Foundation for Excellence in Public Education Announces 2013 Grants and Awards

By Anisa Sullivan Jimenez

A dozen of the Clarke County School District’s outstanding educators are being recognized for their excellence in teaching, leadership and community service. The Foundation for Excellence in Public Education in Clarke County (FFE) presented awards this week totaling $13,600 to educators in the community’s public schools. In addition, educators will share in $17,500 in grants to fund innovative learning projects, provided by the FFE.

“It is always exciting to deliver the good news to Clarke County teachers and administrators who have earned these awards. Their commitment to excellent education in our school district is inspiring,” said Mona Robinson, president of the Foundation for Excellence. "For thirty years our generous community has supported the FFE's mission to encourage, recognize and reward excellence in our schools.” 

The Foundation for Excellence is a privately funded volunteer organization that supports local schools and teachers. Parents, teachers, community members and administrators nominate teachers for Foundation awards each spring. Selection committees review the nominations during the summer and select the recipients. Foundation for Excellence awards and grants are funded from permanent endowments, as well as from individual gifts made to the organization. Awards recipients will be honored at the Foundation’s annual banquet Mon., Oct. 7. The event is open to the public and information is available at www.athensffe.org.

The 2013 award recipients are as follows: 

Dr. Walter Allen, Sr. Excellence in Teaching Award

Wendy Greer – Fowler Drive Elementary School 

Martha Comer Chair for Teachers of Languages

Sally Dowling – Cedar Shoals High School 

Ann M. Schindel Chair for Teachers of Mathematics

Greg Huberty – Cedar Shoals High School 

Thomas Whitehead Chair for Teachers of Science

Maria Koch – Timothy Road Elementary School 

Kathryn H. Hug Instructional Leadership Award

Linda Boza – Clarke Central High School 

Cardee Kilpatrick Chair for Middle School Teachers

Holly Ziemann – Hilsman Middle School 

Howard B. Stroud Award for Community Service

Kelli Bivins – Coile Middle School 

Freida M. Thomas Teacher of Promise Award

Erin Adamson – Cedar Shoals High School

FFE Excellence in Teaching Award Winners

Marc Ginsberg – Cedar Shoals High School

Stephanie Bradshaw – Timothy Road Elementary School

Lee Rogers – Barrow Elementary School

Em Smith-Headley – Barrow Elementary School 

The FFE awarded 25 grants for a variety of projects. The endowed projects are listed below: 

The Sara Orton Glickman Collaborative Project-Based Learning Grant ($1000) was awarded to Grace Staniszewski of Fowler Drive Elementary School for Solving the World’s Problems One Cluster at a Time. 

The Eve Carson Memorial Service Learning Grant ($1000) was awarded to Michelle Vecchio-Weinmesiter of Clarke Middle School for “Owl” Be Your Homework Helper. 

The Friends of Eve Carson Grant ($1000) was presented to Helene Halstead of Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School for Short Walk to Water.

The Carol Ann Colquitt Special Education Grant ($500) was awarded to Erika Douglas of Gaines Elementary School for Project R.E.A.L. (Recreational and Educational Activities for Life). 

The Todd Cooper Memorial Grant for Technology and Equipment ($500) was awarded to Amy Hill of Cleveland Road Elementary School for iPad Apps for Students.

The Jimmy Morris Memorial Fine Arts Grant ($500 each) was awarded to two teachers – Melanie Powers of Whitehead Elementary School for Breath of Fresh Air Recorder Project and Seyoung Holte of Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School for Performance Based Learning – Literacy/Drama Connection. 

The Lane Turner Norton Literacy Grant ($500) was awarded to Ginger Lehmann of Clarke Central High School for Writer’s Workshop Portfolio Publishing.

In addition to the competitive grants, the Foundation for Excellence also awarded the Arthur Moog Middleton Memorial Media Center Grant to the media centers at Cedar Shoals High School and Clarke Central High School. The grant will provide $250 to each school for the purchase of challenging books. 

In addition, several general classroom grants were awarded for a variety of projects. Recipients for these grants are listed below. 

$1000 grants

Barrow Elementary School, Library as Makerspace, Andy Plemmons

Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, Outdoor Natural Resources Classroom, Melissa Paul

Cedar Shoals High School, Biodiversity of Marine Bacteria, Stella Guerrero

Clarke Middle School, The World Around Us, Jordan Perry

Coile Middle School, Keepin’ It Real: Coile Students Thrive With Drug Free Lives, Kelli Bivins

Hilsman Middle School, Weather Scene Investigators, Audrey Hughes

Timothy Road Elementary School, Using Big Books to Incorporate Shared Reading into Social Studies, Wynter McBride

$500 grants

Burney-Harris Lyons Middle School, Be a Friend First: Anti-Bullying Campaign for Middle School Females, Beatrice Elder-Moore

Hilsman Middle School, Dig Into Earth Science, Diarra Moseley

J.J. Harris Elementary Charter School, Creative Problem Solving through Enrichment Clusters, Katherine Brown

Timothy Road Elementary School, iPad With Apps for Autism Classroom, Nicole McLaughlin

Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School, Graphics Galore, Deidre Sugiuchi

Whit Davis Elementary School, The Great Mathematician Competition for CCSD Elementary Students Grades 3-5, Treva Moeller

Whit Davis Elementary School, Photo Journaling Kindergarten, Anne Mauldin

$200 grants

Barrow Elementary School, Game On: Teaching Higher Order Thinking Skills Through Mensa-Select Games, Carrie Yawn

Whit Davis Elementary School, Listen Hear!, Anne Mauldin 

"The Foundation was delighted that so many teachers applied for our awards this year. The applications for the classroom grants were double from last year and we voted supplemental funds beyond this year's budget to support so many worthwhile projects for our classrooms,” explained John Whitehead, Executive Director.

Persons interested in joining the Foundation for Excellence or providing support for its programs may contact John Whitehead at 706.546.1321 or via email.