ecolab teacher grants program final report 2019€¦ · sheet : julie hutcheson-downwind, michele...

For School Year 2019-2020, Ecolab Inc. awarded a $250,000 grant to Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) through the Ecolab Foundation for the new district-led Ecolab Teacher Grants Program. The Ecolab Teacher Grants Program is a continuation of the previous Ecolab Foundation Visions for Learning grant program that provided $2.1 million over the past 10 years to educators throughout the district, positively impacting 1,220 classrooms. The Ecolab Teacher Grants Program encourages projects that align with the districts new Strategic Plan Focus Areas and Student Outcomes.

280 educators wrote 113 unique applications

as individuals and teams, requesting

approximately $520,300.

19 SPPS staff and

parents (four Ecolab employees and nine teachers) reviewed

and scored the applications.

60 grants were awarded

to 161 educators working as

individuals and in teams, for a total of

$287,600.*

30 schools, one

district‑wide, and one multi‑school program received

funding.

* excess was funded by unspent funds from the previous round of grants

Saint Paul Public Schools

Ecolab Teacher Grants Program 2019

27,789 students will benefit from these projects

Ecolab Teach Grants Program Awards 2019

Awards by Category and Grade Level

⬤ Arts/Music (8)

⬤ College Readiness/Job Skills (11)

⬤ Communication/Language Arts (22)

⬤ Social and Emotional Learning (20)

⬤ STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (33)

⬤ Other (8)


SPPS Strategic Plan - Award Alignment Awards by Strategic Focus Area

Awards by Long-Term Student Outcomes


Teacher(s) School Project Title Budget Sheet

Julie Hutcheson-Downwind, Michele King, Ashley Kodesh, Tammy Goggleye, Lisa DeCory, Greg Barrett, Toni Lofgren, Chad Sykora, Elena Seabrook, Lori Westrum, Leah Peterson, LaCresia King

American Indian Magnet

Classroom Innovations $7,500

Jodi Grote-Stumpf, Carolyn Kennedy-White, Shirley Wulf,

Battle Creek Middle School

Science from Scientists $7,500

Stacy Klage Benjamin E Mays IB World School

Rekenreks for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade classrooms

$1,750

Rachel Stohlmann, Katie Prokopowicz, Mary Andres

Benjamin E Mays IB World School

Communication Accommodations for School Building and Classroom

$7,449

Lindsay Walker Benjamin E Mays IB World School

Enriching the Arts for All! $2,485

Meredith Richards, Deb Gardner, Kayla Johnson, Annamarie Wood, JE Hoffmann

Bridge View School Books, Props and Core Vocabulary Words

$7,445

Kristen Larson, Syndy Walfoort Bridge View School Making Sense Of Our Sensory System

$7,496

Kirsten Sitzmann, Katie Meier, Katie Dosland

Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented Magnet School

Culturally Relevant Science: Families, Gardening and Cooking!

$6,263

Tammy Otto Chelsea Heights Elementary

Sphero's for Students $1,400

Jackelyn Doyle, Jessica Bernard Cherokee Heights Elementary School

Camp St. Croix $6,500

Abrielle Blum Cherokee Heights Elementary School

Sensory-Based Tools and Equipment for Self Regulation

$2,198

Sydney Willcox Como Park Senior High School

High School Students Come in Different Sizes or Prepare Your Clay Better for Better pots

$2,396



Nicholas Zimmer Creative Arts Secondary School

LGBTQ Nonfiction Book Club $2,208

Sarah Bober Crossroads Elementary

SOS: Save Our Series! $2,500

Lindsay Jackson Dayton's Bluff Achievement Plus Elementary School

Math for All Learners - Jackson $2,453

Josh Leonard, Cathy Smith Belwin Better hiding in plain site - Building a bird blind to build science comprehension

$7,496

Erin Salinda, Martha Higuera, Liz Turan, Colleen Guzman and Martha Preston

ECSE Belvidere Calm Days/Peaceful Nights with Self-Regulation

$7,570

Chantanita Wilson, Jessica Freeberg

Office of Early Learning

Social Emotional Learning Lending Library

$6,735

Rebecca Schmidt, Teresa Glass District Wide Phase 2: Tool and Equipment to Facilitate Increased Academic Success for Students with 504 Plans

$7,500

Tracie Will, Thomas Kendrick Eastern Heights Elementary School

Children's Theater Neighborhood Bridges Program

$7,000

Patricia Boyt, Jenny Djupstrom, Kerry Lewis

Eastern Heights Elementary School

Narrowing the ELL Achievement Gap with Culturally-Relevant Texts and Materials

$7,176

Vergene Downs, Lindsay Ballard, Erik Larson, Katie Moore, Ryan Running, Krista Medina

Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented Magnet School

Fostering Student Leadership through Raising Student Voice & Participation

$1,900

Megan Schmelzer, Amy Lopez, Jennifer Auger, Desiree McReynold, Lao Lee, Rachel Kuhmer

Farnsworth PreK-4 Lower Campus

Mindful Movement Makeover $7,453

Laura Seidel, Frost Lake Elementary

Engineering Supplies for STEM Units

$1,925



Amanda Madsen, Sara Johnson, Jennifer Lee, Sonja Kroell, Cleo Sykes, Jonathan Burnett, Eric Larson

