Learning & Leadership Grants Fall 2009

ARIZONA

Mrs. Sondra Davis, Avondale
9th to 12th Grade Art Teacher, Agua Fria High School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Mrs. Davis will attend the AP Art History Training Conference to gain the tools necessary to deliver and design AP curriculum for the classroom, after which she will conduct in-service trainings at high schools in her district to align curriculum and content standards.  Mrs. Davis will ultimately build a consistent curriculum aligned with state standards at each of the sites, which will give students a greater opportunity to expand their knowledge level and skills as they prepare to pursue further education or a career in the art field.

CALIFORNIA

Ms. Angela Jimenez, Los Angeles
2nd Grade Teacher, Ascot Avenue Elementary
Grant Amount: $2,000

Ms. Jimenez will attend the Write from the Beginning training offered by Thinking Maps, Inc.  Three-day follow-up sessions will continue beyond the training that will address questions and concerns regarding implementation of the strategy.  Upon full completion of the training, Ms. Jimenez will share with her learning with colleagues.

Mrs. Cinda Wert Rapp, San Pablo
Kindergarten to 6th Grade Teacher, Tara Hills Elementary School
Partner: Mrs. Ellen DeCarlo
Grant Amount: $5,000

Teachers at Tara Hills Elementary will create a professional learning community to increase engaged, effective student learning by participating in the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards' Take One! process.  They will improve their teaching practice in their preferred certificate area by collaborating from October through April, supporting each other as they film themselves teaching, and will compile a research paper to describe, analyze, and reflect on their work in the classroom.

DELAWARE

Mrs. Cindy Robertson, Newark
Music Therapist, Brennen School - Delaware Autism Program
Grant Amount: $2,000

After receiving training in Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT), Mrs. Robertson will provide minimum two-day, in-house trainings, and follow-up workshops to interested staff.  Students to receive NMT will be identified, and the music therapists will follow through with assessment, inclusion on student Individualized Education Programs, and treatment.  On-going observation, consultation, and work-groups for NMT will continue in following years.

FLORIDA

Mr. Julian Davenport, Miami
3rd to 4th Grade Teacher, Holmes Elementary
Partner: Ms. Michelle Abbs
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mr. Davenport, Ms.  Abbs and their team will conduct an action research project to compile strategies for teaching elementary mathematics.  After Mr. Davenport and his team accumulate their best practices, they will travel to schools with proven mathematics success.  Using their own strategies and those acquired from school visits, the team will create a resource packet to be disseminated amongst mathematics teachers in the district for professional development purposes.

Dr. Victoria Seavers, Orlando
9th to 12th Grade Library Media Specialist, Timber Creek High School
Partner: Mrs. Anna Stevens
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ninth grade biology and English teachers will focus on developing the knowledge and tools to teach, as well as to provide, students with common experiences.  The biology teachers will explore common hands-on labs and lessons as well as problem-based learning activities.  The English teachers will research creative ways to teach Florida's Sunshine State Standards using new and innovative writing tools and techniques.  Teachers will share findings within their learning communities and departments in order to increase student achievement.

Mrs. Twila Haeser, Wildwood
9th Grade Reading Teacher, Wildwood High School
Partner: Mrs. Christina Ebey
Grant Amount: $5,000

In order to alleviate the stress of combining the formerly separate Wildwood Middle and High schools, Mrs. Haeser and partners will create cross-curricular, multi-grade level professional development teams.  Additionally, books will be purchased for small focused learning communities, teacher led professional development, and supplies for teachers to create cross-curricular plans and projects.

ILLINOIS

Mrs. Lisa Wiggins, Le Roy
Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd Grade Reading Specialist, LeRoy CUSD #2
Partner: Mrs. Tricia Larkin
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mrs. Wiggins and Mrs. Larkin will enhance the district's literacy professional development plan by facilitating DVD/book studies for teachers, classroom aides, and administrators.  This professional development will revolve around learning more about the "Comprehensive Literacy Model" developed by Linda Dorn and the components of a balanced literacy model to help the group understand the integral relationship between meaningful assessment and instruction. 

