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Past Grants Recipients

During the last grant cycle HSEF was proud to award grants totaling more than $110,000. Learn more about the recipients of our staff and student led grants, how many students will be impacted and more about their proposals below.

October 2024 Grant Recipients

Shannon Alexander

Student Impact | 800

This project will help the popular FJH Library Production Studio purchase a camera and more
equipment so that more students and student groups can use the equipment, allowing the
expansion of podcast capabilities to groups of four instead of two. Two groups of students will
be able to work on video projects simultaneously. Students will be able to expand their
knowledge of digital media production and use their voices in more expansive and collaborative
ways.

Bill Anders

Student Impact | 250

This project utilizes innovative technology in the form of Hummingbird robotics kits to enhance classroom projects and units of study. The incorporation of these kits into the curriculum will make learning more engaging to students as well as encourage their creativity. Students will have the opportunity to build robots and program them using their iPads. With the addition of this technology, the blending of STEM and social studies can become a reality.

Alex Beiswanger

Student Impact | 580

This project will put various types of games in the hands of students which as they collaborate and enhance their speaking and listening skills. Playing games naturally engages multilingual students and makes the language acquisition process more enjoyable and less intimidating. Games promote communication among learners, encouraging them to practice speaking in a social context along with using academic language. Connecting with a game is worth 1,000 words!

Stafi Belford

Student Impact | 569

The Implementation of a communication board on a school playground is designed to enhance the social interaction and communication skills of students, particularly those with speech or language difficulties. A board representing various play areas ensures that children can communicate effectively about their preferences and activities in a way that is contextually appropriate. This project is intended to create an inclusive environment where all students can engage with one another, fostering a sense of belonging and community.

Amy Bowman

Student Impact | 519

This project provides students with the newest and most innovative sensory items in the school’s designated sensory room, individual classrooms and in hallways. Sensory items give students multiple options to utilize when they are dysregulated allowing them to mentally and physically reset throughout the day as needed. These items also help students to develop their own self-regulation skills inside and outside of the classroom.

Julianne Campbell

Student Impact | 560

This project increases the acquisition of 21st-Century STEM skills through hands-on learning by using two types of Squishy Circuits play dough (conductive and insulative) to provide a basic concept and understanding of electricity. Squishy Circuits play dough inspires creativity by incorporating LED lights and battery power to bring student creations to life.

Julianne Campbell

Student Impact | 560

This project supports problem solving, increased teamwork and communication, and deepens the understanding of coding using Ozobot’s Evo Robots. These robots serve as interactive tools for teaching programming, robotics, and other STEM-related concepts in an engaging hands-on and innovative style. Ozobot’s Evo robots enhance the coding experience by letting students see coding come to life in a physical form.

Sarah Davis

Student Impact | 200

This project will aid in the creation of an inaugural Battle of the Books (aka BOB) at FCJH. It will add a competitive, collaborative and meaningful twist to reading by encouraging students to create teams and draft classmates to join the competition. At the BOB kick-off event each team of readers will be given a set of 10 books that span various genres and interests. Competitions will take place each quarter and will test the teams’ knowledge of the 10 selected titles.

Bill DeLisle

Student Impact | 250

Sports Public Relations and Sports Media students (part of the Southeastern Media Network) are working in partnership with the athletic department as the exclusive media provider to create media for all HSE High School athletes. This project will improve the product quality and expand access to critical materials for future seasons. Students are taking live photos of all home athletic events and many away events. They are also filming and editing Instagram reels, gameday graphics, live score updates, and other media. This class offers a real-world, hands-on public relations experience, allowing students to help build and maintain their school’s brand and public image through a direct application of their classroom training with impact on their personal development, professional aspirations, and school community.

Chloe Diedam

Student Impact | 515

This project provides a social skills mentor library for teachers to use to help address the social and emotional needs of students in the FOCUS program and throughout the school. The FOCUS program helps students with the highest level of social, emotional, and behavioral needs. In the program, daily social skills lessons are presented to focus on behaviors and help introduce and expose students to stories similar to their own by helping them to see themselves in the text, make connections, and learn through lessons taught in the stories.

