The Allentown School District Foundation is pleased to announce the newest cohort of Teacher Innovation Grant recipients. These ideas are developed by ASD educators to bring Allentown students added, enriched learning experiences, as follows:
|
Recipient
|
School
|
TIG Program Title
|
Grant
|
# Student Participants
|
Grade
|
|
Matthew Givler
|
William Allen High School
|
Human Powered Hydroponics – Part 1
|
$1,141
|
365
|
9-12
|
|
Nicole Leskosky
|
William Allen High School
|
Human Powered Hydroponics – Part 3
|
$814
|
365
|
9-12
|
|
Jarrad Max
|
William Allen High School
|
Human Powered Hydroponics – Part 2
|
$1,092
|
365
|
9-12
|
|
Crystal Sterner
|
William Allen High School
|
Hands-on History is Rewarding!
|
$1,200
|
40
|
9-12
|
|
Leila Little
|
Louis E. Dieruff High School
|
We Are Ready For a Career in STEM!
|
$1,200
|
60
|
9-12
|
|
Sarah Pastelyak & Luke Boyd
|
Louis E. Dieruff High School
|
Poets in Motion
|
$1,200
|
35
|
9-12
|
|
Patti Tinsman-Schaffer, David Stoudt & Andrew Bigatel
|
Louis E. Dieruff High School
|
Visual Research Journals
|
$1,200
|
50
|
9-12
|
|
Cara Montagnese
|
Raub Middle School
|
21st Century Choir Classroom
|
$1,000
|
95
|
6-8
|
|
Cara Montagnese
|
Raub Middle School
|
Raub Recording Studio
|
$475
|
95
|
6-8
|
|
Conchetta Marucci & Rebecca Hann
|
Trexler Middle School
|
War Study: Going Beyond the Book
|
$1,183
|
125
|
8
|
|
Cara Montagnese
|
Trexler Middle School
|
21st Century Choir Classroom
|
$1,000
|
95
|
6-88
|
|
Cara Montagnese
|
Trexler Middle School
|
Ukuleles in the Classroom
|
$271
|
135
|
6-8
|
|
Lindsay Makos
|
Dodd Elementary School
|
Independent Future for All
|
$1,100
|
48
|
K-5
|
|
Dr. Ivonne Miranda
|
Dodd Elementary School
|
STEM Garden
|
$1,200
|
200
|
2 & 5
|
|
Kristen Laub & Ashley Rowe
|
Lehigh Parkway Elementary School
|
STEM Outdoor Science Classroom
|
$1,000
|
350
|
K-5
|
|
Sheri Sousa
|
McKinley and Union Terrace Elementary Schools
|
Self-Reflection: “A Dinner Party”
|
$650
|
200
|
5
|
|
Marcia Zillitto & Sally Wolfe
|
Muhlenberg Elementary School
|
STEAM Stations
|
$1,184
|
25
|
3
|
|
Kecia Rowlands & Sally Wolfe
|
Ramos Elementary School
|
Bird Brains!
|
$1,136
|
140
|
3
|
|
Patricia Williams, Marie Nemes & Tara O'Brien
|
Ritter Elementary School
|
It’s Elementary…We Are Plantologists
|
$1,112
|
85
|
K-1-3
|
|
Jordan Chorones
|
Union Terrace Elementary School
|
Creating Student Agency
|
$1,200
|
23
|
1
|
TOTAL # Student Participants: 2,896 (estimate)
Selected by the ASDF Teacher Innovation Grant Committee on November 27, 2018, the Teacher Innovation Grants were approved and were announced to ASD educators through surprise visits to their classrooms December 11-13. Highlights from this year:
The ASD Foundation is awarding 20 Teacher Innovation Grants totaling $20,358. The grants fund projects in 11 ASD schools and will include: nine STEAM, four music, three cross-curricular, one literacy, one social studies, one life skills, and one physical education. Thirty-eight proposals with a maximum request of $1,200 were submitted by ASD educators and reviewed by the seven members of our volunteer TIG Committee.
The Teacher Innovation Program was founded in 2010 with a small grant. Since that time, more than $118,000 has been granted to 123 teachers. TIG is pegged to be a high-growth program, with a goal to fund 10 percent of the teacher corps, or to reach about 140 – 150 ASD educators with grant support every year. Sponsors of this motivational program this year include The Donley Foundation and The Sugra Foundation. Restricted gifts are always welcome to help fund this program.
Says Dr. Dennis Blankowitsch, Co-Chair of the ASDF TIG Committee, “The quality of proposals is rich with commitment to make a difference in the lives of ASD students and they are immensely creative.”
“We extend our gratitude not only to the TIG Committee for its dedication and diligence, but to our sponsors and all ASD educators who submitted TIG proposals,” added Jane Marks, Co-Chair. “These innovative plans will create a spark that ignites a life-long love of learning and impacts not just minds, but hearts as well.”
The grant ceiling continued this year at a cap of $1,200 per proposal. Project funding to recipients will be released by the winter break in December 2018. Part of the innovation grant process includes an evaluation component, which happens at school year-end.
These 20 TIG projects were selected by the TIG Committee consisting of Altagracia Mercado (Urban Affairs Liaison for Senator Pat Browne); TIG Co-Chair Dr. Dennis Blankowitsch (retired ASD Administrator); TIG Co-chair Jane Marks Co-Chair Jane Marks (retired ASD Teacher and Student Teaching Supervisor at Muhlenberg College); ASD test administrator Lizabeth Hutchison; retired ASD teacher Anita Stevens; Diane Wittman Koch (Newspapers in Education Manager, retired, The Morning Call); and Linda Bortz, (retired ASD Teacher and President of the Lehigh Chapter of PA School Retirees).
The Committee scored each application using a quantitative rubric by placing a total score of up to 25 points for each submission. All grants were reviewed and winners approved by ASD curriculum directors to meet standards.
About Allentown School District Foundation
With a vision for enriched education for Allentown School District students, the ASD Foundation mission is to encourage, promote and support innovative educational experiences for students in the Allentown School District. If you would like to learn more, please contact the Foundation at 484-765-4093 or [email protected]. The mailing address is P.O. Box 328, 31 South Penn Street, Allentown PA 18105. www.allentownsd.org/asdf.
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