Classroom Grants Help Teachers and Students
Laurel Oak Elementary Music Teacher Austin Gomez
A Tuesday morning in October turned into anything but typical as surprise visits to 240 teachers delivered more than $270,000 to inspire and support learning for students. The Education Foundation of Collier County—Champions for Learning—awarded a record-breaking 434 grants to 62 schools in Collier County. The grants aim to provide funding for supplies, classroom items, and enrichment activities that extend beyond a school’s budget. This year, each teacher received $300 through the Florida Teacher Classroom Supply Assistance Program. Those funds certainly help, but educators often spend their own money on supplying above and beyond the state allotment. Some of the creative local grants that caught my eye are throwable, wireless microphones to encourage students to speak up and share ideas, supplies for entrepreneurship students to create products, and launch businesses, two counter pizza ovens for culinary art students, and 3D models of a heart and eye to teach students the anatomy and physiology of different organs. Make sure to read to the bottom to learn how you can spread more smiles because there are still unfunded grant requests.
These classroom grants are available to all Florida Department of Education-approved schools in Collier County, including traditional public, charter, and private schools. The classroom grants funded in October were either funded by individual donors or from Champions for Learning’s Classroom Grant Fund. To award these funds, a volunteer selection committee scored each grant application against a rubric. Here are some of the Collier County Public Schools grant recipients who work within the circulation of North Naples News.
Gulf Coast High Teacher Michael Miller
A Tuesday morning in October turned into anything but typical as surprise visits to 240 teachers delivered more than $270,000 to inspire and support learning for students. The Education Foundation of Collier County—Champions for Learning—awarded a record-breaking 434 grants to 62 schools in Collier County. The grants aim to provide funding for supplies, classroom items, and enrichment activities that extend beyond a school’s budget. This year, each teacher received $300 through the Florida Teacher Classroom Supply Assistance Program. Those funds certainly help, but educators often spend their own money on supplying above and beyond the state allotment. Some of the creative local grants that caught my eye are throwable, wireless microphones to encourage students to speak up and share ideas, supplies for entrepreneurship students to create products, and launch businesses, two counter pizza ovens for culinary art students, and 3D models of a heart and eye to teach students the anatomy and physiology of different organs. Make sure to read to the bottom to learn how you can spread more smiles because there are still unfunded grant requests.
These classroom grants are available to all Florida Department of Education-approved schools in Collier County, including traditional public, charter, and private schools. The classroom grants funded in October were either funded by individual donors or from Champions for Learning’s Classroom Grant Fund. To award these funds, a volunteer selection committee scored each grant application against a rubric. Here are some of the Collier County Public Schools grant recipients who work within the circulation of North Naples News.
Aubrey Rogers High
Milagros Lee
Naomi Rothring
Bahareh Wahba
Barron Collier High
Gina Manville DeJager
Gulf Coast High
Teresa Hendry
Michael Miller
Laurel Oak Elementary
Patricia Auriana
Sheila Blaisdell
Thomas Davison
Jayme Deardorff
Susie DeLadurantey
Laurie DeMorett
Austin Gomez
Naples Park Elementary
Darcie Argabright
Cassy Eaton
Shannon Foley
Dina Griffin
Brandon Grindle
Candace Johnson
Keely Williams
North Naples Middle
Angela Brintnell
Janet Gentile
Kathrin Hans
Ellen Romano
Samantha Senkarik
Oakridge Middle
Taylor Arnold
Amy Diemert
Elizabeth Draper
Maria Hill (LaRocco)
April Jaycox- Varga
Anne O’Renick
Rayna Overmyer
Andrea Polanco
Cindy St. John
Mary Thompson
Pine Ridge Middle
Pamela Schram
Poinciana Elementary
Lani Mastrangelo
Thomas Scalise
Sally Tillotson
Veterans Memorial Elementary
Carole Burn
Lisa Casey
Laura Cecil
Marsha Colbert
Susie Daye
Erin Delgado
Danielle Eisenberg
Lisa Heben
Janice Iacovino
Jacqueline Jardin
Mattea Marks
Katelyn Osborne
Blank Story Books
Katelyn Osborne
Maria Padilla
Kathryn Robison
Marissa Santucci
Stephanie Scalise
Kara Schaps
Barbara Schini
Randi Sheltra
Mary Sundall
Karen Thistle
Jennifer Torkelson
Heather Van Osten
Anne Young