Melanie Hayes Ed.D. ’15 Wins $30,000
Melanie Hayes Ed.D. ’14, who has made it her life’s work to help children who are twice exceptional (both gifted and learning disabled) has won $30,000 from Comcast's Innovations 4 Entrepreneurs for using technology an innovative way.
Hayes, who graduated in May from the doctoral program in Educational Leadership with a focus on twice exceptionality, founded Big Minds Unschool, a microschool for twice exceptional children that lets them learn without limits through mentoring and supporting their intellectual, social, and emotional well-being. Hayes said she is passionate about creating a world where all children are encouraged to wonder, explore, and create.
Hayes, who has twice-exceptional twins, is intimately familiar with the joys and hardships of raising and educating exceptional children. She writes about her work and family in her blog, “Life Among the Gifted.”
Before founding Big Minds Unschool, Hayes taught in the public schools for about 10 years as an elementary teacher. She has been a KSOE lecturer in both the Master of Arts in Teaching Leadership and the Multiple Subject program.