Originally published on 5/21/2020
The Alvin ISD Education Foundation held a “virtual” Winners Wagon May 11 to award a total of $106,359.37 for 121 Innovative Teaching Grants to teachers/staff at 29 campuses. Foundation President David Becker said, “Usually, this is the time of year that we load up buses and take board members, community partners, district administrators, and band students on our Winners Wagon where we visit campuses, make noise, and surprise teachers who are receiving Innovative Teaching Grants. Since a real Winners Wagon is not possible this year we held a Virtual Winners Wagon.”
This year the Alvin ISD Education Foundation Board voted to fund all of the eligible grant applications “We want the teachers and staff to know we support them and appreciate the innovative work they have done during this difficult time,” said Grant chairperson Timi Forrest.
Congratulations to the following grant recipients:
From Sanchez Elementary Nicole Pickard for her grant Creation Exploration Innovation Station, Amber Crawford for her grant Be a Coding Hero with Sphero Spark+ Robots!, Patricia Moore and Kristen Rives for their grant Books & Bots, and Jacob Chavarria for his grant Building Better, Brighter Readers through Book Clubs!
From Brothers Elementary, Amanda McGlothin for her grant LEGO Robotics, Kelly Russell and Leticia Hernandez for their grant Reading Outside the Box-The Free Little Library Box, Sheri Dominque for her grant L.I.G.H.T.s On/We've Got P.R.I.D.E., and Kelly McLaurin for her grant Can You Hear Me?
Twenty-three teachers at Alvin High School received grant awards including Billie Estrada for her grant The Use of Critical Thinking and Analysis in Engineering and Design via Egg Drop Creation, Melanie Heller for her grant Modeling and Engineering in Science with Art, Cynthia Bunch & Casey Kimball for their grant Make Math Move, Christi Strange for her grant A Look Into the Future: Using Dystopian Novels to Further Possibility, Kelley Smith for her grant Lend Me Your Ears (And I'll Tell You a Tale), Stephanie Hopkins for her grant It's All About That Base! Chem-craft Make-N-Take Laboratory Lessons and Mary Stimson, Sienna Flores, Meredith Blevins, Andrew DeLeon, and Kenneth Harms for their grant U.S. History Rockin’ STAAR Review. Also Laura Hoffman for her grant The Classics and Our Contemporaries, Claire Chauvin for her grant Anatomy of Art, Eli Lipschutz for his grant Drawing Directly on the Screen, Jennifer Richerts, Michelle Ryerson and Laura Aydell for their grant Meaningful Independent Work Boxes, Donna Pauley for her grant Color Coded Thinking-Engaging Literary Analysis, Tina Peterson for her grant Book Clubs Meets Dictionary Dexterity, Elizabeth Alanis for her grant March Graphic Novel Trilogy-Making Connections to Themes from To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca Van Horne for her grant Cultural Literacy, Tess Stillwell for her grant Glitz and Glam and Ann-Marie Jernigan for her grant Stylin' in Mathematics to Protect the Growing Brain.
From Alvin Elementary, Doris Malone and Michelle Coon for their grant Hooptopia, Moire Torres and Amy Magness for their grant 9 Square in the Air, Cindy Hickman & Ashley Azcue for their grant Everyone Can Read-Even Me, Moire Torres and Amy Magness for their grant Stack It Up, and Tiffany Quinn, Karla Klyng, and Erin Nance for their grant Together We Rock. Alvin Jr. High teachers who received grants are Kelly Gonzalez for her grant So You Sew, Brittany Elliott for her grant Mirrors of the World in our Classroom Libraries, and Amy Louthan for her grant Read, Think, Share for My Future.
The following Hasse Elementary teachers received grants: Dawn Shaffer and Cynthia Hilton for their grant STEAM Students' Minds, Cynthia Hilton for her grant 4 Corners Weather Centers/Station, and Jennifer Zamora for her grant Swimming Submarie Scholars.
From Nelson Elementary the following teachers received grants: Amy Davison and Glyssel Lee for their grant Cupcake Wars, Danica Garza and Crystal Weber for their grant Submersion into Life Cycles, Kate Hebert for her grant Books & Bots Program, Amy Bolting for her grant Circuit Art, and Emily Schlosser and Kate Hebert for their grant Rosie Revere Engineer and Friends Musical.