Danielle Dobbins

Student Impact | 25

This project provides 3rd grade students with Fahlo bracelets, cards and an app to track real animals in real time as they move about their habitat. This fosters curiosity for wildlife and brings awareness and excitement to conservation as students get the opportunity to form connections with the animals they follow. The class will track and analyze data from the app to create individual projects based on the Fahlo bracelet information and independent research.

Ashley Estes

Student Impact | 240

This project seeks to revolutionize animal science education by replacing traditional dissection with state-of-the-art 3D models of livestock, including pigs, cows, chickens and dogs. These lifelike, interactive models allow students to explore animal anatomy in a hands-on, ethical manner and eliminates the ethical concerns of dissection. By engaging with these advanced tools, students will enhance their understanding of animal welfare while developing a compassion for living creatures.

Lauryn Gerard

Student Impact | 100

This project will give students with and without disabilities the chance to collaborate in choral performances and a spring musical. This fully inclusive initiative ensures that students of all abilities can participate – from singing and dancing, to acting and playing musical instruments, or even behind-the-scenes production. In collaboration with HSE Royals Choirs and Drama Departments, this initiative will empower students to pursue their passions and move towards meeting their Individualized Education Program goals.

Lesley Glaze

Student Impact | 5

This project will provide a sensory swing adequate to support the physical and emotional needs of young nonverbal adults in a classroom. The swinging motion not only aids student sensory needs, but helps with self-regulation as well. The swing will also help to promote a communication device that develops thinking and problem-solving skills so students can advocate for themselves, their wants and needs.

Casey Gumina

Student Impact | 200

This project supports the science of reading by leveraging the power of storytelling and characters to improve phonemic awareness, decoding skills and overall reading proficiency for primary students. Through the implementation of a unique mnemonic tool called Secret Stories, phonics instruction can be enhanced for early readers by incorporating stories and characters into phonics instruction, making abstract phonics concepts more relatable and memorable.

James Hayes

Student Impact | 3600

This project supports the start and operation of a streaming radio station at Fishers High School. It meets an immediate need for additional media opportunities for FHS students and an impending need for increased speech and communication requirements for all Indiana high school students. This streaming radio station will provide students with an innovative opportunity to learn about all aspects of radio programming, develop and strengthen public speaking skills, connect the FHS student community through talk, music, news, and sports programming, and to gain insight into the media industry through experiential learning.

Cheryl Kindler

Student Impact | 100

This project supports students who are reading below grade level and also show characteristics of dyslexia by providing decodable books that specifically coordinate with the approved Sonday Reading Intervention program currently being utilized. These decodable books will allow students to practice their newly acquired foundational skills directly in books by helping them to practice accurate, fluent decoding leading to greater comprehension and increased vocabulary.

Lisa King

Student Impact | 86

This project introduces 5th graders to Artificial Intelligence and drones. Engaging students in coding, engineering, and real-world challenges fosters critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork. The use of drones in the classroom enhances STEM learning, allowing students to apply math and science concepts in interactive ways. This innovative approach prepares students for future technology careers and inspires a deeper understanding of AI.

Kristin Lidstrom

Student Impact | 125

This project will help to create a more modern classroom library designed to foster young entrepreneurs and global thinkers. This innovative library will offer a current and curated collection of business texts, case studies, and biographies, enhancing students’ understanding of both local and international markets. By integrating interactive learning modules and access to virtual business simulations, the library will provide students with practical skills and diverse perspectives essential for success in today’s interconnected world.

Jessica Marks

Student Impact | 120

This project provides all DCE kindergarten classrooms with necessary materials for supporting phonics lessons based on the research of the Science of Reading. Advancing Phonics Word Work sets provide materials and opportunities for differentiated instruction, and enough magnetic letters and trays for all six kindergarten classes. With these sets, students are able to store and manipulate letters on grade level appropriate sorting trays, making whole group instruction more manageable for classroom teachers.

