2019-2020 Teaching Grants

Music in Motion: $10,000 - Dickinson High School

Laurel Powell, Morgan Gardiner, Zach Foster, Marisa Hataway

Students will move into the future as they are able to design with the newest cutting edge lighting equipment for dance, theatre and musical theatre. Lights will move, change colors and project beautiful images all at the push of a button. Dickinson students will be prepared for the future in design by providing technical theater students the opportunity to work with moving lights that are comparable with the industry standards in Houston, New York and around the world. 

Engineering and Robotics: $10,000 - Dickinson High School

The number of DHS Advanced Engineer students nearly tripled this year, adding 3 robotics teams, for a total of 7 teams. These funds will be used for robotics teams to register for the VEXEDR robotics program, three tournament competition registrations for the teams, transportation, robotic kits and supplies! 

Let's Vend Some Books: $5,000 - Dickinson High School

Deanna Williams and Courtney Ramirez

Providing access to books is needed to support and motivate students at the Ninth Grade Campus. This vending machine would provide immediate access to students during CHOMP time and serve as a way to reward positive behavior and motivate reluctant readers. This will continue to foster a love for reading and will support the campus wide initiative “Gotta Keep Reading.”

Top 20 Graduate Banquet Celebration: $3,500 - Dickinson High School 

Dr. Angie Estes

Provide a celebration banquet for the Top 20 Graduates and a special teacher that has helped the child reach their educational goals while they were at Dickinson ISD, along with administrators and parents. 

Hands on STEM Tools DNA K’Nex & BioBits: $1,000 - Dickinson High School                                                                            

Courtney Ramirez

The biology team will use the funds to purchase DNA Kits and BioBits Central Dogma Kits to provide a hands on learning experiences for all students, especially SPED and EL populations. The two kits allow students to understand the critical role the structure of DNA plays in the body, giving them the opportunity to work through the Central Dogma. This will allow students to engage with the manipulative and problem solve this difficult to understand process.

Agriculture Science Hands-On Experience Equipment: $1,000 - Dickinson High School         

Clay Menotti and Aaron Whitener

With an Aquaponics system and an incubator kit we will be able to not only provide experiences but also a revenue system for the Ag Department. This system will be used in agriculture classes and provide students with a hands on and up close experience with aquaponics, hydroponics, and ecosystems sciences. Students will care for the fish in the tank which will provide nutrients to the plants which will be planted above. With the incubator system we would be able to hatch a wide variety of birds including ducks, chickens, quail, and other wild game birds that can be sold. 

Updated Library / Textbooks: $1,000 - Dickinson Continuation Center / Dickinson Alternative Learning Center

Wendy Chide

DCC/DALC needs updated books and new bookshelves for their small hallway library, adequate and safe shelves for students to place their books, and a new assortment of books to allow students a variety of reading material to improve learning. 

MJHS Fine Arts Traveling Sound System : $10,000 - McAdams Junior High  

Tara Jones

This up to date portable technology will enhance the McAdams Junior High Theatre and Choir Programs performances with a traveling sound system that will be used to expose our student population at the junior high and the primary campus levels to high quality performances and live theatrical events. 

MJHS Short Throw Projector: $1,000 - McAdams Junior High

Tara Jones

Through the use of up-to-date and portable technology, we will enhance the McAdams Junior High Theatre programs performances with a projector that meets specifications specifically needed for us in theatrical performances.

When Virtual Reality Meets Education: $10,000 - Kranz Junior High

Janey Cole, Britta Carter, Christine Gleeson

The 21st  century technology will bring outside real world experiences into the classroom. Our students would benefit from exposure to career exploration and enhance educational curriculum to its fullest extent by utilizing virtual reality (VR).

Learning through Games: $1,000 - Kranz Junior High                      

Amanda Cavazos, Katrina Reliford

Making learning fun through games motivates students and helps them to focus and pay attention to the subject matter being taught. Playing games also encourages team work and enhances the campus awareness of community while increasing the student’s sense of belonging. These life skills will prepare students for the future working environments.

DISD Middle School Band Experience with the Houston Symphony: $5,000 - Lobit Middle School

Morgan Gentry

The Houston Symphony partners with middle school band and orchestra programs to expose students to the arts and inspire a lifelong love of music. The events help students engage in active listening skills, expose students to career avenues in music as required in TEKS, and provide a professional hands on experience that is most often only talked about in a band class. They will attend a performance at Jones Hall in Downtown Houston to hear an engaging professional orchestra performance. 

Levicon 2020: $1,000 - Lobit Middle School

Community and teachers set the day for students and their families to celebrate reading and all things literacy at a comic-con-styled event. Students in cosplay come to the school where they will see all types of characters from Star Wars to Spider-Man, create superhero themed crafts listen to the authors, see displays designed around the day, participate in a Quidditch clinic and an Old English maze, and simply be immersed in literature. No fees will be charged for entry, crafting or any activity. 

Library Books : $1,000 - Lobit Elementary

Updated library books for the library shared between LMS and LES. Due to sharing a library, the wear and tear of books has increased, and new books will need to be purchased throughout the year to maintain the library.  