Frost Lake Elementary

Library Windows and Mirrors $7,500

Joel Abdella, Christopher Faust Gordon Parks High School

Solar Astronomy and Digital Photography

$4,147

Thomas Cozzolino, Elizabeth Casperson, Kathleen Walsh, Kristin Reilly, Jessica Kopp, Charlotte Flowers

Hamline Elementary

Materials to support Inquiry Based Learning and STEM

$6,980

Jennifer Goetz, Michael Houston, Richard Matthes, Shannon Pettipeice, and Betsy Dadabao

Harding Senior High School

Accelerated STEM Scholars $7,500

John Witzmann Johnson Senior High School

Applied Programming via Edison Robots

$990

Jacob Lindeman Harding Senior High School

Environmental Science Field Experiences

$2,358

Eugenia Popa Harding Senior High School

I Have Learned it at the Museum! $2,500

Jamie Thompson, Nick Stahlman, Robert Pilot


Inspiring Confidence in STEM Careers

$5,719

Jody Parr, Stacey VonWald, Gregg Adler, Nick Stahlmann


Schoolyard Chicken Keeping: Urban Farming in the School Community

$2,825

Andrea Nthole, Thomas Austin, Bradley Novacheck

Humboldt High School

Agriculture Day 2020 $7,500

Becky Wood Humboldt High School

Exploration of Different Medical Careers

$2,497

Madeline Vukson, Daniel Liljedahl Humboldt High School

Young Author Conference $1,890

Rachel Baker, Claudia Campos Reeve, Koua Xiong


3rd Annual Humboldt Math Carnival

$4,680



Brianna Andrighetti, Suzanne Scheuerlein, Jenna Sheridan, Frank Sineni, + new 2 ELA teachers


Humboldt 6th grade - Building Community

$5,780

Toni Radcliff, Madeline Vukson Humboldt High School

Teaching Artist $5,000

Eric Kaluza Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy

Technology in Jie Ming for Fitness!

$2,448

Qiong Qin, Honging Sha, Xinyue Zong

Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy

Elements of STEM $7,428

Ping Chen, Xiomin Liu Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy

STEM to Connect the World $5,033

Rachel Osborne, Alison Rahman, Betsy Dadabo

Johnson High School, Harding High School, Highland High School

Read Woke 2.0 $7,350

Robert Mason, Scott Shaffer, Eric Colchin

Johnson Senior High School

Aerospace Simulation Lab $7,500

Elizabeth Earnest Maxfield Elementary School

Providing Voice to All Students Through Differentiated Learning

$1,643

Marshall Little, Tina Burton, Cindy Thrasher

Murray Middle School

Murray One-On-One Tutoring Program

$7,500

Liza Dawley, Christopher Yang, Ching Xiong

Nokomis Montessori - North Campus

Nokomis North Kindness Champions

$4,553

Janice Nielsen, Tanya Osaulenko, Nou Ly, Savanah Thompson

Nokomis Montessori - South Campus

Collaboration to Provide Reading Intervention to Accelerate Growth

$3,750

Mary Criswell Nokomis Montessori - South Campus

Drum Circles for Elementary Students

$1,798

Caryl Mousseaux, Adayle Andrews Open World Learning Community

Making Connections: Expanding Our Student Choice Reading Program

$7,302



Kelsey Hennessey, Kelly Reidy Pre-K at Rondo Shared Experiences in Pre-K $3,500

Teresa Kelly Saint Paul Music Academy

Can you hear me now?! $650

James Schrankler St. Anthony Park Elementary

Extended Day Learning Science Kits

$2,284

Karen Casper, Mary Hobday, Abbey Rudolph, Lyle Dandridge

Washington Technology Magnet School

Advancing Student Laboratory Research Skills for College and Career Readiness

$6,886

Diana Salinas, Stephanie Erickson, Emily Kjiesbo, Edward Reiff


STEAM for SLIFE $7,448

Peter Williams Washington Technology Magnet School

Coding in the Classroom $2,288

Stephanie Harris, Merridith Joly Washington Technology Magnet School

Next Generation Chemistry $5,853

Emilie Hamilton, Joseph Wenzel, Harold Hobday


7th Grade Wolf Ridge Field Trip $7,500

Meagan O'Brien Washington Technology Magnet School

How Cells Respond To Their Environment: From Textbook To Tangible

$2,324

David Quosig Washington Technology Magnet School

VROOMM! (Very Reliable Outrageously Orderly Motion Modeling!)

$2,403


Julie Hutcheson-Downwind, Michele King, Ashley Kodesh, Tammy Goggleye, Lisa DeCory, Greg Barrett, Toni Lofgren, Chad Sykora, Elena Seabrook, Lori Westrum, Leah Peterson, LaCresia King American Indian Magnet Classroom Innovations Our innovation team wants to create cross-grade-level and cross-content projects for students. We want students to be more actively engaged in science, math, language arts, and Native language through culturally specific projects. Students will showcase their projects at 3 Culture Fairs throughout the school year.

