Recent Grants
Kathryn Behan
Thompson Middle School
“Ancient Civilizations at RISD Museum”
Students visit the RISD Museum for a guided tour of their “Gods and Heroes” exhibit, which encourages them to look closely at a single object or to compare artifacts, to shift their attention from details to the whole, and to synthesize observations about the object and its broader context. The questions and activities prompt students to ask thoughtful questions about making, use and meaning in relation to the objects, the cultures that made them, and those of the students’ own contemporary worlds.
Bethany Borgueta
Rogers High School
“Climate Resiliency Challenge”
Students are provided with a guided tour of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Center in Johnston. They learn about the materials recycling facility, small vehicle area, eco-depot, leaf and yard debris composting operation and the central landfill. Students learn what they can do at home, school and work to extend the life of the landfill.
Bethany Borgueta
Rogers High School
“The Study of Life After COVID”
For this year’s graduating class, ninth-grade biology was an experiment best forgotten. Social distancing and the hybrid limbo of in-person and online learning made the study of life, lifeless. Twelfth-graders taking AP Biology are motivated to relearn lost content and experience biology in the real world, or at least an approximation of it, by visiting both the Mystic Aquarium and the Roger Williams Park Zoo.
Bethany Borgueta
Rogers High School
“Stewards of a Living Classroom”
Save The Bay’s Hamilton Family Aquarium engages students with high-quality, hands-on marine science and environmental education programs. The featured touch tanks and exhibits provide students with an experiential opportunity to develop their understanding of native species and coastal and aquatic habitats and to foster a sense of stewardship of Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island waters. As part of a unit on ecology, students apply their knowledge to an aquatic ecosystem on the island which holds particular significance to them.
Tina Brownell
Thompson Middle School
“NOSOLO T-Shirts”
At Thompson Middle School, NOSOLO T-shirts are worn as uniforms on Fridays and other significant days. The shirts are designed to promote and strengthen a culture and community where no one stands alone, a place where everyone supports each other as one big family, and a place where students and teachers want to be and succeed.
Jim Cawley
Thompson Middle School
“URI Education Day Game”
The URI Education Day Game trip connects education and athletics at a higher level. For many students, this experience is their first visit to a college campus. It allows educators to establish early on how a solid student-athlete can have multiple opportunities presented to them if they strike a balance between being a student and an athlete.
Laura Clarke
Thompson Middle School
“PROWD! Kindness Connection”
Students in PROWD! (People Respecting Others With Dignity!), the after-school LGBTQ+ and allies group, sponsor a school-wide kindness connections activity during advisory periods. Students in advisory classes are invited to make fabric banners with positive messages of inclusivity and kindness. The banners are strung together and hung in the display cabinets on each floor. Students are encouraged to share memories of times when the kindness of others helped them through a difficult time and/or helped them to identify with another’s struggles. Observed incidents of random kindness by students are highlighted during morning announcements.
David Connell
Newport Area Career and Technical Center
“Embossing and Cutting Custom Greeting Cards”
This project cultivates an understanding of how greeting cards are designed and made. Design principles and design elements are developed in students for the die cutting and the embossing process. Special attention is given to form, structure, volume, visual balance, surface treatment, composition, movement and scale to achieve and expand the objective.
Colleen Crotteau
Pell Elementary School
“Learn STEAM With the Gingerbread People”
Students use science, technology, engineering, art and math to explore gingerbread people. They compare and contrast different versions of the Gingerbread Man tales and create a chart comparing literary elements such as characters, problem, setting and ending. Students retell the story with props and experiment using problems from the gingerbread tales such as sink/float. They graph and count, create sturdy bridges for Gingy to cross, and design their own gingerbread character. These activities help English learners to develop and increase reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, teamwork, and problem solving skills.
Jennifer Culpepper
Rogers High School
“Gender Sexuality Alliance Field Trip”
The Gender/Sexuality and Gay-Straight Alliance supports Rogers High School’s LGBTQ+ students and their allies. Part of their work is learning the queer history of our nation and how it shapes life today. On their field trip to New York City, students explore the site of the Stonewall Riots (which sparked the queer movement in this country), Christopher Park, the Leslie Lohman Museum (dedicated to queer artists and/or queer exhibits) and the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. Students broaden their horizons to gain a better appreciation of queer history and illuminate the supports and celebration of this community.
Kelly Golden
Rogers High School
“Tenement Museum Field Trip”
Two historic buildings in the heart of modern New York City allow students to explore the historically recreated homes of immigrant, migrant and refugee families who lived in tenements between the 1860s and 1980s. Through interactive building tours and walking tours of Manhattan’s iconic Lower East Side, students walk in the shoes of past residents to bring to life what they have learned about the challenges and hardships of these populations.
Kristen Kowalczyk
Pell Elementary School
“Foundational Phonics to Fabulous Readers”
Grade 4 teachers are improving student skills in foundational reading and strengthening teacher knowledge and instruction during small groups. Small group reading lessons are best implemented when the skills are aligned to the specific group of students. Using district-approved STAR assessments, teachers have become adept at grouping students. This project supports research-based lessons and materials that allow educators to teach skills suggested by STAR.
Todd MacMasters
Thompson Middle School
“Neolithic Revolution Board Games”
Students are learning about the Neolithic Revolution and the effects of the invention of agriculture, such as privatization, inequality, hierarchy and environmental degradation. Students are making a board game that answers the unit’s essential questions: How has the way humans get what they need changed over time? How does the way we get what we need influence society? Why does inequality exist?
Jean McLaughlin
Rogers High School
“Jean’s Closet”
Jean’s Closet provides a full-service food pantry and gently used clothing for students, infants (teenage parents) and hygiene supplies, along with annual Thanksgiving and Christmas drives.
Casey Ramey
Newport Area Career and Technical Center
“Photojournalism Photography Lessons”
This project provides new cameras and backdrops for photojournalism classes. In recent years, many students are not having their senior portraits taken due to the increasing cost of private photographers. In response, photojournalism students now offer free portraits to students who need them, allowing the seniors to get a high-quality photo taken while teaching the photojournalism students additional skills. Multiple backdrop options provide diversity in the photos that also aligns with the diversity of Newport’s students.
Eileen Rice
Rogers High School
“RHS Library Restoration”
The Cover One Book Machine makes it possible to lengthen the lifespan of the library’s collection without rebinding, which is very expensive. It also enables librarians to preserve and lend items in the Lloyd Robson collection, which is unique to Rogers. This collection focuses on Rhode Island and Aquidneck island topics and consists of approximately 350 antique books with an average age of 80 years.
Taylor Rock
Thompson Middle School
“Embracing the Challenge: The Future Generation of Ocean Scientists Sets Sail”
This project supports seven students from Thompson in attending the 2024 Ocean Sciences Meeting, the flagship conference for the ocean sciences and the larger ocean-connected community. The conference welcomes a diverse community of scientists, students, journalists, policymakers, educators and organizations who are working toward a world where global collaborations and partnerships can carry us into a sustainable future.
Taylor Rock
Thompson Middle School
“Making the Connection: Birds, Bays and Beyond With Project Chick”
Students track the development of chickens in the classroom, recording data and learning about observable changes as well as changes they cannot see. They learn about the role of chickens in colonial America, how farms represent a change in natural ecosystems, and how they work as a mini-ecosystem unto themselves. After raising chickens in the classroom, students spend a day at Casey Farm, participating in a second program exploring Narragansett Bay ecology at the farm’s shoreline. From a basic knowledge of specific ecosystems, students expand their understanding to consider the complex nature of ecosystems and how human factors can affect the ecosystems in which we live.
Taylor Rock
Thompson Middle School
“The Ocean All Around Us: Marine Ecology and You”
For more than a decade, seventh-grade students have taken field trips each spring to support their life science and ecology curriculum. A new partnership with Mystic Aquarium allows students to participate in an educational lab experience about marine invertebrates (think squids and jellyfish), take in the sea lion show and explore the aquarium, specifically observing a marine animal that they are researching for their final project.
Aaron Sherman
Pell Elementary School
“Pell School Garden Classes”
Now in year six, the Pell gardens began with a small grant and a few garden beds. The expansive gardens now run the entire back of the school building and have provided thousands of pounds of food to the Newport community. Beginning this year, fresh produce is also distributed at dismissal and at Champion Childcare.
Katja Thomalla
Pell Elementary School
“Life Skills Curriculum for Elementary Schools”
This is a functional curriculum for students in the special education classroom, with a focus on skills they will need in daily living, including money, safety and housekeeping. This project aims to provide a more holistic approach to learning these skills.
Melissa Turner
Thompson Middle School
“Eco-Friendly Fridays”
Each Friday throughout the year, the focus in fifth-grade science classes is on learning ways to become environmental stewards. Students learn and teach others at TMS about ways to protect our environment, specifically how to “Recycle Right.” The culminating activity is a trip to the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Center in Johnston.
Samantha Vann
Rogers High School
“Mystic Aquarium Trip”
Students in the English language development science classes are studying the interactions between the living world and the environment. They are learning about the impacts living things have on their surrounding environment and exploring ways in which they can engage in sustainable environmental behaviors. Mystic Aquarium inspires students to care for and protect our ocean environment through conservation, education and research. Students discover conservation efforts and learn firsthand the importance and value of aquatic environments.
Emily Zilly
Rogers High School
“Science and Engineering Fair Backboards”
Held in December, the annual Science and Engineering Fair includes 100-120 projects. Students execute their experiments and convey their findings on a tri-board presentation at the fair. The backboards help students create a product they are excited to share with community members.