Teacher Grants Awarded

Weather Equipment

The second semester (we're on a block schedule, so it would be second quarter), started with students in a real slump. Everyone's grades were dropping and they were yawning through activities. Then we went outside to use some of weather equipment a DPS grant made possible and students came alive. Saying the temperature in Spanish is much more exciting than doing a worksheet on numbers. Checking a rain gauge and reporting the weather in Spanish is a lot different than taking a test. Even our verbs got a lift as we practiced conjugations of the verbs to describe our various activities. Thank you!

-Vilo Westood

Online Magazines

I received a grant for a year's subscription to Kids Discover Online, a digital version the Kids Discover magazine. Even though I find it a valuable resource for assigning research topics and assessing my student's work in class, I see the real value for the students when I see them choosing topics that interest them. It is rewarding to see them so engaged with reading informational text, an area of difficulty for our students.

- Mary Espinosa

Reading Curriculum

The Stevenson Reading Program that I purchased with the money I was granted has helped me to break through to students that I have had very little progress with in the past. One little guy, Justin, who has struggled tremendously with spelling in the past, has gotten three 100's on spelling tests so far this school year. This has boosted his confidence greatly and has given him the ability to persevere. He exhibits much less frustration. He is so proud of himself and so am I!

- Lynda Hawkins

The Dayton Public Schools Foundation Teacher Grant recipients for School Year 2023-24 are as follows:

Shana Adkins                            $500                 International School at Residence Park, Kdg.
Orton Gillingham Materials Students will benefit from curricular materials for phonics and letter/sound correlation.

Yunus Brevik                            $500                 Fairview Elementayry, PreSchool
Strengthening PK Math and Literature through Play   Students will use manipulatives to strengthen algebra and geometry relationships as well as recognize letters.

Vanessa Carrasco                     $500                 International School at Residence Park, grade 1
Learning English through Phonemic Awareness Learning Center Using specialized learning centers, students will build foundational English skills while differentiating their individualized needs.

Kristen Dintaman                     $500                 Eastmont Elementary, grade 1
Exploring the World through Play: Enhancing Early Childhood Learning at the Boonshoft Students will visit the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery for hands-on STEM learning experiences.

Kailyn Hatfield                          $500                 Kiser Elementary, grades K-1
A Day on the Farm After a farm visit, students use their language skills to research the land use and animals on the farm.

Deidra Mitsoff                          $500                 Wright Brothers Middle School, grades 7-8
Changemakers Using their National Geographic textbook and visiting Cincinnati’s Underground Freedom Center,
students will determine criteria for change makers using examples they found from the past and present.

Destiny Otte                             $500                 Eastmont Elementary, grade 2
Growing Minds: A Farm Experience Students will visit Young’s Jersey Dairy to explore the workings of a farm.

Victoria Palmieri and Jill Biteman          $500     Horace Mann Elementary, Kdg.
Core Phonological Awareness Students will benefit from supplemental reading curriculum aides for phonological awareness.

Grace Rudolph                          $500                 International School at Residence Park, grade 1
Learning English through PhonemicAwareness Centers Using specialized learning centers, students will build foundation English skills while differentiating their individual needs.

Rut Neomi Semprit Marrero     $500                 River’s Edge Montessori, grades 1,2,3
Casa Dei Bambini Students using tactile activities, will use Montessori learning materials to develop that inner desire to work without the need for extrinsic material rewards.                                                                                                                                    3

Melissa Sharp                           $500                 Ruskin Elementary, grade 4
Make-do: Imagining, Designing and Creating   Using special Invent Kits with tools, students will cooperatively construct a project representing scenes from novels they have read.

Alisha Sims                               $500                 River’s Edge Montessori, grades 1,2,3
Bring the World to Dayton   Using a variety of Montessori pin maps and other resources, students will research various continents and their waterforms, landforms, and cities.

Rebecca Stroh                          $500                 Ruskin Elementary, grade 3
Are Robots Adaptable?   Students will receive a personal copy of a study novel paired with their regular reading text theme.

Lillian Weaver                          $250                 Eastmont Elementary, grades Pk-2
Wild Rhythms    Students will appreciate the sounds of wildlife through a musical assembly program from Aullwood Audubon Nature Center.