Jodi Grote-Stumpf, Carolyn Kennedy-White, Shirley Wulf, Battle Creek Middle School Science from Scientists Our science teachers are providing the foundational and ongoing teaching to ensure that the Science from Scientists work is supplementary to our work in the classroom. We are requesting funds to pay the scientists as well as cover the materials and supplies. Our expected results are to provide increases in pre and post lesson quiz scores as well as a positive increase in state science scores for grade 8.

Stacy Klage Benjamin E Mays IB World School Rekenreks for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade classrooms This project will purchase rekenreks for all kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms. We have found that many students are leaving third grade without the ability to accurately add and subtract with regrouping. This is a fundamental skill that prevents students from later success in mathematics. Students are entering third grade without the ability to think flexibly and decompose numbers. We will be using Eureka Math to supplement our math curriculum in Kindergarten through second grade to build these skills. One of the primary tools Eureka Math uses to do this is the rekenrek.

Rachel Stohlmann, Katie Prokopowicz, Mary Andres Benjamin E Mays IB World School Communication Accommodations for School Building and Classroom We seek to make our building more accessible for our students with significant communication impairments (SCI) (e.g. non-verbal, minimally verbal, low intelligibility, etc.). We are also requesting funding to enhance the teaching of these students in both the special education and general education classrooms that they encounter on a daily basis. We would like to purchase and install communication signs for our playground, lunchrooms and gymnasium. All of these signs would have communication symbols relevant to where the signs are being placed so the students would be able to point to symbols to communicate their needs in that specific environment. We would benefit from additional funding to purchase materials to teach these students. Materials include laminating materials (to extend life of items), Velcro, paper and color printing costs as well as external sites for curriculum and content purchases. By having communication banners and signs in other parts of the building, we hope to not only provide consistent, higher-quality opportunities for our students to communicate with staff and peers but to also raise awareness throughout the school that some children may not speak the same way they do, but that doesn't mean they don't have anything to say. Instead, pictures or a high tech device are their voice.


Lindsay Walker Benjamin E Mays IB World School Enriching the Arts for All! We are a visual art program serving K-5 kids at Ben Mays. We currently have about 480 students, and our art program is functioning without a budget. We are seeking materials to keep our artists’ hands, hearts, and minds engaged with the high-quality materials that our students deserve in order to explore concepts, share what they know, express themselves, and connect to their community and world. The materials I am requesting would provide us with consumable materials that we need for creating as well as many reusable materials that would last long into the future. This project would also provide us with tools that would help me differentiate learning more effectively such as headphones that would enable me to utilize our technology to flip our classroom and provide digital resources that kids could access at their own pace, expand our classroom library, provide creative manipulative materials for our early finisher station, and create opportunities for students to choose work spaces that are most comfortable for them without sacrificing a smooth drawing surface.

Meredith Richards, Deb Gardner, Kayla Johnson, Annamarie Wood, JE Hoffmann Bridge View School Books, Props and Core Vocabulary Words We are requesting funding to purchase books, props and voice output devices to support our school wide Core Vocabulary Initiative. We are requesting additional multicultural books to reflect the racial diversity of our students. The books and props will add interest and increase engagement for all students helping students increase their literacy skills. The voice output devices will allow students to express their knowledge and learning.

Kristen Larson, Syndy Walfoort Bridge View School Making Sense of Our Sensory System We're requesting sensory regulation materials to teach our students with severe/profound special needs the regulation skills they need to appropriately receive and interact with the environmental stimuli around them.

Kirsten Sitzmann, Katie Meier, Katie Dosland Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented Magnet School Culturally Relevant Science: Families, Gardening and Cooking! We will increase family communication and student engagement by incorporating culturally relevant gardening and cooking opportunities in all Earth science classes. Requested funds will be used to purchase materials to grow plants from seeds; test air, water and soil quality; demonstrate water pollution; cook food at school and home and organize student work.

Tammy Otto Chelsea Heights Elementary Spheros for Students I am requesting a class set of 30 mini Sphero robots. (They best used in pairs or small groups, so this is enough for several classrooms to use at once.) They are tiny, app-enabled robot about the size of a ping pong ball. Kids and teachers can download the Sphero Edu app and program their robot using JavaScript, or check out specific Sphero Mini programs and activities.


Jackelyn Doyle, Jessica Bernard Cherokee Heights Elementary School Camp St. Croix We are applying for this grant in order to take our classes that are 4/5 splits next year on a team building overnight. Since 4th and 5th grade will be the only two traditional classes in a school of Montessori, these would be the only students going. After years of having a one-round teacher, we want to rebuild the community that has been lost.

Abrielle Blum Cherokee Heights Elementary School Sensory-Based Tools and Equipment for Self-Regulation This project will provide classroom teachers and other educational staff with access to a variety of sensory-based tools and equipment that can benefit student engagement and learning. The requested funds will be used to purchase a variety of sensory-based tools and equipment that can be utilized by students with sensory needs in grade levels Pre-K through fifth grade. By using sensory-based tools and equipment, students can have their specific sensory needs met while remaining in the classroom, thus improving their ability to self-regulate and facilitating improved engagement and learning.