KENTUCKY

Mrs. Janna Gault, Florence
2nd Grade Teacher, Ockerman Elementary School
Partner: Ms. Amy McKeough
Grant Amount: $5,000

In order to better understand math pedagogy, critical/foundational skills in mathematic interventions, and to increase her and her team's knowledge of primary mathematics content, Mrs. Gault will attend monthly meetings of the Math Leadership Support Network.  Ideas, strategies, and activities presented at the meetings will be presented at team meetings and after school sessions by Mrs. Gault and her partner.  The focus of the trainings will be to raise teacher understanding as well as improve the understanding and performance of second grade students in all math assessments and projects.

MASSACHUSETTS

Mrs. Susan Calkins, Wayland
Kindergarten to 5th Grade Music Teacher, Wayland Public Schools
Grant Amount: $2,000

This action research project will investigate ways of developing a general music program that provides building blocks of skillful jazz improvisation in young students.  The project will consist of a qualitative study of teacher practices and high school jazz musician assessments of their musical training and experience, presentation of the study results to colleagues, and interactive discussions on the possibilities for curriculum development.

Ms. Victoria Weed, Amherst

Kindergarten to 8th Grade ESL Teacher, Amherst Public Schools
Partner: Ms. Linda Castronovo
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ms. Weed and Ms. Castronovo’s study group will focus on creating, implementing, and evaluating vocabulary lesson plans to accompany story book read alouds used in science, social studies, and language arts curricula.  The group will also create vocabulary lesson plan templates to share with other teachers, with emphasis on the vocabulary needs of English Language Learners and children being raised in less language-rich environments.

NEW JERSEY

Ms. Lori Moonan, Cranford
5th to 8th Grade Math Teacher, Hillside Avenue School
Partner: Ms. Carmela Colosimo
Grant Amount: $5,000

To allow teachers to understand more deeply math content and its intra- and inter-disciplinary connections, Ms. Moonan will lead a collegial study group at Hillside Avenue School.  The group will provide novice/pre-service teachers with a deep conceptual understanding of math, which will facilitate improved student math understanding and achievement.

NEW YORK

Dr. Kathleen Lesniak, Fredonia
Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Science Education Programs, SUNY Fredonia
Partner: Ms. Milissa Albano
Grant Amount: $5,000

To enhance the learning of science teacher candidates in an accelerated graduate program, Dr. Lesniak and Ms. Albano will conduct a study group of secondary teachers who mentor pre-service teachers during student teaching.  Beginning with mentor teachers' experiences, the group will discuss best practices.  Additionally, the use of collaborative lesson study using digital video will allow mentor teachers to confer explicitly with teacher candidates to improve their teaching knowledge and instruction.

Ms. Khieta Davis, Rochester
5th Grade Teacher, Flower City School, #54
Partner: Ms. Sherry Cope
Grant Amount: $5,000

A study group comprised of new and veteran elementary teachers will meet throughout the year to identify and implement best instructional practices in reading.  The teachers will analyze student work, monitor achievement, discuss professional readings, and engage in peer coaching in order to present a quality Tier 1 (whole group) core reading curriculum for all students.  The teachers will also utilize evidence-based Tier 2 (small group) interventions with students who need additional instruction.

Ms. Jessica Voigt, Baldwinsville
10th to 12th Grade Art Teacher, C.W. Baker High School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Ms. Voigt will implement a Balinese Painting unit in her Drawing & Painting classes based on first-hand experiences gained during travel to Ubud, Bali.  While abroad, Ms. Voigt will have the opportunity to work directly with Balinese natives to learn new painting, woodworking, and batik techniques. 

NORTH CAROLINA

Mrs. Kristina Marino, Matthews
1st Grade Teacher, Matthews Elementary
Partner: Mrs. Eugenia Hopper
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mrs. Marino and partners will attend Spanish language courses to better the relationship between teachers, Latino parents, and students who speak limited English.  Participants will learn Command Spanish which increases communication and understanding by building job-specific vocabulary.  The group will continually demonstrate learning by interacting more frequently with Latino parents and students. 

