Originally published on 5/20/21
The Alvin ISD Education Foundation held a modified Winners Wagon May 18 to award a total of $73,992 for 81 Innovative Teaching Grants to teachers and staff at 21 campuses and one department. 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 modified Winners Wagons where Foundation board members took the grant checks and individually visited campuses to present recipients the good news.”
This year the Alvin ISD Education Foundation Board voted to fund all of the grant applications “We want the teachers and staff to know we support them and appreciate the innovative work they continue to do during this difficult time,” said Grant chairperson Timi Forrest.
Congratulations to the following grant recipients:
From Alvin Elementary Moire Torres and Amy Magness for their two grants Let’s Roll and GAGA Ball Fun!, and Clara Rooth for her grant Don't mean to BRAG, but we love reading!.
Thirteen teachers at Alvin High School received grant awards including Courtney Webb for her grant Blooming into the Future, Kelley Smith for her grant Lend Me Your Ears (and I'll Tell You a Tale), Stephanie C Hopkins for her grant It's All About That Base! Chem-Craft Make-N-Take Laboratory, Tina Peterson for her grant Connected to Reading, Eli Lipschutz for her grant Animating Water in 3D!, Laura Hoffmann and Lacie Lejeune for their grant Mythical Stories of Epic Proportions, Jennifer Hammond’s grant Shockingly Exciting Origami!, Billie Estrada for her grant Incorporating Technology via Computer Classroom Stations, Christi Strange’s grant Providing Hope in a Time of Uncertainty, Melanie Heller for her grant Scientific Innovation Through Technology & Critical Thinking, Kayla Magee’s grant A Classic Gone Graphic and John Yokum for his grant Let's Take a Tour.
From Alvin Junior High, Brittany Elliott & Christie Sauceda for their grant Family Book Clubs: Bridging the Gap of Books in the Home.
The following Bel Sanchez Elementary teachers received grants: Rosa Rivas for her grant Bilingual Books for Book Club, Adriana Sanchez Cantu for her grant 3D Printing & CoSpaces, Jacob Chavarria for his grant Building Better, Brighter Readers Through Book Clubs, Jennifer Mendez for her grant Music, Movement and Literature, and Amie Ladd for her grant Manipulatives for Mini Mathematicians.
From Bob & Betty Nelson Elementary: Emily Schlosser and Andrew Benbrook will receive funds for their grant Engaging Students through Drums Alive!.
Janet Moina from Don Jeter Elementary is receiving a grant for her project Mathematicians Love to Read!.
Five teachers from Dr. Ronald McNair Jr. High are receiving grants for their projects including: Doris Perry for her Grant STEM Broadcasting LIVE, Lindsay Brown for her grant Put More Math In That, Jessica Mellin for her grant Every Voice Matters: The Power of Blogging with Students, Lauren Belline for her grant Brain Break Boxes, and Elizabeth Urban for her grant Reading Across All Content Areas.
Fairview Junior High will have eight grant projects funded to the following teachers: Natalie Williamson, Robyn Brito, & Adrienne Thomas for their two grants Mark Your Spot! and Walking It Out, Shannon Hennigan & Brigitte Bick for their grant Let's Swivl!, Barbara Trevino for her grant Closing Gaps CAN be ALL Fun and Games!, Nikolaus Kinzie & Erin Mayo for their grant Data Mining for Gold - Using TUVA to Enrich our Instruction, Winnie Chau-Garcia for her grant To 3D or Not 3D: That is the Question!, Adrienne Thomas for her grant Reading Through History and Kelly Hayslett for her grant Reading in the Time of Corona.
Teachers at Harby Jr. High who will implement special projects next year include: Debbie Stranges, Laura Belvin, Lauren Chance, William Murphy, Jerry Nelson, Adam Peckover, Melissa Watkins, & Randy White for their grant Celebrating Diverse People Who Have Contributed to Society and Jerry Nelson for his grant Presentations Grant Proposal.
