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	Last updated 4.14.08

Learning & Leadership Grants: Summer 2008 Recipients

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CA FL DE GA IL IO MD MI MN NJ NY NC OH PA TN UT WA WI

California

Dr. Greg Hamilton, Davis
Lecturer, University of California, Davis
Partner: Ms. Joanne Bookmyer
Grant Amount: $5,000

The grant will support a team of five teacher researcher participants, all teaching full-time in Northern California urban public high schools. Under the guidance of Dr. Hamilton and Ms. Bookmyer, participants will choose a literacy or language related teaching and learning issue and study it together through the lens of their different teaching experience and contexts. Their work will be shared and documented through the generation of a teacher research article co-authored by the group.

Florida

Mrs. Catherine Brooks Connor, Marianna
Kindergarten to 2nd Grade Library/Media Specialist, Frank M. Golson Elementary School
Partner: Ms. Mary B. Dungan
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mrs. Connor and Ms. Dungan will organize a professional learning community of K-2 teachers and staff to address their school’s long-term, ongoing safety concern regarding bullying. The professional learning community will meet weekly to discuss, evaluate and study the literature on discipline, resulting in an informed and collaborative school-wide discipline plan.

Mrs. Joyce Marshall, Palatka
9th to 12th Grade Teacher, EH Miller School
Grant Amount: $2,000

By attending the “Teaching with the Brain in Mind” program, Mrs. Marshall will learn instructional strategies that are compatible with brain processes that retain information. Upon completion of the training, strategies will be shared with teachers in the district and applied to students in the classroom.

Illinois

Mrs. Rosemary Majerczyk, Schaumburg
Special Education Assistant, Campanelli School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Mrs. Majerczyk will participate in the National Resource Center for Paraprofessionals Conference to discuss the roles of educators and review training models for professional development programs. She will share her learning by developing training modules and materials for use by 450 paraprofessionals in her district.

Iowa

Ms. Karen Bourne, Sioux City
Kindergarten to 5th Grade General Music Specialist, Irving Elementary School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Ms. Bourne will attend the World Music Drumming (WMD) Course in Oconomowoc, WI. The WMD course increases self-respect and decreases negative behaviors among students. In addition to sharing the skills learned during the course, the grantee will also schedule residencies with WMD drumming experts to train the staff and students, helping to model and teach respect for diverse cultures.

Maryland

Mrs. Martha Ellen Milli, Baltimore
Pre-Kindergarten to 5th Grade Professional School Counselor, Middlesex Elementary School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Mrs. Milli will attend the Childhood Trauma Practitioners Assembly through the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children. The Assembly teaches trauma-specific interventions to use to minimize the difficulties that traumatized children experience in the areas of learning and behavior. Information from the training will be shared with teachers, parents and others through consultative services and presentations at school, county and state staff development meetings and conferences.

Michigan

Mrs. Jessica Lynn Maat, Grand Rapids
7th Grade Science Teacher, Burton Middle School
Grant Amount: $2,000

By attending Instituto Cultural Oaxaca, Mrs. Maat will strengthen her Spanish skills in order to make science a more complete learning experience for English language learners in her classroom.

Ms. Dale Forcier, Grayling
9th to 12th Grade Teacher, Grayling High School
Partner: Mr. Doug Pummell
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ms. Forcier and Mr. Pummell will form a collegial study group with other teachers to increase student achievement by improving instruction through the use of quality assessment with the Classroom Performance System (CPS). The collegial study group will address backward design, formative assessment, summative assessment and data analysis.

Mr. Mark J. Davids, Grosse Pointe Farms
11th and 12th Grade Teacher, Grosse Pointe South High School
Partner: Mr. Don Pata
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mr. Davis and Mr. Pata will form a study group to collaborate with automotive and communications engineers to learn the basic science and engineering principles related to an Intelligent Transportation System (ITT). Using this knowledge, the grantees will supervise and assist their students to design and build a model roadway system to demonstrate the feasibility of “cars that cannot crash.”

Minnesota

Ms. Kristen Gulsvig, Oakdale
9th to 12th Grade Autism Teacher, Tartan High School
Partner: Ms. Catherine Hoffman
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ms. Gulsvig and Ms. Hoffman will design and implement district-wide professional development opportunities to address the growing population of students with autism spectrum disorders. The professional opportunities will focus on developing resources and teaching strategies through collaboration and partnership with other educators in the district.

New Jersey

Ms. Laura Blake, Morganville
1st to 5th Grade Music Teacher, Asher Holmes School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Ms. Blake will attend two weeks of courses at Villanova University to achieve Level I Certification from TIME (Technology Institute for Music Educators). Knowledge and materials from this comprehensive curriculum will be shared at district workshops and used in music classes in conjunction with interdisciplinary lessons and an exploration of the creative process.

New Mexico

Ms. Laura Kerr, Farmington
Coordinator, Center for Teaching Excellence, San Juan College Community College
Partner: Ms. Kate Leach
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ms. Kerr and Ms. Leach will oversee a Teacher Learning Community for new full-time faculty. Participants will learn effective teaching techniques and apply those concepts to their own classroom instruction.

New York

Ms. Rebecca S. Buckingham, Lisbon
9th to 12th Grade Biology Teacher, Lisbon Central School
Partner: Ms. Abigail A. LaPage
Grant Amount: $5,000

Ms. Buckingham and Ms. LaPage will create school-wide collegial study groups focused on the readings of texts that address instructional improvement within classrooms and across classrooms within the school. There will be a special focus on students who are at the highest risk of academic failure.

Mrs. Shawna Gareau-Kurtz, Spencerport
9th to 12th Grade Instructional Support Consultant Teacher, WE-MO-CO Career nd Technical Education Center
Partner: Ms. Lindsey Post
Grant Amount: $5,000

Mrs. Gareau-Kurtz and Ms. Post will establish a teacher resource library. The library will target new teachers and will provide materials for new teacher mentors.

North Carolina

Ms. Katherine T. Melillo, Carrboro
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher Assistant, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute
Grant Amount: $2,000

At the Project Zero Classroom 2008 at Harvard University, Ms. Melillo will examine how children’s multiple intelligence strengths play into how they learn in the classroom and how these qualities can be used to help children think more creatively. Knowledge will be shared through development presentations and faculty meetings at UNC Chapel Hill.

Ms. Carol Carmichael, Winston-Salem
4th Grade Classroom Teacher, The Downtown Elementary School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Ms. Carmichael will attend the Institute on the Teaching of Writing at Columbia University, where she will participate in discussion groups with peers and attend seminars with recognized literacy leaders. Upon completion of the institute, she will mentor her colleagues and model lessons and strategies with them.

Ohio

Mrs. Cathy Barnett, Antwerp
7th to 12th Grade Technology Applications Teacher/Coordinator, Antwerp Local School District
Partner: Ms. Rose Reinhart
Grant Amount: $5,000

Antwerp PEERS will provide an opportunity for building teacher capacity to integrate technology into all phases of instruction, and into a school-wide plan. The plan will include in-depth professional development for a “core” in-house training team who will provide on-going staff training.

Pennsylvania

Mrs. Lisa DiNapoli, Pittsburgh
6th Grade Teacher, Perrysville Elementary School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Mrs. DiNapoli will attend courses at Indiana Wesleyan University, via an innovative distance-learning model, to study effective ways to motivate students, increase their reading comprehension, and foster parent involvement. She will provide a training session and model lessons and strategies for her colleagues.

Tennessee

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

The project will provide support to train coaches for School-Wide Positive Behavioral Support (SWPBS). SWPBS is an evidence-based approach to improve academic and behavior outcomes. The grant will provide 125 training modules for school psychologists to improve their skill base.

Utah

Mrs. Shirley Ann Dawson, South Jordan
Kindergarten to 6th Grade Special Education Teacher, Elk Meadows Elementary School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Mrs. Dawson will survey college students to determine their reasons for entering a special education teacher preparation program. The findings will be made into a DVD to distribute to high school seniors, counselors, and other education professionals to increase interest in and understanding of the field of special education.

Washington

Ms. Jessica M. Heaton, Issaquah
9th World Studies Department Head and ASB & Activities Coordinator, Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus
Grant Amount: $2,000

Ms. Heaton will participate in a peace delegation to Israel and Palestine, focusing on seeing, listening to, and recording the experiences and perspectives of a wide range of Palestinian and Israeli voices. Information gathered will be shared with a 15 member Humanities Department.

Wisconsin

Mrs. Jayne E. Jaskolski, Milwaukee
Pre-Kindergarten-3-5 Speech Language Pathologist, Twenty-First Street School
Grant Amount: $2,000

Mrs. Jaskolski will implement an action research project, augmented with professional development, to quantify and describe the value of early intervention in a speech and language classroom to increase the achievement of at-risk pre-school children. The goal is to accelerate the children’s development of age-appropriate language and literacy skills.