OREGON

Ms. Christine Culverwell, Pendleton
School Psychologist, Umatilla-Morrow Education Service District
Partner: Mrs. Deirdre Bradley
Grant Amount: $5,000

School psychologists will meet monthly throughout the year to learn about cross-battery assessment practices that are closely aligned with the ever increasing research data on cognitive processes.  The purpose of this cross-battery approach is to conduct evaluations that are targeted to the needs of individual students and, more importantly, provide specific information regarding effective interventions to parents and teachers.

Ms. Michelle Wardrip, Salem
Kindergarten to 5th Grade Library Media Teacher, Auburn Elementary School
Partner: Mrs. Patricia Knight
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ms. Wardrip and Mrs. Knight will lead a professional learning community of elementary school library media educators which will meet on a monthly basis throughout the school year to share best instructional practices, discuss learning resources, analyze data, and work on curriculum design and articulation.  The group will help insure a tighter alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

PENNSYLVANIA

Ms. Lorette Vacchiano, Norristown
Kindergarten to 4th Grade Reading Specialist, Cole Manor Elementary School
Partner: Mrs. Cheryl Levine
Grant Amount: $5,000

In order to heighten literacy and health education for students, Ms. Vacchiano and partners will guide students in creating a newspaper.  The objective of the study group is to develop resources for the program, serve as mentors to involve other teachers, and develop a sustainability plan that will allow the paper to operate indefinitely.

TENNESSEE

Dr. Beverly Whalen-Schmeller, Nashville
School Psychologist, Metro Nashville Public Schools
Partner: Dr. Tim White
Grant Amount: $5,000

The Department of Psychology in Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) will train educators to become coaches for their schools in School-Wide Positive Behavioral Support (SWPBS).  SWPS training will allow a burgeoning base of school psychologist coaches to provide leadership on SWPBS teams in the district. 

TEXAS

Mrs. Stephanie Baird, Arlington
1st Grade ESL Teacher, Roquemore Elementary School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Mrs. Baird will receive instruction on intervention strategies for lower socioeconomic students at a Ron Clark Academy Workshop.  She will learn innovation and out-of-the-box successful methods to achieve the ability to create a "family" in her classroom, full of motivated, disciplined, and inspired students.  Mrs. Baird will also learn how to develop a collaborative team with her first grade staff.

VIRGINIA

Ms. Robin Wallin, Alexandria
Nurse Coordinator, Alexandria City Public Schools
Partner: Ms. Wendy Harper
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ms. Wallin will lead a group of school nurses in a collaborative effort to enhance knowledge about school nurse case management and expand the current program of school nurse case management in Alexandria City Public Schools.  School nurses will share information about the outcomes of school nurse case management on attendance, behavior, educational achievement, health outcomes, and quality of life with district leadership and other school nurses.

Mrs. Michele Rzewski Copeland, Sterling
Librarian, Potowmack Elementary School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Through Mrs. Rzewski Copeland’s action research project, student reading levels will be measured using the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) in September.  During the course of the school year, half of Mrs. Rzewski’s students will use the Accelerated Reader program, while other students will not use the program.  In June, the DRA will be administered again.  The scores of students in the treatment group will be compared with students in the control group to determine if students in the treatment group made greater gains in reading comprehension.

WASHINGTON

Ms. Jessica Otto, Everett
3rd Grade Teacher, Penny Creek Elementary
Partner: Mrs. Tiffany Sparks
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ms. Otto will support a core team of colleagues during their first year using the Lucy Calkins writing curriculum.  The group will practice collegial reflection of best teaching practices.  Support will be given through model lessons by both veteran and new teachers.

WISCONSIN

Ms. Kendra Parks, Madison
10th to 11th Grade Social Studies Teacher, James Madison Memorial High School
Partner: Ms. Jeanette Burda
Grant Amount: $5,000

The Memorial High School Equity Team, comprised of ten teachers from a variety of disciplines, will purchase resources to study how to implement effective communication strategies in order to host a series of evening Community Dialogue Sessions for a diverse cross-section of parents and students throughout the 2009-10 school year.  The information gathered will be communicated to staff through ongoing professional development opportunities