BEF Awards 18 Fall Innovation-Grants

Congratulations to the following Berkley Schools staff members for receiving a Fall 2024 Berkley Education Foundation Innovation-Grant. The BEF funds innovative project requests, special materials to enhance lessons and educational technology. Innovation-Grants are for more than basic classroom supplies. They are an opportunity for staff members to be creative, push the envelope and expand learning for students. The BEF has an annual $15,000 allocation to support Innovation-Grants. If you’d like to donate to the BEF to support the Grant program, you can do so online.

Anderson Middle School

• Beth Hanna, Growing Through Games. Games to help students improve their executive functioning skills and the automaticity of math facts.
• Heather Roesner & Briana Black, Life Skills Cooking Class. Students will take a cooking class at Crispelli’s Bakery and Pizzeria in Troy.
• Heather Roesner & Briana Black, Disability Awareness Workshop. The Disability Awareness Workshop provides kits with hands-on activity stations. AMS students will experience each station in order to gain a deeper understanding of each disability and simulate the challenges of living with a disability.
• Heather Torrente, Updates to FCS Lab. Cooking tools to update the kitchen classroom at AMS including Instant Pots, Crock Pots and hand mixers.

Angell Elementary School

• Julie McKeeman, Calm Carpet Time. Items for students to play with and hold during reading time.
• Laurie Ovies,Hills & Slopes Play in TK! Rubber Ramp with Stackers from Kodo Kids to allow students more open ended play opportunities.
• Sherry Riddle, Magnet Minds: Empowering Learning Through Engaging Manipulatives. Magnetic manipulative tools will support students' working memory by helping them process complex tasks. 
• Lauren Wexler, SumBlox: Engaging the Senses in 1st Grade Mathematics. SumBlox tools allow students to engage in hands-on exploration of the idea of 10 and how it can be decomposed into smaller parts.
• Kellie Zimcosky, Reading, Writing and STEAM, Oh My! New Tonie Box stories and supplies for morning Creation Stations.

Berkley Building Blocks

• Lea Austin, Creating a Helpful Community Through BBB Responsibilities. Dress up and pretend play supplies that mimic adult responsibilities. The grant is intended to help students to become even better citizens and members of the community starting in preschool.
• Anne Nolan, Inclusion and Accessibility for Complex Communicators. Large core vocabulary portable boards and software to support understanding patterns in speech sound disorders.

Berkley High School

• Kay Cole, Jenga for Play-Based Learning. Bringing play into the English classroom for high school students. Using Jenga as a game board to review literary terms, practice writing skills, discuss novels and more.
• Natalie Ford, Portable Recording Studio. Two portable recording studios for the BHS Podcasting classes to help block out noise and echo when the students travel throughout the school to record.
• Jennifer Plater, Enrichment Classroom Supplies and Technology Applications. Jeopardy-like game to facilitate learning and sensory fidgets for students to use in class.
• Stacey Walters, Focus Tools. Fidget supplies to help students focus in class.
• Robyn Weiss & Susie Sims, Magnifying Mental Health. Sources of Strength merchandise to help the class run successful campaigns.

Burton Elementary School

• Erin Fisher, Kim Ternus and Christian Wiegand, First Grade Chick & Duck Habitats. New incubators and brooder boxes for chicks and ducks to hatch during the first grade life cycle unit.

Rogers Elementary School

• Nikki Stone, Slab Roller. Slab rollers allow teachers and students to roll clay quickly and evenly for hand building projects. This tool will increase the amount of ceramics lessons at the elementary level as well as improve efficiency and project quality.