Hood-Case Elementary teachers submitted applications and received grant awards for the following: Shelly Cundiff, Marcy Bangilan, Marvella Gomez, Nichole Hilliard, & Stephanie Magness for their grant Building Brilliance with Bricks, Yogi Desai, Kelli Gana, Randi Carlise, Chelsea LaFrage, & Blanca Orozco for their grant Science Safari, Beverly Shisler & Erlinda Rosas for their grant Light the Path to Learning, Heather Sewell for her grant Lighting up our Library, Lindsey Stanzel & Jessica Macias for their grant Creative Writing Center, Alexia Tovar, Amy Broussard, Katie Hernandez, Lizeth Ramos, & Sandra Webb for their grant What's for Dinner?, Kathy Campbell for her Bluebonnet Lunch Bunch grant, Ashley Simpson & Carye Haynes for their grant Growth Mindset Goals and Elizabeth Klentzman for her grant Speaking of Numbers: Learning Math Vocabulary
A team of teachers from JB Hensler College & Career Academy received funds for their grant Collaborative Arcade Cabinet submitted by John Burrows, Larry Salinas, Sergio Cantu, Mark Maulding, Scott Pollard, and Jeffrey Morrison.
Four teachers from Wilder Elementary received grants this year: Pooja Shroff-Barr will use the money for her grant Oh, Hey! Let’s Read, LaNetta Price received a grant for Girl’s Mentoring Program, Jeriemiah Ermenc received a grant for Wilder Rubiks Cube Club and Monica Herrera received a grant for Developing Diverse Mathematicians and Scientists.
Manvel High School teachers receiving grants include: Karin Marshall for her grant 3D Geometry, Pennie Yancey for her grant Science is LIFE! A Grant to Teach LIFE CYCLES!, and Pennie Yancey & Stacy Davis for their grant Imagination Station!
Teachers from Manvel Jr. High who received grants are Robert Borden for Lab Mania Volume II and Jenny Morgan for her grant Standing Up for Math.
Marek Elementary teachers receiving grants include: Michelle Brown for her grant Marlin 9 Square and Holly Hilton for her grant Motorized Projection Screen.
Hona Outlaw and Kalli Alexander from Passmore Elementary received a grant for their project Get Movin’.
Meridiana Elementary teachers who received a grant are Miranda Freitag and Carly Wizeman for their grant Growing Readers.
Nolan Ryan Jr. High teachers receiving grants are: Melanie Gordon for her grant A School Counselor’s Umbrella for a Student’s Rainy Day, Maria Carlo for her grant Slow Art Collaborative Sculpture Garden, Felysa Tamez for her grant Middle School Makerspace, Priscilla Roberts for her grant Escape the Breakout Box, Nicole Harris for her grant Escape Rooms, Kelly Hudson for her grant “ON THE SPOT!” Instructional Coaching, Kaitlyn Bourg for her grant Light a Fire in Math, and Lori Espinal for her grant Racing with Newton.
Teachers at Stevenson Primary receiving grants are: Tonya Langford for her grant Yard-tastic Math Games and Bonnie Murray for her grant Stationed in Second Grade!.
RISE Academy had one grant awarded to Cindy Bailey for her grant Destination Orientation.
Four grants were awarded at Shadow Creek High School to the following: Madison Costlow for Agriculture Classroom Needs, David Soward, Jason Moodie and Waldron Archer for their grant Theatre Literacy Outreach, Lauren Heckler and Madeline Lacamu for their grant Breaking Into Learning, Escaping the Traditional Classroom, and Staci Perry, Jennifer Dominguez, Samantha Lang, Edward Garcia and Patrick Thornton for their grant Technology in Geometry.
The team of Vicki Stuart, Christy DiLuca, Jennifer McKenzie, and Tammi Stone from Federal and Special Programs received a grant for Multimodal Teaching Tool for Talking as well as Rommie Gillie, Celia Garza and Angela Olivarez for their two grants Hand 2 Mind and Full STEAM Ahead!!, and Jamie Neugebauer, Demetria McNeil, Brenda Fox, and Ronda Lamora for their grant Building Unique Connections.
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 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 how much they are appreciated after an unprecedented school year! We love our teachers and staff and are thankful for 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 that even in the midst of a pandemic this community helped us make a difference in Alvin ISD. Additionally, I want to thank the INEOS ICAN Foundation for funding $6,900 of the grants that involved Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) projects this year and Chords for a Cause for their $1,250 donation for Fine Arts grants. 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.