Jennifer LaCombe and Courtney Moore from as well as Stephanie Jarrett and Jennifer LaCombe from Jeter Elementary are receiving grants for their projects respectively, Merging Realities and Engineer Your Solution.
Nine teachers from McNair Elementary are receiving grants for their special projects including
Nicole Lochmann for her grant Microslide Viewers, Doris Perry for her grant Range Rover , Range Rover , Code and Come Over, Jessica Mellin for her grant Every Voice Matters-The Power of Blogging with Students, Alexandria Gonzalez for her grant The Happiest Classroom on Earth, Lindsay Brown for her grant Math is NOT the Enemy, Misty Kettler for her Books on Broadway, Sydney Baker for her grant The Flexible Classroom, and Elizabeth Urban and Kevin McRorey for their grant Book Buddies.
Three teachers from Mason Elementary received grants this year. Michelynn Salinas will use the money for her grant Sign for Change. Melinda Bouley and Karla James received a grant for a Science in Motion project and Karla James received a grant for Ready, Set, Read.
Four teachers at Fairview Jr. High applied for and received grants for the following:
LaToya Alexander for her grant Science in Motion, Michelynn Salinas for Full Steam Ahead, and Brigitte Bick for Cultivating Mathematicians. Barbara Trevino received two grants, Flipping Pages to Close Gaps: High Interest Magazines in the Intervention Class and Closing Gaps Can be ALL FUN and GAMES.
Teachers at Harby Jr. High who will implement special projects next year include Debbie Stranges, Melissa Watkins, Jerry Nelson, William White, William Murphy, Lauren Chance, and Adam Peckover for their grant Breakout EDU, Jerry Nelson for The Road to the Promised Land-Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, and Irma Garcia for SWAAP - Students Working Actively Advancing Parents.
The following teachers at Glenn York Elementary received grants: Julianna Fisher-Strickland for Read Math-Read Science, Kharla Boyce for One School One Book, One Community- UNITED, We Shall READ, Jolanta Smolen-Santana for All STEM Ahead, and Sonya Tellez for The Kind Crew.
Hood-Case Elementary teachers submitted applications and received grant awards for the following: Beverly Shisler and Erlinda Rosas Create-It Interactive Station, the team of Heather Sewell, Kelli Gana, Yogi Desai, Randi Carlisle and Arely Medina for their grant The Magic of Science, Heather Smith and Casey Bean for their grant Ready Bodies-Learning Minds, the team of Amy Broussard, Alexia Tovar, Sandra Webb, Marvella Gomez, and Katie Hernandez for their grant Let's Get Ready to R-U-M-B-L-E! It's Fur vs. Scales, Sandi Copes for her grant Air-The Invisible Wonder, Carye Haynes, Maria Mosqueda and Blanca Orozco for their grant Earth Dome: Connecting Our Students To Their Global Community, Leon Arellano for Chess Clocks, Ashley Simpson and Roxi Armstrong for Girls Group for Empowerment, and the team of Shelly Cundiff, Marcy Bangilan, Nicole Hilliard, Stephanie Magness, and Liz Ramos for their grant Young Explorers.
Teachers from the Hensler College and Career Academy received the following grants: Patricia Sanders and Christopher King for Each One Reach One and Daniel Reichek for Modular Trainer System Build.
Jessica Hollis from Wilder Elementary received a grant for Let's Hatch! Classroom Chicken Incubator.
Manvel High School teachers receiving grants included Jasmine Boddie for Storyboard That, Tamica Baldwin and Kristen Meyer for Literacy Café, the team of
Nathan Pair, Brittany Hunter, Adam Blakey, Alex Kang, and Corky Reyna for Become Your Own Drill Sergeant, and Pennie Yancey for Science is LIFE-A Grant for Teaching LIFE CYCLES!
Teachers from Manvel Jr. High who received grants are Robert Borden, Eric Carr and Nicole Bond for Science Calculator Frenzy and Robert Borden for Lab Mania.
Jamie Sawka from Mark Twain Elementary received a grant for Let’s Go Fly a Kite.