Sydney Willcox Como Park Senior High School High School Students come in different sizes or Prepare your clay better for better pots Como Sr. has 26 potter’s wheels in the ceramic program. Clay preparation is a fundamental step before working on a wheel. We do not have appropriate clay preparation (wedging) tools. High school students come in different sizes (heights). Four wedging table tools in two different heights accommodates their height variety. Appropriate height tables help students prepare their clay better before they work the clay on the potter’s wheel. Clay must be wedged every time it is used on the potter’s wheel. Having the right height tool encourages wedging which improves student pottery success.

Nicholas Zimmer Creative Arts Secondary School LGBTQ Nonfiction Book Club The project is requesting nonfiction LGBTQ books in sets of six and notebooks for each participant in a GSA book club. The proposal addresses Positive School and District Climate as well as Effective and Culturally Relevant Instruction in a school with a large LGBTQ student population. It will provide students with literature to support self-care and advocacy.

Sarah Bober Crossroads Elementary SOS: Save Our Series! There is nothing worse than finding a series you love and discovering that the next book you need is missing. Our library has many series but unfortunately too many of them are missing books. It is frustrating for the students and discourages them from reading the titles we do own because they know they will not be able to complete the series and find out the whole story. This project will replace missing titles from existing series and invest in new series that students have requested but the library has been unable to purchase due to lack of funds. This will include fiction, picture books, and nonfiction book series at all reading levels.


Lindsay Jackson Dayton's Bluff Achievement Plus Elementary School Math for All Learners The Special Education Classrooms at Dayton's Bluff want to increase the math levels of our students. We are planning to provide a differentiated curriculum that will directly increase the academic achievement. Our students are all identified through the MCA tests to be at risk, and 85% of students are at least two years below grade level in math. Our Special Education Department is very limited in funds and we struggle to find curriculum at the correct level for our students. Our goal is to increase our students’ overall math level.

Josh Leonard, Cathy Smith Belwin Better Hiding in Plain Site - Building a bird blind to build science comprehension This project proposes to build a structure called a bird blind for students to observe animals, including birds, much closer than is presently possible. Animal observations will be used to teach science concepts. The project will pay for contractors to build the bird blind to accommodate all diverse students and students with special needs. The grant will pay for materials needed to build the bird blind as well.

Erin Salinda, Martha Higuera, Liz Turan, Colleen Guzman and Martha Preston ECSE Belvidere Calm Days/Peaceful Nights with Self-Regulation Calm Days/Peaceful Nights is a program where we will develop a self-regulation tool lending library and pilot a social-emotional curriculum in two daycare/preschools with coaching at home. The tool lending library will be available for all 1,293 students through their site or home visiting team who will help them create cozy corners and calming boxes for the Time-In Toolkit taught through the new curriculum Generation Mindful. Generation Mindful is based on positive attachments and building social-emotional skills. The expected result: Improved behavior during the day and better sleep at night.

Chantanita Wilson, Jessica Freeberg Office of Early Learning Social Emotional Learning Lending Library Our goal is to create a lending library with tools and resources that will support children's social emotional development, self-regulation, and classroom participation in Pre-kindergarten classrooms and other community settings that are serviced by the Office of Early Learning. The funds we are requesting will provide us with materials to use and share with classroom teachers and students across SPPS. Some examples of this are: alternative seating, self-regulation tools such as fidgets, materials for calming areas, and light covers to provide optimal lighting. These resources will assist in keeping the child's attention, provide calm and safe areas to problem solve emotions, and decrease stimulation that may impact the student's ability to focus. Our outcome is that all students have the tools they need for social emotional learning and self-regulation so that they can continue to learn and grow in the pre-k environment preparing them for kindergarten readiness.

Rebecca Schmidt, Teresa Glass District Wide Phase 2: Tool and Equipment to Facilitate Increased Academic Success for Students with 504 Plans We plan to purchase tools, equipment, and iPad apps for use by students with Section 504 Plans to increase their access to education and personalize their learning. This will facilitate their ability to show what they know through resources that would not otherwise be available to them due to cost.


Tracie Will, Thomas Kendrick Eastern Heights Elementary School Children's Theater Neighborhood Bridges Program This is a collaborative partnership between our classrooms and two teaching/performing artists from Children's Theater Company. The partnership is based on 27 two-hour long classes devoted to developing and enriching students' oral language skills with multi-cultural storytelling retelling, creative writing and acting. The students see a live play at Children's Theater and as a culminating activity, the classes create their own plays and perform on the big stage of Children's Theater for other schools, parents, and friends.

Patricia Boyt, Jenny Djupstrom, Kerry Lewis Eastern Heights Elementary School Narrowing the ELL Achievement Gap with Culturally-Relevant Texts and Materials With this grant, we aim to create and maintain an English language learner (ELL) resource lending library with the purpose of increasing the reading proficiency and academic vocabulary development of the elementary ELL students at our elementary school through the use of culturally-relevant leveled texts, research tools and visual support materials. English language learners need access to content area material at their particular reading level. These requested materials will provide our elementary ELL population with the materials necessary to increase engagement and ensure these students comprehend content that meets grade level standards.

Vergene Downs, Lindsay Ballard, Erik Larson, Katie Moore, Ryan Running, Krista Medina Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented Magnet School Fostering Student Leadership through Raising Student Voice & Participation Fourth grade students will have the opportunity to go on a day long field trip to Snake River Fur Post in Pine City, Minnesota. This field trip will frontload our unit on the Minnesota Rendezvous by introducing students to the Ojibwe, Anishinaabe, Voyageurs and Metis' groups of people.