Madeline Martin

Student Impact | 250

Sceptre Yearbook, part of the Southeastern Media Network, captures the year and experiences of the student body of HSE High School in all areas: from academics to student life to athletics. Students interview, photograph, and design all aspects of the yearbook. Sceptre Yearbook offers real-world, hands-on journalism, communications, and product design experience. The finished yearbook is a reflection and direct application of their classroom training that has a strong impact on their personal development, professional aspirations, and school community broadly. Having a variety of equipment and technologies for covering all events of all backgrounds for the yearbook is imperative to ensure the creation of a high-quality product for all and properly represent all students of HSE.

Wendy Meyer

Student Impact | 300

This project integrates STEAM education through the hands-on exploration of Gel Press Monoprinting. Students will use Gel Press plates, premium brayers, and stencils to create unique prints while learning foundational art techniques. By incorporating principles of design, experimentation, and problem-solving, this project enhances creativity and critical thinking. It provides students with the opportunity to explore cross-disciplinary connections between art, science, and technology, encouraging innovation and self-expression.

Cindy Nunez

Student Impact | 45

This project will utilize a starter kit of 80 insect specimens to enhance a Principles of Agriculture class where students are introduced to various insects and their impact on agriculture. This kit will allow students to see, examine, compare and contrast the differences in sizes amongst the different insects in order to fully understand the effects they can have in the modern farming landscape.

Joshua Quinn

Student Impact | 120

This project will provide students with the opportunity to step into the coding world to design their own retro-style video games using controllers and handheld consoles to enhance the experience so that they and others can actually play the games that have been created. By integrating this technology, the goal is to elevate the realism and engagement of final projects, providing a more immersive and practical application of student skills.

Jackie Renick/Carissa Buck

Student Impact | 600

This project will create innovative opportunities for students to explore and enhance the untouched basin on the school’s campus known as the TCE Nature Space. With the addition of a 3D printer, students will design and create bird and bat houses to attract new creatures and print 3D identification tags to label a variety of tree and plant species.

Cassi Schmitt

Student Impact | 100

This project will bring Indiana history to life for fourth graders through interactive, hands-on learning and a dedicated reading corner. Students will create historical dioramas, virtual museum exhibits, and reenactments, all while exploring Indiana’s past through a curated collection of books, making Indiana history both engaging and immersive. This dual approach actively involves students in their learning, encourages creativity, and provides diverse ways to explore historical content.

Tina Scoble/Jeanne Baldwin

Student Impact | 200

This project is designed to provide sensory infused language activities to PreSchool students to increase receptive and expressive language skills. It will utilize multiple pre-planned literacy and language based sensory bins for increasing language learning opportunities during therapy structured play. Use of language/literacy based sensory bin activities will increase student language skills by providing additional exposure to a variety of fringe and core vocabulary pictures, objects, and sensory experiences.

Amanda Scott

Student Impact | 30

This project is intended to help strengthen communication with students and families who speak different languages. The use of conversation translators that can translate language in real time through a device and specialized ear buds will allow for more fluid conversation between teachers, students and families and create opportunities to better educate students and work to support them.

Taylor Scott

Student Impact | 578

This project will provide books in many of the 17 languages represented within the school. These books will provide the opportunity for students to see and connect with characters who represent themselves, their families, and their cultures which will, in turn, allow them to feel welcomed and accepted. Having books in students’ home languages will also provide the opportunity for families to read together at home, which is vital to creating lifelong readers.

Nicolle Symons

Student Impact | 86

This project will help motivate students in the areas of physics, mechanics and architecture by exploring through LEGO STEM Challenge Kits. Learning through play helps children develop a deeper understanding and broader set of cognitive, emotional, physical, social and creative skills that they will need to succeed in future education and careers. Throughout the lessons, students will be provided with choice and asked to make various creations that range in difficulty as they become more confident.

