We are proud to support the faculty and staff of CCPS through the Innovation Grant Awards! Through our MCD Endowment Fund and generous grants from Dupont Spruance, the Hunter Foundation, and Carmax, CEF provides up to $100,000 for teachers to pilot creative, innovative, and replicable programs.
If you are a CCPS faculty or staff member and have an idea that goes beyond traditional methods, let CEF provide you with additional resources that will Fuel Minds Through Opportunity!
2024 Innovation Grant Recipients
Lisa Cain
Project: It's All in a Book
Description: Many students are not reaching literacy benchmarks and need social-emotional resources. This project creates a safe and soothing place for students to read and learn literacy strategies and educational support strategies outside of the traditional classroom setting. Students will also create PSAs that focus on the dangers of vaping and smoking and the importance of taking care of one's physical and emotional well-being. These PSAs will be shared with the school and other schools in the county.
Jaret Chilcote
Project: Engaging Students in Doing Math
Description: Funds will provide each grade level with copies of Classroom Ready Rich Math Tasks and Culturally Relevant Math Tasks. CCPS does not have a county-wide elementary math curriculum, leading to inequities across the school in math instruction. For example, veteran teachers can build a wealth of accumulated resources, whereas new teachers lack materials. The proposed programs connect skills, concepts, and practices, discuss and explore solution pathways, connect multiple representations, and justify their thinking.
Kaitlyn Eggleston
Project: Multi-Sensory Environment Room
Description: Transform the current sensory room to provide more diverse opportunities for students with sensory processing difficulties. This project will provide multiple areas for children to use and explore, allowing them to regulate their emotions without teacher prompting.
Kim Elmore
Project: Ready, Set, Enroll- A Program to Increase Equity in Dual Enrollment Course Enrollment and Completion
Description: Increase the enrollment and completion rates of Black, ELL, Hispanic, and students with disabilities in dual enrollment courses. The College and Career unit will include meetings with counselors, admin, 10th graders, and their parents, and DE teachers; secondary literacy and writing workshops to prepare students for college-level work; and informational materials in multiple formats and languages about DE and its benefits. Pilot at JRHS, then curriculum replicated throughout CCPS high schools. Students will also research career options and post-secondary school programs and write academic and career goals.
Lisa Gwaltney
Project: Literacy for Ladybugs
Description: Funding for take-home libraries has been drastically reduced. This grant will fund books for 18 preschool students (VPI) to have home libraries. They will receive a book after each unit of study, totaling at least nine books each for their libraries. The books will be fiction and nonfiction. Each student will also receive a book basket to keep their books together at home.
Carlie Jansen
Project: Be Here, Be You, Belong
Description: As Wells adopts the motto: "You Belong Here!" families will be invited to take a picture with a professional photographer this summer. Each family will receive a free 8x10 print, and the pictures will be hung in the hallways. Photos of teachers will be displayed on a family tree mural with the phrase: "Together may we give children the roots to grow and the wings to fly." Each classroom will also have a board featuring photos of the family. Additionally, a World Diversity Map will be placed near the office to showcase where students are from worldwide.
Olivia May
Project: Switch Adapted Comprehending for Complex Bodies
Description: Students in the multiple disabilities (MD) program face many barriers to accessing hands-on academic materials. Switch-adapted equipment enhances independence, interdependence, autonomy, and self-advocacy. These switches can be operated with touch, eye gaze, movement, and more to help MD children interact with lessons.
Rebekah O'Dell
Project: Books that read themselves- literacy for ALL at Bensley Elementary
Description: The grant will fund a collection of VOX books, including picture books, chapter books, and nonfiction titles with built-in audio recordings that capture kids' attention and make literacy development fun. These books will support nearly 600 students, 65% of whom are ELLs. They will be available to check out in the school library.
Kimberly Reynolds
Project: MCMS Look Ahead Leadership Program
Description: This program will give middle schoolers knowledge and exposure to high school and post-secondary education opportunities. The group will meet twice a month. Students will participate in career-panel guest speaker sessions, six individual guest speaker sessions, and six field trips. Pre- and post-discussions with school personnel and parental involvement provide wrap-around support to help students learn about, experience, and achieve their career goals, from high school specialty centers to college and career readiness programs.
Jennifer Simpson
Project: Full STEAM Ahead: Winterpock Grows with Ipads and Osmos
Description: We want to increase student engagement and digital literacy, support social-emotional learning, and teach computer science and coding with iPads and Osmo Starter Kits. Pre-K-5 students will learn to code robots, Osmo activities, and drones in the STEAM resource lab and classroom. The iPads will run software that is not accessible on student Chromebooks.
Aubrey Smalls
Project: Building Marimbas
Description: The goal of this project is to invite Brent Holl to guide our students through the process of building a marimba, a large musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of wooden bars struck by mallets. This hands-on experience will teach the technical skills required to construct the instrument and deepen their understanding of acoustics and instrument design principles.
Karen Smith
Project: Conectando el Arte con la Clase de Espanol- Connecting Art with the Spanish Class
Description: Combine art, history, and Spanish language into Spanish classes, using hands-on units and much-needed brain breaks in the Arts. Spanish history and art provide role models for teens, and the creation of Spanish-themed art enhances their education while providing the mental health support they need. Student art will be displayed in a "museum" throughout the World Language hallways, posted in the classroom and virtual classroom website, and an online Monacan museum webpage for students and the community to visit. These displays will instill pride in the student creators and make the hallways more vibrant and inspiring.
Shannon Tual
Project: Meadowbrook Marketplace-A School-Based Enterprise
Description: A school store selling spirit items like t-shirts, drinkware, stickers, and jewelry will provide a launchpad for student entrepreneurs to showcase their creations. DECA and MADE students work together to develop the store from concept to business model to merchandising. Students will participate in regular meetings to review the store's performance, discuss challenges and opportunities, and brainstorm ideas for improvement. Students gain valuable entrepreneurial skills and foster a sense of ownership and pride in their school community.
Christen Tulli
Project: Bridging the Language Differential Through Literacy, Laughter, and LEGOS
Description: Foster relationships between English and Spanish-speaking students by purchasing paired reading books in both languages. These books will be housed in the library, along with puzzles and Legos for groups to develop relationships further.
Rachel Wilcox
Project: Art Therapy
Description: Salem Church Middle School will implement a therapeutic after-school art club. The program provides a creative outlet for students to express themselves through different painting styles and other mediums in a safe environment. The club will serve 15-20 students two days per week.