Megan Schmelzer, Amy Lopez, Jennifer Auger, Desiree McReynold, Lao Lee, Rachel Kuhmer Farnsworth PreK-4 Lower Campus Mindful Movement Makeover As our building rolls out the school wide use of the Zones of Regulation program in the 2019-2020 school year we would like to update our current sensory room to compliment this school wide initiative. We would like to include research based sensory techniques and strategies to help support the success of our students in school.

Laura Seidel Frost Lake Elementary Engineering Supplies for STEM Units I am requesting engineering supplies for students to explore STEM concepts through different types of engineering. The Engineering is Elementary units provide students with opportunities to create hands-on projects, taught through a multicultural lens. I expect students to use the engineering design process and work collaboratively to come up with solutions to problems that are applicable in the real world in addition to inside the classroom.


Amanda Madsen, Sara Johnson, Jennifer Lee, Sonja Kroell, Cleo Sykes, Jonathan Burnett, Eric Larson Frost Lake Elementary Library Windows and Mirrors This project will supplement our library collection with books requested by fifth graders after an analysis of the current collection to find areas of need, both with racially and ethnically diverse characters and topics of interest to our students. Books for this project will also compliment curricular areas, address a variety of reading levels, and support bilingual students.

Joel Abdella, Christopher Faust Gordon Parks High School Solar Astronomy and Digital Photography The science department and the media arts department at Gordon Parks High School would like to do a cross-curriculum project incorporating solar astronomy with digital photography. Students in Mr. Abdella’s physical science classes would make solar observations as part of their physical science/ earth science curriculum using the Coronado Solarmax III telescope coupled with the Coronado Cemax Solar Eyepiece Set. Students in Mr. Faust’s art classes would be involved in capturing images of the sun, recording the images digitally with the ZWO asi 290 color CMOS camera, printing images of the sun for data analysis in Mr. Abdella’s science classes, and possibly providing a live feed of solar activity to the Bell Museum of Minnesota.

Thomas Cozzolino, Elizabeth Casperson, Kathleen Walsh, Kristin Reilly, Jessica Kopp, Charlotte Flowers Hamline Elementary Materials to support Inquiry Based Learning and STEM We are requesting funding to support our inquiry-based learning lab school model in partnership with Hamline University. More specifically we are requesting funding that will build resources and materials to help teachers build skill and instruction that embeds inquiry into content areas. These resources will also be used to build our current maker space into a place where students can enhance learning.

Jennifer Goetz, Michael Houston, Richard Matthes, Shannon Pettipeice, and Betsy Dadabao Harding Senior High School Accelerated STEM Scholars Harding STEM Scholars is a program to provide academic support and enrichment opportunities for students in accelerated math and science classes at our school to increase student engagement and success in STEM courses. It provides funding for Harding alumni to work as scholars in residence as STEM tutors and mentors for current Harding students; and sponsors field trips to local college and universities for STEM lectures and college tours. Through this program more students will receive the support they need to stay and be successful in accelerated and IB science classes.

John Witzmann Johnson Senior High School Applied Programming via Edison Robots Within the students PLTW-Computer Science Principles course, and after learning first Scratch and then Python, students will be able to use their programming languages to program miniature robotic vehicles to perform specific tasks. Because the bots are dual language programmable, students will be able to use the bots at various stages of the course. In order to achieve this objective, we are seeking 30 Edison v2.0 Programmable Robots. We expect that students will apply their new found learning of languages to the manipulation of these remote robots both from what did (as well as didn't) work, via immediate feedback by simply downloading the created code to the bot and watching it perform.


Jacob Lindeman Harding Senior High School Environmental Science Field Experiences The project covers two field trips per semester and the required materials to conduct field ecology inquiry activities. The project is geared to incorporate field experience in complement with the classroom setting. Particular attention is paid to inclusion of students of color and exposure to career pathways. The expected results are increased engagement and creation of a sustaining environmental science course accessible to non-IB students.

Eugenia Popa Harding Senior High School I Have Learned it at the Museum! We have an over 80% free and reduced lunch rate, and one third of our student body is made up of English learners. A significant number of them had sporadic educational experiences in their own countries and require extensive academic support and navigational guidance. Their personal immigration stories are powerful and eye opening. All show strength, resilience, and determination. I am trying to connect with them and make history and geography real, not just some dates and numbers in a text book. I also try to help them increase their vocabulary and language skills by introducing them to various literary genres and educational technology. I feel my students need to be exposed to extra-curricular experiences in order to acquire new vocabulary, become accustomed to the new culture, and build their background knowledge. I would like to take them to museums and important Minnesota landmarks to experience firsthand some of the things they have learned about in their classes. My students do not have the resources to pay for a field trip, or to visit a museum on their own. Field trips can offer them exposure to American and world culture and history.

Jamie Thompson, Nick Stahlman, Robert Pilot Harding Senior High School Inspiring Confidence in STEM Careers Students will create a 3D design using computer aided design (CAD) software and use a CNC router to cut out their design. Our goal is to give all students, but underrepresented students in particular, the inspiration and confidence to pursue STEM or technical careers. This project will give students hands-on experience in CAD and advanced digital fabrication. Funds will be used for an enclosed, desktop CNC machine, a set of router bits, and raw materials such as wood and acrylic.