Passmore teachers received five grants including Lauren Summa for Climate Composition - Using Student Collected Data to Create Musical Masterpieces, Mary Shaw for Morning Choice, Amber Culpepper for Stop, Collaborate, and LISTEN,
Justine Blackwell for Scavenger Hunt of Student Recommended Reading and the team of Melissa Paladino, Denise Stanton, Laura Overton, Rossana Prada, and Jessica Flores for Let's Get to School for Morning Choice.
Christine Roberts from Meridiana Elementary received a grant for Innovative Learning using Osmoâ„¢ Digital Learning Tools. Roberts also teamed up with Christine Ang for Using Merge EDUâ„¢ to Integrate Standards-Based Augmented and Virtual Reality.
Nolan Ryan Jr. High teachers Priscilla Roberts received a grant for Get on the Floor and Play and Renee Kidder received a grant for Bright Atom Models - Game On!
Marek Elementary teachers who received grants are Holly Hilton and Michelle Brown for Marlin 9 Square in the Air, the team of Lorraine Holston, Tatiana Rodriquez, Kimberly Price and Amaris Paul for Listening Station, team of Kimberly Price, Lorraine Holston, Tatiana Rodriguez, and Amaris Paul for MathStart Literacy Books, and Anita Phipps for Do You Want to Hear a Story? Quieren Escuchar Una Historia?
Pomona teachers receiving grants are Emma Bassett for Movin' and Groovin'! Kinesthetic Learning in the Music Room, Rebecca Garza for Tang-O Time, Angela Olivarez and Krista Browning for I’m Ready to Read, Krista Browning for Learning by "Osmo"sis, Karen Brown for Cracking the Code to Exact Spelling By Using Scientific Spelling, Erin Milton and Michelle Delgado for Put Me In Coach, and Danielle Olson for Classroom IPads.
Shelli Adams from Stevenson Primary received a grant for Maker Time - Please Touch This as did Tammy Robinson and Laura Lamm for Creative Hands.
Rodeo Palms Jr. High teachers received four grants: Madison Hanks for STEM Engineering and Physics Grant, Rachel Kossar for Theater Under the Stars for Middle School, the team of Dustin Garrison, Madison Hanks, Chad Moore, Dustin Garrison and Dorris Perry for Drone Racing League and Melanie Enyart for Tools for STEM.
Kirstin Morris from Savannah Lakes Elementary received a grant for Flexible Seating as did Phoebe Conerly and Amanda Jarmillo for a Hydroponics Indoor Garden.
The following teachers from Shadow Creek High School received grants:
Maria Turner, Jessica Shawver, and Christine Boldt for Rocketry and Space Travel,
Jessica Shawver and Whitney Daniel for Worms-Reducing Waste and Kristen Vollman for Writer's Notebook Launch.
Nicole Drury from Walt Disney Elementary received a grant for Join the Club, as well as the team of Debbie Sauter, Jenna Erwin, Shelly Miller, Taylor Garcia, and Jessica Agundez for Let's Get Electrified Empower Through Power, the team of Debbie Sauter, Shelly Miller and Taylor Wilson for Advance and Ascend, and the team of Debra Hoffman and Tracy Mathis for Engaging Readers Through Social Studies.
Innovative Teaching Grant committee chairperson Forrest added, “I am thrilled and very proud that the Alvin ISD Education Foundation board voted to fund all of the eligible grant applications this year. As a committee, we felt strongly that this year's grant applications deserved to be funded and that our Alvin ISD teachers needed to know we are behind them 100% as we move into the 2020-2021 school year! We love our teachers and staff and are thankful for all every single one of them.”
Becker added, “The grants are funded through our Annual Turtle Race and 5K Fun Run, our Annual Gala, and our generous staff and community partners. We could not do this without the generous support of our sponsors and donors, so thank you for helping us make a difference in Alvin ISD. Additionally, I want to thank the INEOS ICAN Foundation for funding $8,500 of the grants that involved Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) projects this year.
I am proud of the work that the Foundation Board of Directors does to provide support to the staff, students, and programs in Alvin ISD thankful for a community that supports the work that we do.”
The Alvin ISD Education Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the programs, students and staff of Alvin ISD. For more information about the Foundation visit www.alvinisd.net and click on the Foundation tab.