Ewing Middle School students hold the $11,068 check their school received Wednesday morning from Big Lots CEO Steve Fishman for winning a national video contest sponsored by the national retail chain

Ewing Middle School cashed in on its effort to improve student achievement in a big way Wednesday morning, picking up a check for $11,068 from Big Lots.

Big Lots CEO Steve Fishman presented Ewing Middle Principal Dr. Denise Wooten with the $10,000 grand prize during a special ceremony at its store on Floyd Baker Boulevard. The school also received $1,068 from a Big Lots store donation program and a Guitar Hero video game autographed by Fishman.

Ewing Middle was among 26 schools nationwide chosen to share $80,000 in cash prizes from the Lots 2 Give video contest.

A video made by Ewing Middle faculty and students in early May was the people's choice for the best video. The 90-second video features the school teachers seeking advice on the Dr. Phil talk show, Star Trek and the "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" game show for ideas on how to motivate students.

"We are so excited to be the grand prize winner. We are very appreciative to Big Lots for giving back to the community to help enhance the quality of education," Wooten said. "We plan to use the money for incentives to motivate our students in the areas of academic achievement and attendance. We are also in need of additional computers."

Ewing Middle was one of 103 schools nationwide involved in the video contest.

From June 11 through July 12, the public voted for their favorite video at www.lots2give.com. The number of online votes determined the winning videos.

More than 300,000 votes were cast nationwide to determine the 26 school winners, which included one $10,000 grand prize, three $5,000 first-place prizes, and 22 $2,500 second prizes. The following schools will each be awarded $5,000 in separate ceremonies: Mary H. Wright Elementary School in Spartanburg, Emory Elementary School in San Diego, Calif.; and David Crockett Elementary School in Phoenix, Ariz.

In addition to the video contest, Big Lots established an in-store donation program to help the 103 schools participating in the Lots2Give video contest.

From May 2 through July 12, Big Lots customers were invited to make $1 or $5 donations at participating stores. This initiative raised more than $74,000 to help participating schools.

Fishman said Big Lots plans to make the video contest an annual event to help support schools nationally.

"Big Lots is committed to programs that support education, and with Lots2Give, we had the opportunity to help bridge the funding gap many schools face," Fishman said. "We invited our customers to support an important cause, and they have been especially generous knowing that 100 percent of the funds raised through the instore donation program go directly to participating schools."