Jody Parr, Stacey VonWald, Gregg Adler, Nick Stahlmann Harding Senior High School Schoolyard Chicken Keeping: Urban Farming in the School Community Our project, School Yard Chicken Keeping: Urban Farming in the School Community will focus on creating an active learning program where both my students with special needs and their general ed. student partners will receive hands-on education. In addition to being engaging for the classroom, our schoolyard chickens will help educate my students on responsibility, biology, animal care and where their food comes from. This project will give us an opportunity to partner with general education teachers and students.


Andrea Nthole, Thomas Austin, Bradley Novacheck Humboldt High School Agriculture Day 2020 Agriculture Day at Humboldt has been a day to celebrate agriculture and expose the students to the seven different career clusters within the agriculture industry. This day has morphed from an afternoon event where students attended two different mini courses pertaining to the environment into an all-day, all-school, hands-on agricultural exploration. We currently have an animal contact area, machinery hill, and agriculture themed Olympic event challenge. We are looking at ways to make this day bigger and better for our students. Students help plan, coordinate activities, and carry out a spectacular event that all the students that have been to before are excited to participate in. This year we held our Ag Day on May 20, and the students created a list of new activities and learning opportunities for a bigger and better Ag Day in May 2020.

Becky Wood Humboldt High School Exploration of Different Medical Careers Students will be able to explore different medical careers through the use of hands-on activities that will involve real medical equipment. The goal is for the students to realize that there are more medical careers out there beyond being a doctor or a nurse and possibly pursue these careers when they leave high school.

Madeline Vukson, Daniel Liljedahl Humboldt High School Young Author Conference Our project is to take students to the Young Author Conference. Students will participate in a variety of genre writing activities led by real, local authors. We are requesting registration and bus fees.

Rachel Baker, Claudia Campos Reeve, Koua Xiong Humboldt High School 3rd Annual [school name] Math Carnival The 3nd Annual [School Name] Math Carnival will positively and actively engage students, staff, families, and community members around Humboldt and mathematics. This will be a student lead, staff supported event that will serve as way for students to present math probability projects and build community at the same time. The event and student project will require a variety of building supplies, equipment rental, and incentives for community participation.

Brianna Andrighetti, Suzanne Scheuerlein, Jenna Sheridan, Frank Sineni, + new 2 ELA teachers Humboldt High School Humboldt 6th grade - Building Community 6th graders will attend three interdisciplinary field trips throughout the school year (Gibbs Farm, Snow Tubing, Science Museum) that build community. After the trips, students will have a better understanding of connected materials, and ways to communicate with each other.

Toni Radcliff, Madeline Vukson Humboldt High School Teaching Artist This project would allow for a teaching artist to come to multiple classrooms and teach spoken word poetry. Students will be able to engage in week-long activities aimed at promoting and engaging authentic writing with authentic audiences. Students will then perform their spoken word in a poetry slam.


Eric Kaluza Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy Technology in Jie Ming for Fitness! The project is to increase fitness in Jie Ming Elementary via our STEM curriculum with the purchasing of 35 FitBits. The students will sync their daily work from the FitBit to their iPads and analyze the data based on their grade level. Beyond STEM, the knowledge of qualitative work which steps and working towards goals of movement may increase the likelihood of students of being active as adults.

Qiong Qin, Honging Sha, Xinyue Zong Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy Elements of STEM Our project, Elements of STEM, teaches our first grade students how to solve problems and manage the natural world around them using fundamental principles from science, technology, engineering and math. Our students love to do activities and very young students need these activities to help them apply what they learn so that they may make lasting connections. All of these hands-on activities are solely to give our students additional opportunities to use what they have learned in the classroom.

Ping Chen, Xiomin Liu Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy STEM to Connect the World Our project, STEM to Connect the World, adds a wide range of materials and activities to our classroom lessons to emphasize to our students how the concepts we teach them in science, technology, engineering, and math connect them to the world around them. Whether it's baking bread, observing caterpillars as they turn into butterflies, coding robots, building world landmarks out of Legos, or learning about our family's culture, STEM connections are all around us. Our project is to find ways to further our lessons and help our students make deeper connections to these important concepts by giving them hands-on and collaborative activities to do.

Rachel Osborne, Alison Rahman, Betsy Dadabo Johnson High School, Harding High School, Highland High School Read Woke 2.0 Read Woke 2.0 is a reading program that seeks to promote equity and support the reading culture in each of our buildings. Last year, with funding from a Team Ecolab Grant, we were able to launch Read Woke in four SPPS high schools, and the program was embraced by both staff and students. For the 2019-20 school year, we hope to build and improve upon what we learned through last year's implementation, including increasing community involvement and transforming it into a more student-driven program.

Robert Mason, Scott Shaffer, Eric Colchin Johnson Senior High School Aerospace Simulation Lab The simulation lab is a state-of-the-art room within our school walls that consists of seven wrap-around display flight simulators, complete air traffic control station with intercom, and classroom with desks and learning equipment. We have a specific need for funding because of the very technical nature of these simulators. Because of their high daily usage, enhancements to the systems would make these simulators even better.


