a teacher in Columbus, Georgia, he aims to give every child an opportunity to find their passion and to help his students meet or exceed educational goals in multiple subjects.

Crouch’s school has a significant military population with it's proximity to Fort Benning, the largest training facility in the United States. This means his school can be something of a “revolving door,” with many of his students moving home on a regular basis. Several students also have learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, or speech-related issues. Crouch has set himself the task of not letting these challenges arrest their progress, as happened to him during his school years. He employs innovative teaching methods, such as using a cowbell to celebrate student achievements and having students slam-dunk balls into a trash can when they meet goals.

To that end, Crouch uses various methods to help his students’ enthusiasm take off. His class follows a design thinking and project-based learning model that allows students to find out what they are passionate about and use it as a vehicle for achievement. As a Skype Master Teacher, his students have engaged in Skype collaborations with others from around the world, and it is not uncommon for the class to connect to several continents in one day. Complementing his teaching methods, Crouch advocates for integrating technology in education, using tools like iPads and QR codes in his teaching.

Crouch has demonstrated his commitment to improving education beyond his own classroom by successfully funding over 50 educational projects through DonorsChoose.org, receiving support from corporations like Target, News Corp, and ESPN. His fundraising efforts were recognized with a feature on a DonorsChoose.org billboard ad in Times Square. Additionally, he has built various classroom enhancements himself, such as an indoor stage and a wooden boat filled with pillows for reading.

Crouch's academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education in early childhood education. He is also an active contributor to the broader education community, conducting workshops on educational technology. He formerly taught "Technology in the Classroom" as a guest instructor at Columbus State University.

Aside from his dedication to his students and school, Crouch has also given back a great deal to the teaching profession. He helped run a traveling teaching conference called Teach Your Heart Out in the United States, hosting three national conferences a year in major US cities with over 35,000 followers. He has been a Harvard Project Zero fellow, a Milken Educator, a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, the inaugural Empatico Founding Fellow, and a National Center for Learning Disabled Fellow. He was also a Top 50 Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize.