From a jellyfish tank (Centennial High) to Negro League baseball books (King Elementary), local educators got creative in pitching projects to the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation, which this week awarded grants totaling $60,000-plus to 182 teachers. Here’s a look at the complete list.
COMPETITIVE GRANTS
Drums Alive For PE & Music: Bradley Benner (Thomas Paine), Megan Tipton (Yankee Ridge, Thomas Paine). 500 K-5 students will participate in a program that provides whole-brain and whole-body workouts.
Ice Skating Exploration: Matthew Trueblood (Booker T. Washington), Brian Wenzel (South Side). Students with little familiarity of ice skating get to experience it first-hand.
Preparing Youth For Their Futures: Barbie Price, Mynette Kretz (Urbana MS). Funds will be used for Positive Action curriculum material.
Lambda Library: Jennifer Heaton (Yankee Ridge), Kate McLean (Wiley). Grant will fund age-appropriate, award-winning books from the past year.
Multilingual Student Stories Come To Life: Jenna Ko, Luciano Vasquez (Westview). Multilingual language learners will learn how to write coherent and vivid personal narratives.
Elevating Comprehension With Decodable Readers: Laura Stevens, Christina Mitchaner (Leal). Funds will be used for high-interest, content-based non-fiction readers.
This Is Boring. I Want Something FUN: Jacqui Hoke, Abby Heras (International Prep). Literacy materials to include both Spanish and English titles will be expanded for multi-lingual learners.
The Student Curator Project: Jennifer Jameson, Crystal Thompson (BTW). Funds will be used for a hands-on experience designing displays for the Anita Purves Nature Center.
Decodable Readers: Gina Hanna, Florence Mathieu (Yankee Ridge). Funds will go toward books to help second-graders build phonic skills.
Supporting Early Literacy: Bridget Maloney, Katy Plotner (Leal). Headsprout online lessons in phonics, phonemic awareness and comprehension will benefit K-2 students.
Understanding History Through Graphic Novels: Bruce Brown, Naomi Ming (Urbana HS). On the way: new graphic books to help engage students.
Jellies For The Kids: Lynn Kilber, Michele McGinnis (Centennial HS). A fish tank with live jellyfish will help biology students learn about animal life cycles.
Yoga & Mindfulness: Mindy Dyson, Tiffany Davis (South Side). Fifth-graders will participate in self-awareness, self-management and social awareness through activities.
Engaging Students With Healing: Amy Webb, Yolande Cooke (ML King). Funds will be used for toys and books to help students heal and recover from the pandemic.
Outdoor Sensory Space: Sania Zaffar, Karen Hollett (UMS). Funds will be used for a space with activities and supports for special education students.
Constructing Ceramic Vessels: Rusty Clevenger, Janice Knight (UMS). Grant will fund clay, glaze and tools for building vessels that can stand the test of time.
Books In The Spotlight: Elizabeth Evans, Kayla Leitchuh (Franklin MS). ESL students will have access to high-interest and culturally relevant reading materials.
Birds of Prey: Katie Brown, Maryah Turnage (Gerber School). The Decatur Raptor Center will visit, bringing hawks, owls, bald eagles and falcons.
Migracion de las Monarcas: Multicultural, Multimodal, Multilingual: Maggie Byrne, Bryan Lake (Dr. Preston Williams). K-5 students will research monarch butterflies, constructing a permanent bed and enclosed pavilion.
ACTIONS Media Productions: Tatiana Austin, Serra Nicolette (ACTIONS & Restore). New technology will allow students to explore restorative solutions that support their social and emotional learning.
Student ARTdoors: Kyli Miller, Dana Lapari (BTW). K-2 students will create outdoor ARTscapes that will be placed at the Anita Purvis Nature Center.
Seeing Yourself in Literature: Zane Newman (Franklin). Grant will fund high-interest books that represent Latinex students.
Flexible Seating: Jessica Schad and Kelsey Angel (UMS), Christine Yu (South Side). Three separate grants will benefit UMS math students and South Side second-graders.
Sensory Paths: Laura Retallick (Carrie Busey). Funds will be used to create walkway stencils that encourage students to use their imagination.
Building Our Community: Erica Cooper-Peyton (Dr. Williams). Jumbo foam construction blocks are on the way, for use in building collaboration, experimentation and risk-taking skills.
Discovering The World Through Literature Circles: Rachel Sassine (UHS). Funds will be used to expand and diversity high school literacy materials.
Empathy Reading: Suzanne Price-Christensen (Franklin). Eighth-graders will have access to new texts that are highly engaging and relevant.
K-5 Maker Place: Katherine Krusell (Barkstall). Materials will be purchased for creating items reflective of literature and stories students are reading.
New Middle School Printmaking: Justine Fein-Bursoni (IPA). Sculpting and printmaking supplies for new art students are on the way.
Full STEAM Ahead: Savanna Robison (Urbana Early Childhood). Students will get to experiment with STEAM-themed materials.
Bilingual Books For Supporting Literacy: Rachel Gray (IPA). Culturally diverse and relevant books in English and Spanish will be purchased.
Passport To The World: Jessica Chiu (Westview). Funds will support passport booklets and stamps, crafts, music, dances, virtual field trips and language learning.
Screen-Printing: Emily Pawlicki (BTW). Students will be able to design and create their own T-shirts.
Quick Response, Low Tech: Mary Biddle (Edison MS). Individual white boards and markers for students will be added.
Beat The Odds, Therapeutic Drumming: Glen Forneris (South Side). New performing arts program will promote overall health and wellness.
COMPACT GRANTS
Cuneiform Writing: Cynthia Adamek (UMS). New supplies will help students learn ancient writing with Spurlock Museum specialists.
Safe Centers 2021: Khristi Boyer (Robeson). Kindergarteners will get containers to store their manipulatives.
Interactive Tech For The Classroom: Felix Cardoso (Urbana Adult Ed). Adult learners will have access to digital white boards and writing pads.
Sta-Wet Palettes For Art: Elizabeth Chong (Centennial). Reusable paint palettes will increase the life of student supplies.
Encouraging My Struggling Readers: Erin Clafin (BTW). Coming soon: high-interest books to support struggling readers.
Inclusive Literacy: Christina Compiseno (Dr. Howard). More inclusive and representative picture books are on the way.
Model Rocketry & Chess Clubs: Jackson Earl, Aaron Hong (Central). Separate grants will fund new materials and equipment.
The Art-Science Connection: Melissa Farley (Bottenfield). Funds will be used to purchase Sculpey III for students in grades 1 and 5.
Building A Love For Reading At Home: Kari Flodstrom (Kenwood). Grant will fund books for students to take home and read with a family member.
Making Reading Exciting: Rebecca Garrett (Edison). High-interest, engaging books are on the way for middle schoolers.
Sensory Need Supports: Alexis Gatses (Stratton). Objects that help students maintain focus and attention will be purchased.
Storytelling Kits: Cassandra Hall (Champaign Early Childhood). Funds will be used for 3-D story kits and other hands-on materials for ESL students.
Graphic Novel Mania: Lindsey Hasler (Jefferson MS). Grant will help meet heightened student interest in this genre.
We Are Fluent Readers: Abby Hlinka (Barkstall). Funds will go toward decodable books for students to practice their phonics skills at home and school
Imaginative Restaurant Play: Brittany Holloway (Bottenfield). Special education and English language learners will communicate through play in a restaurant setting.
Floor Hockey: Thorin Johnson (Centennial). Time to order new sticks and gear.
Special Education Sensory Support: Cassandra Little (Westview). Students with disabilities will benefit.
Sensory Tools For Trauma Recovery: Stephanie Kelly (Westview). Funds will be used for manipulatives and sensory items.
Fidgets For Kids: Michael Leonard (Jefferson). Special education students will get fidgets to use in all their core classes.