Elizabeth Earnest Maxfield Elementary School Providing Voice to All Students Through Differentiated Learning The majority of these funds will be used in my fourth grade classroom to buy academic math and reading small group manipulatives and activities. This would provide students with new hands on learning opportunities and increase individualized learning opportunities. I will be purchasing hands on math tools, toss and throw microphone, and math and reading manipulatives to increase reading and math scores. The biggest goal for this project is to give every student in my classroom and opportunity to have a voice in their learning and provide chances for all students to learn no matter their learning style.

Marshall Little, Tina Burton, Cindy Thrasher Murray Middle School Murray One-On-One Tutoring Program Tutoring is provided to at risk students. Funding is needed to support tutoring services. Grades are shown to improve from failing levels to A/B/Cs by the end of the academic school year. The average pass rate for core classes, among students in the program at the end of the year, is 83%.

Liza Dawley, Christopher Yang, Ching Xiong Nokomis Montessori - North Campus Nokomis North Kindness Champions Nokomis North Montessori Elementary School’s Kindness Champions program infuses our values of kindness and peace throughout the school through student voice and leadership. It will impact all PreK-5 students but focuses primarily on the fifth grade students – the Kindness Champions. All fifth graders will participate in yearlong mixed classroom community building circle cohorts that focus on developing social-emotional skills and a positive school climate. They will be circle keepers for lower grade classrooms and finally create a collaborative art project to showcase their learning. The funding requested will go to: materials for circles, a kick-off retreat lead by community leaders (who will be compensated for services), materials for student art projects and the Art Exhibit, T-shirts for our Kindness Champions, and transportation to local schools for collaboration with other student circle keepers. Kindness Champions is an initiative to support student leadership, skill building and positive school climate through community building circles and art.

Janice Nielsen, Tanya Osaulenko, Nou Ly, Savanah Thompson Nokomis Montessori - South Campus Collaboration to Provide Reading Intervention to Accelerate Growth Our project is to obtain the funds to purchase Read Naturally materials to streamline delivery of the interventions to English language learners and other students who need to improve achievement in reading, especially in the early grades. Materials will be used by the members of the team who provide interventions to students who need support just learning to read, expanding their vocabulary and deepening comprehension with culturally relevant and engaging books.


Mary Criswell Nokomis Montessori - South Campus Drum Circles for Elementary Students My Drum Circles project will introduce world drumming to students, teaching them to play the drumbeats and styles of many cultures. The drums and other equipment requested, added to the drums already at the school, will allow each child in the classroom to play along. The books will provide direction to me as the facilitator, and will include activities, games, and musical skills to engage students from the visual, aural, and kinesthetic learning styles. Students learn to follow and also to lead the circle, which lets students experience leadership in a creative environment, where there are no wrong answers, just different ones. Drum circle participants will grow in “creative thinking, active listening, teamwork, self-direction, and communication” (Kalani, Together in Rhythm).

Caryl Mousseaux, Adayle Andrews Open World Learning Community Making Connections: Expanding Our Student Choice Reading Program We would like to start a Student Library Advisory Council in our respective libraries, giving students a greater voice in the resources available in our libraries and in the programming offered. We are asking for funding to support the purchase of the materials selected by the students, transportation for field trips into the community, events the students choose to host for our school community, food or snacks offered at meetings, and the production of materials the students create for the school community. We expect this effort will result in increased student engagement in our libraries and will improve the students' abilities to be leaders in our school as well as the larger community.

Kelsey Hennessey, Kelly Reidy Pre-K at Rondo Shared Experiences in Pre-K We are requesting funding for a series of field trips that create shared experiences for our Pre-K students. The trips would serve the four full-day Pre-K classes at Pre-K at Rondo (80 students). The funding would provide four field trips throughout the school year, covering the cost of buses and programming on site. Each field trip would provide students with the opportunity to authentically explore and experience Minnesota seasons with the guidance of farmers and/or naturalists. The trip to Afton Apple Orchard includes a tour of both the apple orchard and pumpkin patch, and students get to learn about how an apple grows through storytelling and visuals provided by the farmer. They also get to pick three different apples and a pumpkin to take home. The programs offered at Tamarack Nature Center include read alouds, hands on learning opportunities, and nature exploration for students to learn about winter, spring, and summer. All field trips include picnic lunches and time to play on the playgrounds on site. The field trips are also aligned with a different Area of Study within the Pre-K Curriculum Discovering Our World: Exploring Changes in Our World (Afton Apple Orchard), Adapting to Our World (Winter Wildlife), Cycles in Our World (Animal Homes & Water Wonders).

Teresa Kelly Saint Paul Music Academy Can you hear me now?! I would like to enhance student learning in my music tech/keyboard classroom with 5 iPad to (piano) keyboard interfaces. This will enable students to record themselves playing keyboard parts into their existing GarageBand songs. I anticipate that this will increase student engagement as well as give students skills that are used by 21st century musicians, programmers, and sound engineers.


