PHMEF announces 2018 Spring Grant recipients

The P-H-M Education Foundation announced its Spring Grant Cycle recipients. A total of $17,169 will be disbursed to P-H-M staff for this grant season. 

 

Since the Foundation’s inception in 1996, $1 million has been distributed in innovative teaching grants supporting P-H-M teachers, staff, and students! The Grants Committee is comprised of Foundation board members, community representatives, and a P-H-M administrator who evaluate each grant application. 

 

A complete list of the Spring 2018 Grant Recipients is below. 

 

EZ Grant award winners:

1. Social Studies Podcast
   Discovery Middle – James Howard
   Awarded: $219.96 – Funding for Blue Yeti microphones
2. Core Balance Discs
   Elm Road Elementary – Sara Pillow Bowen
   Awarded: $167.88 – Alternative seating of balance discs
3. Breakout EDU in the Library
   Horizon Elementary – Adrian Selmon
   Awarded: $150 – Breakout kits for 12-month access and 10+ subject packs
4. Presenter Tool Addition
   Northpoint Elementary – Nichol Mondy
   Awarded: $44 – Wireless remote for slideshow presentation
5. Preschool Portfolios for Penn PALS Preschool
   Bittersweet Elementary – Kristi Vandygriff
   Awarded: $249.68 – Materials to create student notebooks
6. Girls Empowered
   Penn High School – Derrick White, Amanda Bates, Emily Lehman
   Awarded: $250 – Materials and food for monthly meetings
7. Student Feedback Conference
   Walt Disney Elementary – Jordan Binion
   Awarded: $200– 1-day conference fees
8. Wiser with Words
   Elsie Rogers Elementary – Dorene Pond
   Awarded $146 – Vocabulary games
9. Future Problem Solvers of Second Grade
   Elsie Rogers Elementary – Holli Truckowski
   Awarded $84 – Math program’s teacher manuals
10. Classroom Digital E-writing tablets
    Elm Road Elementary – Courtney Miller
    Awarded $250 – Funds to support digital tablets in the classroom
11. Preschool Treasures
    Mary Frank PALS Preschool – Theresa Byszewski
    Awarded $250 – Learning toys for preschool students
12. The Heat Is On
    Penn High School – John Gensic and Jon Lockwood
    Awarded $230 – Funds to purchase infrared camera. 
13. Learning That Sticks
    Moran Elementary – Stephanie Strasser
    Awarded $115.50 – HeidiSongs for use as learning tools
14. Drill to Success: Free the Puma
    Prairie Vista Elementary – Shelley Lebiedzinski
    ​Awarded $250 – Reward program that includes animal presentation and entry to the zoo
15. Reading Hawk’s Celebration
    Meadow’s Edge Elementary – Becky Richhart
    Awarded $250 – Fun day for a reading reward program
16. Be An InspiraSUN: The Lunch & Learn Café
    Horizon Elementary – Jessica Moore
    Awarded $250 – Activity station and organizational materials
17. STEM
    Prairie Vista Elementary – Rose Montgomery and Michelle Sanchez
    Awarded $199.96 – Magnetic tiles for STEM program 

 

Full Funding/Traditional Form Grants approved for $250 or more:

1. Make It Fun; Make It Stick
   Elsie Rogers Elementary – Carlye Ponsler
   Requested $697.89 — Received $697.89
   Some of the most difficult skills to master in third grade are multiplication facts and fractions. MUGGINS! Math Games are hands-on materials that build thinking skills and increase self-confidence through award-winning board games and manipulatives.

2. Dot & Dash Club Pack
   Title 1 Elementary Schools – Jessie Kinney
   Requested $784 — Received $784
   Dot and Dash Club Pack will help students for the future and open them up to learning and understanding the language of code. This pack will expand the teacher’s current technology with two Dot robots, four Dash robots, two launchers, and two challenge card boxes.

3. Promoting Literacy and Learning Through Self-Created Imagery
   Discovery Middle – Whitney Emeigh
   Requested $3,000 — Received $3,000
   This project will offer students new ways to display artwork, create projects, and advocate for in-building programs. The poster maker has a design feature allowing students to create digitally bright visuals; the scan feature turns hand-drawn materials into a professional project; and also has a laminator component.

4. Tablets for the Elementary Classroom in PLTW and Bittersweet
   Bittersweet Elementary – Matthew Bodnar
   Requested $2,682.28 — Received $2,682.28
   Currently, the school only has one tablet that is utilized under a document camera. This grant funds eight iPads so a classroom of 32 can work in group of 4 for small group work. With this set of tablets, students will be able to complete modules for Project Lead the Way.

5. STEM Boxes
   Bittersweet Elementary – Michelle Leniski
   Requested $733.81 — Received $733.81
   The STEM boxes will be filled with innovative instructional materials for students to explore and discover Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math topics. Each classroom table will receive a box and within each box will be a task with instructions. Each box is designed to create opportunities for students to discover and apply real world problems through creative learning tools.

 

Partial Funding:

 

1. Increasing Cultural Awareness & Library Diversity in Middle School Libraries
   All P-H-M Middle Schools – Luann Mayer and Rachel Givens
   Requested $2,958 — Received $1,500
   An intercultural library will be created allowing multi-lingual students from Discovery, Grissom, and Schmucker to access a variety of books which focus on characters with diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and languages.

2. Break Time Boxes
   Elm Road Elementary – Audrey Kim
   Requested $2,000 — Received $1,864.74
   Materials will build upon a previously Foundation funded program and expand the capability of the program. The goal of Break Time Box is to let challenged students use manipulatives to calm themselves in the classroom setting.

3. Tablets for Apps
   Discovery Middle – Tim Braunsdorf
   Requested $2,879.84 — Received $2,600.19
   Tablets will be used in PLTW classes that will support developing mobile apps. A major component of the class is the use of MIT App Innovator software that allows students to develop mobile apps for the android operating system