District 70 Teachers Awarded Grants for Innovative Programs

Sixty-one Libertyville Elementary District 70 teachers and staff members have been awarded Partners for Excellence in Education grant monies this year to enhance education through innovative and creative new programs in their classrooms.

Thirty-six grants totaling more than $15,000 were awarded to progressive teachers in all five schools. There were 41 applications for the grants, according to a news release.

The grants are sponsored by Partners for Excellence in Education, a group of local business representatives who offer their time and financial donations to District 70. This is the 21st year for the partnership's "Mini-Grant Awards" program, which has awarded more than $100,000 over the years for direct use in the classrooms, according to a District 70 news release.

This year's grants will go to fund such programs as building cultural acceptance and respect among student with diverse assemblies, creating artwork for a local retirement center to connect with senior citizens, purchasing classroom seats that are flexible and move so students can choose their workplace, sending personal, hand-written notes to students for encouragement, buying circuits to encourage STEM work, giving students time to study cake decorating, sushi making, and coding.

“We continue to value the commitment of the Business Partners who review and support these endeavors,” said Superintendent Guy Schumacher. “Staff has become increasingly imaginative and creative, offering innovative and unique opportunities that build upon learning standards and offer additional educational opportunities for the children of our schools.”

Principals presented the winning grants at a recent board of education meeting, according to a news release from District 70.

While Schumacher and administrators support the business group with the grant applications, they step out of the decision-making process. The business partners make all the final decisions based on 21st Century core criteria set up for the grants.

The individual grants range from $150 to $500.

The recipients are:

Highland Middle, Adler Park and Rockland Schools

• Lily Albrecht, Elizabeth Davis, Danya Sundh. BreakOut ERU: Racing Against the Clock-One Lesson at a Time! Purchase BreakOut EDU boxes for each school for students to solve multiple problems under a time crunch.

Adler Park School

• Whitney Adelman, Ashley Turner. Coffee Shop Classroom. Purchase alternative seating, like balance balls and rocker chairs, to encourage students to engage and connect like in a coffee shop.
• Michelle Bauer. Circuit Scribe: Putting Electricity in the Classroom! Teaching students how to create and connect a circuit with a pen that is filled with conductive ink.
• Theresa Gasick, Elizabeth Davis. Young at Art. Purchase painting supplies for students to create artwork for residents in local retirement centers as part of the Character Counts program.
• Sue Wisek, Denise Dorf. Neat Seats. Purchase alternative seating to help kindergartners stay focused and maintain their personal space.
• Ashley Zeinz. Wiggle While You Work. Purchase Bouncy Bands that attach to desks and allow students to move without being distracting.
• Ashley Zeinz, Theresa Gasick, Jill Przybylski. Learning Through “Osmo”sis! Part 2. Osmo is learner-led iPad program that lets student use hands-on manipulatives while engaging in a virtual world.

Butterfield School

• Karen Close, Casie Derose, Kathy Dierckens, Joe Jarosz, Candice Kehoe, Pat Krech, Anne Luta, Kristi Patterson, Tanya Surdik, Jonathan Weppler. Ready, Set, Go-Kids! Purchase supplies to make additional emergency equipment kits.
• Karen Close, Pat Krech. Integrating Health and Nutrition in PE. Purchase equipment to build vocabulary and concepts for making healthy and nutritious choices.
• Kim Jenkins, Dr. Candice Kehoe, Kristi Patterson. Appreciating Culture at Butterfield School. Bring in special cultural performances at lunchtime to build student acceptance of other backgrounds.
• Krista Panock. Reading Go! Purchase a variety of books to encourage students with guided and independent reading.
• Krista Panock, Linda Knoll, Erin Koehlhoeffer, Mindy Ovaska. Mystery Science. Purchase access to an online website that teaches students science with videos and encourages questioning and exploring.
• Jill Przybylski. Spheros: The Coding Heros. Purchase Sphero app-controlled robotic balls to help students learn to code and program.
• Julie Serrecchia, Holly Simon. Come Sail With Us … A Poetry Voyage. Students will learn about poetry, read it, memorize it and visit the Chicago Poetry Foundation.
• Holly Simon. Move Over ET the EET is here and it’s Out of this World! Purchase of Expanding Expression Tool program that helps improve student verbal and written expression.
• Megan True, Karen Forkner, Sarah McPherren, Amy Blank. Social Side of Kindergarten. Purchase books to help increase proper social, emotional behaviors.

Copeland Manor School

• Keri Johnson, Nichole Vipond, Patti Schroetter, Stephanie Meo. Researching and Writing with Databases. Purchase database subscription, PebbleGo, to help introduce first graders to the research process.
• Carmen Kutsch, Elisa Smith. Tools for Learning. Purchase environmental and sensory equipment to help students learn.