Sarah Tappendorf

Student Impact | 40

This project provides students with experiential learning opportunities and developmentally appropriate lessons in and outside the classroom through the “Learning Safari”. This utilizes current classroom reading curriculum combined with inquiry-based experiences to connect learning to multiple disciplines and provide more awareness of career fields. This project includes creating animal habitats in the classroom, working with owl pellets for a life cycle inquiry project, and collaborating with the Purdue Extension Youth Agriculture Services to care for chick eggs with an incubator/egg turner until chicks are fully developed and ready to live on a farm through a partnership with the local 4-H extension office.

Braden Tribolet

Student Impact | 3600

This project is aimed to increase student involvement, nurture school culture, create a positive educational environment and stimulate interest in marketing and production careers by producing a fully equipped podcasting room in the Fishers High School Media Center. A student run podcast can provide students with hands-on opportunities to work on skills that are relevant to their future careers with the addition of everything needed to furnish a podcast space, including podcast equipment, furniture, stands, microphones and headphones.

David Young

Student Impact | 250

This project is intended to greatly impact student involvement, offer real-world, hands-on public relations experience and allow students to help build and maintain the school’s brand and public image. It will revolutionize the way live broadcasts are brought to the school audience by providing network-based video cameras that allow for AI-based and remote-ability control during live broadcasts. These cameras will increase the quality of live broadcasts and allow for an exponential increase in students’ ability levels and opportunities within events. New equipment will allow for the current video cameras to become on-field cameras to feature the student section at athletic events or to conduct live interviews on the court/field. It’s a direct application of their classroom training with impact on their personal development, professional aspirations, and school community.

January 2025 Grant Recipients

Sharon Deam

Student Impact | 836

Using drones in coding lessons offers an immersive, hands-on way to teach essential skills like problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork. Drones bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application, making learning to code an exciting and deeply engaging experience for students. This approach promotes a comprehensive understanding of STEM concepts and encourages students to explore future tech careers, all while having fun!

Jenny Dickerson

Student Impact | 836

This project will give students access to books they can read during independent reading time and during teacher-led small group instruction. The books will be part of a school-wide bookroom with researched-based relevant books, organized by a specific skill, with an interactive Google Slideshow for teachers to quickly find the books needed. A portion of these books will allow early readers the ability to decode texts. The rest of the books allow third and fourth grade struggling readers to decode words while reading books with age relevant content.

Jeremiah Follis

Student Impact | 1000

Hamilton Southeastern High School will be offering a new class that will operate like yearbook, newspaper, and broadcasting. This Film Studio class be a fully functioning film studio. Students will work in groups writing, producing, filming, editing, and promoting their own films that will be shown theatrically and entered in film festivals. This project will provide equipment including cameras, lights, microphones, computers and more. The equipment will be used in each class, each semester, year after year.

Kari Goldstein

Student Impact | 181

Harrison Parkway Elementary’s Special Education and ENL students are working to run a coffee and snack cart. The coffee/snack cart is a great opportunity for Special Education students to practice both communication and life skills, and ENL students to practice speaking English. There are four groups each Friday that push the cart to their assigned area and greet the staff member and ask what they would like from the coffee/snack cart.

Kurt Henderson

Student Impact | 100

The Final Film Project serves as the final exam for a Film Theory class at Fishers Junior High. Students take everything they learned over the semester to conceptualize, write, storyboard, shoot, and produce their own short films as a team. At the end of the semester, students present their films and vote for a series of awards based on their classmates’ films. This project will incorporate a variety of film props and materials for creating sets.

Amber Kincaid

Student Impact | 1500

This project supports digital Breakout EDU kits. Breakout EDU are games that allow students to think differently and outside the box. They turn the classroom into an Escape Room and are great incentives for students. Students are able to exercise prior learned knowledge and obtain new knowledge.

Deborah Kletch

Student Impact | 450

This project will provide multiple Hoverboards and seat attachments. These devices will provide fantastic opportunities for students to experience several of the Science physics units with hands-on experiences. Using these Hoverboards would connect several Indiana Science state standards as well as having the possibility to connect cross curricular to other subjects like Social Studies, English, Tech Education, Art, Health, and Math.

