Student Achievement Grants Summer 2009

ALABAMA

Mr. Steve Bourque, Madison
9th to 12th Grade Mathematics Teacher, Patriot Academy Alternative School
Partner: Mrs. Robin Hodges
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mr. Bourque and Mrs. Hodges will implement “Let’s Get a Grip on Our Future,” a hands-on project based learning philosophy combining state and local standards from mathematics, science, language arts, history, and technology. Through critical reflection and presentation, students will develop skills in cooperative learning, and team building.

HAWAII

Mrs. Jennifer Ainoa, Hoolehua7th to 8th Grade Science Teacher, Molokai Middle School
Partner: Mrs. Kelly Ka'awa-Richardson
Grant Amount: $5,000

Faculty at Molokai Middle School will implement a middle school science fair, providing students an outlet for hands-on, relevant science projects.  Through support from scientists within the community, students will be able to design and carry out high-quality projects integrating literacy and science.

ILLINOIS

Ms. Linda Golden, Rock Island
9th to 12th Grade Teacher, Thurgood Marshall Learning Center
Partner: Ms. Mary Kmoch
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ms. Golden and Ms. Kmoch will increase student reading achievement levels by forming study circles, with an emphasis placed on critical thinking skills. Students will learn about local alternative energy and clean water initiatives through partnerships with the Metro Public Bus System, Mid-American Energy Company, and the Chamber of Commerce High Speed Rail Coalition.

NEVADA

Mr. Jeffrey Hinton, Las Vegas
10th to 11th Grade Social Studies Teacher, Northwest Career and Technical Academy
Partner: Mr. Irv Madnikoff
Grant Amount: $5,000

Students in Mr. Hinton and Mr. Madnikoff’s classes will document and publish area veterans’ stories. Videotaped oral histories will be used in the creation of a book, website, and a documentary film, the latter of which will be shared with a local PBS affiliate. Student research will also be shared with veterans’ groups and the Las Vegas Veterans Hospital.

NEW JERSEY

Ms. Cathleen Taub, Mahwah
3rd Grade Teacher, George Washington Elementary School
Partner: Mrs. Katherine Tanis
Grant Amount: $5,000

Through the implementation of “Go Green,” Ms. Taub and Mrs. Tanis will allow their students to create a magazine focusing on green topics. “Go Green” will present students the opportunity to use their burgeoning skills as researchers, writers, illustrators, and photographers to share their growing knowledge and understanding of environmental challenges facing the world.

NORTH CAROLINA

Mrs. Leanna Stroup, Vale
Kindergarten to 5th Grade Music Teacher, North Brook Elementary School
Partner: Mrs. Kimberly Howell
Grant Amount: $5,000

Elementary music educators at North Brook Elementary will connect writing and musical composition for fourth and fifth grade students using the Garage Band computer program. Students will complete writing assignments in class and use Garage Band to record their stories.

OHIO

Mrs. Patricia Bernauer, Maple Heights
3rd Grade Math Teacher, Rockside School
Partner: Ms. Julie Eichmuller
Grant Amount: $5,000

Title 1 Reading and Math students, with 20 gifted students as peer tutors, will gain skills in reading, writing, and measurement. Literature will challenge them to learn math measurements needed for myriad careers. Utilizing this measurement information, students will plan, write, and illustrate their own book of measurement.

OREGON

Mrs. Jamie Semrad, Oregon City
2nd Grade Teacher, King Elementary School
Partner: Mrs. Kilee Woodburn
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mrs. Semrad and Mrs. Woodburn will introduce the “King Green Team” with the purpose of educating students, staff, and community about sustainability. A multi-grade outdoor classroom will be constructed, allowing students to learn to connect with ecological concepts through hands-on experiences.

PENNSYLVANIA

Mrs. Jane Bock, Brownsville
9th to 12th Grade Science Teacher, Brownsville Area High School
Partner: Ms. Kathy Lacek
Grant Amount: $5,000

In a partnership with the Brownsville Area Revitalization Corporation and the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, Brownsville Area School District will offer a place-based environmental education program. Middle and high school students will travel to local parks and mines to study natural habitats, biodiversity, watersheds, and the methodology of discharge remediation.

TENNESSEE

Mrs. Lori Napier, Columbia
Facilitating Teacher, Maury County Public Schools
Partner: Ms. Pam Pruett
Grant Amount: $5,000

Students in Mrs. Napier’s and Ms. Pruett's Shakespeare I and II classes will design a social-networking site profile for one of the characters in a play studied by the classes. These profiles will then be published as full-color posters to be displayed at Spring Hill High School and at the Maury County Public Library which sponsors a county-wide Shakespeare Club for residents ages seven through adult.

TEXAS

Mrs. Kyle Voge, Austin
10th to 12th Grade Science Teacher, Akins High School
Partner: Ms. Shireen Dadmehr
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mrs. Voge will implement a rocket science curriculum through the Career and Tech Education department. Students will spend the first semester of the course learning about the basics of rocket flight, utilizing hands-on, project based activities. The second semester will be devoted to the design, construction, and flight of a large rocket that can carry a load of one pound exactly one mile.

WASHINGTON

Mr. Noah Zeichner, Seattle
9th to 12th Grade Social Studies Teacher, Chief Sealth High School
Partner: Mr. Dale Rector
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mr. Zeichner and Mr. Rector will implement “Global Visionaries,” a collaborative program between Chief Sealth and Cleveland High School, to improve, strengthen, and expand the Global Leadership (GL) class curriculum. The GL class will replace outdated social studies curriculum and will allow students to become actively engaged, community minded leaders, empowered to be aware of how their daily choices directly affect communities across the planet.