Highland Middle School

• Jill Conley. Synthesizing Informational Text in the Classroom. Purchasing books that chronicle the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
• Caren Kimbarovsky. Close the STEAM Circuit. Monies to buy snap circuits so students can use for STEAM. Year two.
• Linda Mitchell. You’ve Got Mail! Continuing the Class Act initiative by sending personal notes home to all 7 Gold Students. Send personalized notes to 160 seventh grade Gold Team students.
• Linda Mitchell. Erin Wyatt. What’s Your Story? I’ll Tell You Mine. Providing engaging Memoir/Biography Literature Titles that Connect Us and Help Us Tell our Own Story. Purchase high-interest memoirs and biographies to encourage reading.
• Melissa Rosen. Makey-ing It Happen. Monies will buy Makedos and MaKey MaKey supplies for students to tinker with for STEAM. Year two.
• Robin VanDyke, Terri Malcom, Tara Oshinski, Mike Rumpf. Sustainable Outdoor Garden. Plant an outdoor garden and serve the food in the lunchroom.
• Dr. Erin Wyatt, Lisa Smith. Maker Mondays at Highland Learning Center. Monies used to buy supplies with apps and books for students who want to build, tinker and create. Year two.
• Erin Wyatt, Mike Rumpf, Brianne Smith, Ann Riggs, Linda Mitchell, Caren Kimbarovsky. Escaping the Routine: Challenging Students to Solve Problems with Breakout EDU. Purchase Breakout EDU kit for students to use to help them solve problems, work on teams and communication in a time limit.

Rockland School

• Becky Johnson. A Five Senses Approach. Setting up a sensory section in the Learning Center with sound, smell, herb plants, peppermints, located near the fish and reptiles. Year Two.
• Becky Johnson, Chris Vipond. Rockland K’nex to STEM. Purchase K’nex building sets.
• Becky Johnson, Michelle Salm, Jaime Wittenberg. Rockland Post Office. Create a post office at the school. Year two.
• Mike Kolar. Having a racquet with eclipse ball. Purchase equipment needed to play Eclipse Ball, a lead up game to tennis.
• Mike Kolar, Danya Sundh. Steaming’ with Strawbees. Purchase Strawbees straws to build bridges and create structures that support STEM learning.
• CJ Locke, Kara Graeb, Stephanie Wilson. Mindset Matters. Print posters of positive growth mindset to display in classrooms to infuse into daily opportunities.
• Katie Nyland. STEAM Boxes for Tinker Time. Purchase items and games (legos, play-doh) to be used to encourage collaboration through STEAM challenges.
• Linda Snader, Danya Sundh, Becky Wickboldt. Flexible Seating for fluid Learning. Purchase equipment that helps students focus in various types of work places.
• Danya Sundh. Checking In with our Students, While checking Out Positive Results. Subscription to help students struggling with student behavior expectations to help them make better choices.
• Danya Sundh. Genius Hour: What’s Your Passion? Students are allowed to study something new, including making sushi, cake decorating, digital photography, coding, sewing.

District Partners

The award money is derived from local businesses belonging to District 70's Partners for Excellence in Education program.

Local companies working as partners include A Village Green Montessori School, Arpino Orthodontics, Blast Entertainment, Blue Sky Studio, C & A Robot Factory, Inc., Cafe Pomigliano, Inc, Cedar Roofing Co., Century 21 Kreuser & Seiler, Ltd., Chattysnaps, Chick-fil-A, Cross Ways Pre-school, Culvers Frozen Custard, Customized Garb, David Adler Music & Arts Center, Domino's Pizza, Donatis Pizza, Envision Health Clinic, Eye Level Learning, Ganello’s Pizza Co., glimling.com LLC, Growing with Grace Preschool, HoneyBaked Ham & Cafe, How Impressive!, Improv Playhouse, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Jet’s Pizza, Lake Minear Beach, Libertyville Bank & Trust, Libertyville Cooperative Nursery School, Lifestyle Cycle, Lifetime Treasures Photography, Lisa Konz Dental Care, Marjo Graphics, Max's Dawg House, Picolo Soccer School, Pizzeria Deville, Shakou, Sunset Foods, The Horan Marella Group/Baird, The Tranel Financial Group, theblanket.com, Toptec Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electrical, Inc., Touche Salon, Townee Square Restaurant, Vernon Hills Dental Center, Vivi Jewelry (formerly Cookie Lee Jewelry) and Youth & Family Counseling.

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