Middle School Math: Melissa Luffman (Stratton). New calculators are on the way.
Storage Solutions For Music: Cara Maurizi (MLK). New shelves will store keyboards and ukuleles.
Coding Robots In The Classroom & Home: Todd McCannon (BTW). Students will be able to work with Sphero SPRK and Mini coding robots.
Student Council At Fowler Farm: Meghan McGreevy (Edison). New gardening tools will help with planting.
Hand-Held White Boards & Headphones: Jennifer Meline (Franklin). Provides funds for small student white board and headphones with earbuds.
Authentic Assessment Materials: Jessica Mirowski (IPA). New supplies will be used for in-class math activities that demonstrate student competencies.
Libros for Spanish Learning: Sequoia Munoz (IPA). High-interest, engaging books in Spanish are coming soon.
DACA Dreamers Read About Real-Life DREAMERS:Lola Pittenger (UMS). Grant will cover the cost of a class set of Pablo Nerudo’s book “The Dreamer.”
Rigor & Precision: Gwenetta Posey (Dr. Howard). Funds will be used to buy the game Ricochet Robots.
Social Emotional Books: Mary Purdy (BTW). Read-aloud books with diverse characters will be purchased.
Second Grade STEAM Lab: Lasonia Reed (Wiley). New materials will support Mystery Science Lessons.
Spanish Literacy: Wendaliz Rodriguez Torres (UMS). Funds will go toward Spanish literacy books for students with disabilities.
Caterpillar To Butterfly: Sandi Roegman (Garden Hills). Students will observe, record and analyze butterflies’ life cycles.
Setting Up A Classroom: Mike Rotter (Centennial). Funds will be used to buy white boards, markers and more for geometry.
Young Scientists: Heather Schwartz (UEC). On the way: lab coats, safety goggles, beakers, magnifying glasses and more.
Diversity In The Classroom: Barb Sebens (UEC). Culturally relevant books will be purchased.
Mural Supplies: Tyler Sims (UHS). Students will be treated to high-quality paints for a mural project.
Finding A Love For Reading Through Audio: Meagan Stenzel (UMS). Headphones and audio versions of novels being read in class are on the way.
Calabazas Culturales: Amy Westfield (Centennial). Paint and materials will help students share their individual cultures.
Learning About African American History Through Negro League Baseball: Morgan Williams (MLK). Students will learn about the Negro Leagues’ influence on African American identity.
Bringing Crayola Colors Of The World To Students: Ellie Zimmer (Dr. Williams). Crayola Colors of the World supplies will help students create art with colors that represent their skin tones.
VINCENT O. GREEN GRANT
Coding With Graphing Calculators & Rovers: David Finn (Gerber). Middle and high schoolers will be introduced to the basics of coding with top-of-the-line tools.
GIFT OF THE FINE ARTS GRANT
Elementary Rhythm & Percussion: Megan Tipton (Yankee Ridge, Thomas Paine). 500 students will have access to new drums, tubanos, cajons and rhythm instruments.
Admiring Aaron Copeland: Tamra Gingold (UHS). 76 high schoolers studying the famed composer will gain access to music and guest artists.
GIFT OF MUSIC GRANT
Bringing Jazz To Life In CU: John Currey, Nick Schulze, Mike Allen, Matt Chesne, Robin Heltsley (Unit 4). Visiting artist Todd Stoll, of Lincoln Center fame, will spend two days at Jefferson, Central and Centennial.
Can’t Stop the Beat: Shawn Kimbrel (Jefferson). Through a partnership with UIUC, students will be exposed to lyric writing, music production, guest artists and more.
Centennial Bands Composer Representation Initiative: Matt Chesner. Band directors will purchase new music from underrepresented composers.
HOUSTON BOOK GRANTS
Kia Alexander, Priscilla Kraut (UMS); Leticia Angel, Lucia Avila (IPA); Heather Bailey (Jefferson); Scott Bartlett, Lisa Ferguson, Ashley Kang,…