James Schrankler St. Anthony Park Elementary Extended Day Learning Science Kits The materials requested will be used by students in the Extended Day Learning Program (EDL) at St. Anthony Park Elementary in SPPS. The kits will include materials for students to participate in scientific investigations which support the current science standards. Materials will also be used for students to complete projects at school for the school Science Fair. This will give EDL students access to materials that they normally may not have easy access to when working on out of class projects.

Karen Casper, Mary Hobday, Abbey Rudolph, Lyle Dandridge Washington Technology Magnet School Advancing Student Laboratory Research Skills for College and Career Readiness The aim of this proposal is to provide underrepresented students the opportunity to develop rigorous and relevant laboratory research skills in an effort to increase their confidence in pursuing scientific disciplines in college and career settings. In order to achieve this goal, students need exposure to fundamental scientific knowledge and the opportunity to practice contemporary research skills. Funding is needed to purchase laboratory equipment for our College in the Schools science classes (Saint Paul College Biology and CIS University of Minnesota Anatomy and Physiology) as well as our Biomedical Pathway courses which include biomedical science, microbiology and genomics. Equipment requested includes gel electrophoresis equipment, ATP muscle sets, microscopy supplies for oil immersion scopes, kidney filtration simulations, synthetic blood typing materials, immunodetective investigations, CO2 sensors and respirometers and antibiotic resistance kits.

Diana Salinas, Stephanie Erickson, Emily Kjiesbo, Edward Reiff Washington Technology Magnet School STEAM for SLIFE We would like to provide our students with Sphero Bots which provide a toolset that is unbounded in its potential by weaving hardware, software, and community engagement together. While coding and 21st century skills are necessary, Sphero Bots also provides a skill set that goes beyond code by incorporating robotics and technology with collaborative STEAM activities, nurturing students’ imaginations in ways no other education program can. Providing these necessary skills to our SLIFE students bridges that gap in achievement which in turn will make them equally prepared for the workforce. In addition to the hands on use of Sphero Bots, we also would like for student to attend a tour at the University of Minnesota Bioproducts and Bioengineering Department where students will see the bioproducts and biosystems engineering, including: biofuels, nanotechnology, environmental sensors biofilters, food safety, energy systems, water quality, mycology. These experiences will connect their secondary learning experience with real world application and careers in Science, Engineering, Math and Technology.

Peter Williams Washington Technology Magnet School Coding in the Classroom We wish to bring Java Coding into the hands of hundreds of middle and high school students.

Stephanie Harris, Merridith Joly Washington Technology Magnet School Next Generation Chemistry We would like to update the lab equipment available to our students in chemistry by purchasing wireless Vernier sensors to interface with our students' iPads including pH, CO2, radiation, voltage, colorimetry and gas pressure sensors for a variety of labs that will allow data collection, real-time graphing, giving them tools that work


seamlessly with the technology we have given them, allowing them to make powerful analyses. Our students need to be ready to innovate and remain flexible to meet the changing requirements of the work environment. Our students deserve experiences that are hands-on, get them thinking critically, constructing knowledge, and applying knowledge from the classroom to solve new challenges. We are also always aware of our need to close the learning gap and make sure our lessons are engaging, relevant and challenging for our students, because racial equity is core to our beliefs. In particular, this equipment will be used by sections of a “college in the schools” chemistry class taught in conjunction with Saint Paul College, but will also be available to other science classes to use as needed. We are also looking forward to giving our students more inquiry-based opportunities to construct their own learning through discovery and bringing in some high-interest learning through escape room activities.

Emilie Hamilton, Joseph Wenzel, Harold Hobday Washington Technology Magnet School 7th Grade Wolf Ridge Field Trip We would like to take approximately 50 or more seventh graders on a field trip to Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Findland, MN, for three days. Funding would include transportation, student packages (meals, snacks, classes), and seven chaperones. While visiting Wolf Ridge, students will have the opportunity to take four, three-hour classes. Classes fall under a variety of topics, including, but not limited to: animal ecology, environmental issues, aquatics, cultural history, personal growth, and team skills. Classes will be aligned with the life science curriculum, as well as the standards for math, English language arts and U.S. history. This will elevate classroom-taught principles through hands-on, real world experiences. This trip will create memories that will last a life time. We are hoping to have more money this year, through grants and donations, to afford an additional bus, which would allow us to take more students.

Meagan O'Brien Washington Technology Magnet School How Cells Respond to Their Environment: From Textbook to Tangible I'm hoping to invigorate our cell unit by moving the focus from memorizing organelles to facilitating a dynamic understanding of cellular homeostasis with some new labs that will bridge the gap between "science at school" and "science in my whole life!" Expected results are that students will not just write on a test what cells do, but find and explain examples in their own lives of cells actively working to maintain homeostasis.

David Quosig Washington Technology Magnet School VROOMM! (Very Reliable Outrageously Orderly Motion Modeling!) Requesting a set of motion encoder carts and several tracks to complete a class set. Carts will primarily be used with CIS Physics, PHYS 1101W as taught from the University of Minnesota at Washington. The goal is to improve and streamline the lab experience for these students so they can spend more time on higher order analysis and understanding tasks. Also, this will free up older motion gathering systems for use throughout the school, where encoder carts are not needed.

ecolab teacher grants program final report 2019€¦ · sheet : julie hutcheson-downwind, michele...

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