Can you 3 Doodler? I CAN!: $5,000- Barber Middle School

Callie Harmon

Having a 3D Doodler pen accessible to a majority of our students will give them the chance to experience designing and printing an original design in a short amount of time. The objective is to allow our STEM students a chance to utilize a 3D Doodler pen and see how something from their creative minds can take a true shape in a 3D model. The goal is to provide a continual pathway of education through new experiences using up to date technology they can apply later in their jobs. 

What’s your reality? An educational endeavor of AR/VR in a STEM classroom : $10,000 - Barber Middle School            

Callie Harmon

Augmentation/Virtual Reality is a true embracement in the vision of our STEM academy. Utilizing AR/VR in our classrooms will enable the students to experience lessons in a way that we could not do without the technology of an AR/VR unit. It allows our students to walk inside of a cell or human body and visit various places all over the world. 

5Th Grade Makerspace: $1,000 - Barber Middle School

Krystal Trevino

The 5th grade Makerspace will be a place where the 21st century skills taught in our STEM classes can come to life. A place where STEM students have the opportunity to create, and a place where failure is embraced and revealed that is really the first step in learning. 

Building Cognitive and Focused Thinkers : $1,000 - Dunbar Middle School                           

Sharon Boudreaux

By purchasing needed equipment, including: basketballs, volleyballs, jump ropes, and number cones, students will have the opportunity to develop cognitive thinking and improve the ability to focus attention through physical activities. 

Building a 21^st Century Collaborative Library: 1,943.80 - Dunbar Middle School

Jamie Garcia

The library is located at the heart of the campus. It is the place that both students and teachers utilize to gain access to resources in all subject areas. In order to support our AVID college readiness initiative, the library is the ideal location to facilitate enrichment opportunities with an updated space. 

HOT DOTS!: $1,326.31 - Hughes Road Elementary                        

Layla Ford

Hot dots is a multilevel reading comprehension activity for ALL learners. The hot dot pens make self-checking fun and entertaining with a combination of printed text and technology incorporated. The pen gives the correct answer and provides immediate feedback for the student while the teacher is able to continue to help and work with the small group. 

VR in Classroom: $10,000 - Hughes Road Elementary

Having a virtual reality classroom will allow teachers to bring much needed experiences to our students. Providing these experience will give them the necessary background knowledge that is lacking, allowing teacher to close the achievement gap between affluent and non-affluent students. This allows us to take our students on field trips all over the world! 

Off Instruments for Elementary Music -$5,000 - Silbernagel Elementary

Malorie Davis

Music is a safe space where students can express themselves through singing, dancing, and playing. With these instruments students will be able to apply all that we are learning in music to actively play an instrument. 

Makerspace: $10,000 - Silbernagel Elementary

Julie Balu, Laura Vela, Brittany Gilchrest and Angela Owen

Kindergarten-4th grade makers-ace will consist of a wide variety of age appropriate and hands on materials ranging from building materials to technology needed to practice the science, technology engineering and math STEM skills being taught in the classroom. Robotics and the use of technology will be used to develop digital products. 

San Leon S.M.I.L.E : $5,000 - San Leon Elementary

Tammy Wester, John McLane, Michelle Black

The goal of the Science and Math Integrated Experience (S.M.I.L.E.) grant is to provide math and science books in English and Spanish that allows students to relate these problem solving skills to the real world. This curriculum presents the need to understand what borrowing and spending money is and applying it to a unique situation. 

San Leon SEL Style: $2,000 - San Leon Elementary

Jennifer Lorenzo

Social Emotional Learning books will develop self-awareness, self-control and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work, and life success. The lessons taught with these books will teach effective problem solving skills and emotional regulation. 

Challenge Lab : $10,000 - K.E. Little Elementary

Brook Morgan

The K.E. Little Elementary Challenge lab will be open for all students during library time, Monday-Friday. In addition, a library rotary of every two weeks will be used for all content classroom teachers to bring their class to the Challenge Lab for 45 minutes. This will also be a reward system for students in reaching readiness and leveled literacy intervention assigned by the response to intervention team. 

Books Books Books: $5,000 - K.E. Little Elementary

Brook Morgan and Wendy Pineda

The K.E. Little Library is in need of new books. The average age of books in the library ranges from 1994-2006. The new books will be used to improve learning, engagement and circulation in the library.

Calder Road Chronicle : $1,100 - Calder Road Elementary

Abbey Raymond

A group of students in grades 1-4 will collaborate to plan, draft, revise, edit and publish a monthly school newspaper, The Calder Road Chronicle. The students will vary throughout the year to give as many students as possible the experience of working together to create a final product. The newspaper will feature photographs of our students in action with captions, student articles, poems, school announcements, special awards and interviews.

iPads in the Art Room : $1,100 - Bay Colony Elementary

Kimi White

Ipads in the art room will teach the elements of art to students by not only using papered paint but digital paint on iPads. Students will learn to work in layers, undo mistakes, zoom in for details, resize, crop, rotate, create compositions and even produce stop motion videos.

Technology in the Art Room : $5,000 - K.E. Little Elementary

Hayley Halford 

iPads will be used to create stop motion animation videos in the art room using art, legos, blocks, and other materials. The technology could be used to research artists and artwork for inspiration for the projects.