Tonya Kneller

Student Impact | 60

This project will focus on increasing accessibility and independence for some of our youngest learners with complex physical, medical and communication needs. Many of our students rely on adult support throughout their day, using equipment to help them move or walk and devices to help them communicate. By providing a wider variety of adaptive materials and toys, we can reduce some of the barriers they face every day. We want our students to feel the joy of independently playing with their favorite toy or engaging with educational experiences, while also gaining confidence in having their voices heard.

Rachel Milligan

Student Impact | 100

The Harrison Parkway Elementary Title I teachers are working to curate a collection of kinesthetic and hands-on activities to supplement the units within our new UFLI phonics curriculum. Students respond best to instruction presented with different modes of learning. The goal is to integrate kinesthetic and hands-on activities into intervention group lessons to strengthen students’ understanding of phonics concepts. Activities can also be used by classroom teachers in small groups to increase students’ accountability and transference of skills into their every day work.

Kristin Panning

Student Impact | 830

There are endless possibilities with the Multi-Use GagaXP Pit. This is a light-weight and durable tool for promoting exercise and physical activity, social skills and learning through play. This customizable Gaga ball pit can be transformed into various shapes and sizes, opening up countless new games and activities including: Gaga Ball, Pickleball, Foosball, Knee Hockey, Extended 4 Square, Hockey, Shuffleboard, Tennis, Badminton, Nitro Ball, and many more.

Mae Pierce

Student Impact | 50

Students at FOCUS Day are exceptional learners with a variety of sensory needs. Each student has different needs to keep them regulated and focused. This project would create a library of sensory items that could be checked out by students or teachers to support our classes. Students can explore different options and find what works best for them.

Kelsey Renbarger

Student Impact | 825

This project was a combined effort of current and former fifth graders to not only request an author visit, additional novels for the classroom, but how to come together and write a grant proposal as well. Students came together three different mornings an hour before school to organize, plan, research and submit this grant. After a profound impact of Rosanne Parry’s, “A Wolf Called Wander,” novel: students are hoping to be able to organize a virtual Rosanne Parry visit and order new books.

Kristin Schenck

Student Impact | 620

This project will foster student interest in coding and robotics schoolwide by implementing Dash Robot Wonder Packs into STEAM class. This has significant implications for providing students with hands-on learning experiences in coding, serving as a universal language within a multi-lingual institution, and being a resource that can be adapted throughout the entirety of students’ K-4 education.

Robyn Stout

Student Impact | 820

This project will provide a set of Class VR Goggles to be used with other materials as a part of stations that can make social studies topics (such as American Revolution) come ALIVE. Class VR has a curriculum library that is amazing! The VR content library, mixed with hands-on materials, will put a whole new spin on Social Studies and Science content areas!

Brandy Wilkinson

Student Impact | 125

Implementation of the Science of Reading in our classrooms has allowed teachers to lay a strong foundation for our readers. Access to high-quality decodable books has increased engagement and, as a result, reading skills. The goal is to maintain this engagement by providing high-interest chapter books for readers who are ready to move on from a primary focus on decoding. Book Clubs will provide an opportunity to build comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency in a collaborative learning format. Students will work together to set goals, question, discuss, and build confidence as readers of longer and more complex texts.

Ramona Williams

Student Impact | 560

This grant will impact students by promoting mental well-being, self-awareness, and emotional regulation. The Calm app introduces mindfulness practices, helping students manage stress and develop emotional resilience. Neuroscience education fosters curiosity about how the brain works, supporting cognitive and social development. By integrating an SEL library, students gain tools to navigate relationships, manage emotions, and improve decision-making. Together, these strategies create a holistic approach to student growth, enhancing their academic performance, mental health, and overall social-emotional skills, empowering them to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.

Robin Young

Student Impact | 150

The purpose of this project is for students to see that they can impact our world. Students have been researching Global Goals, community needs, and the needs of families at HIJH. From this research, they plan to create a wide variety of student-led charities that will have an impact on these needs. According to students: “Our big project is all about helping people, animals, and the planet! Each group has a special mission, like making blankets, cleaning parks, saving water, or sharing toys and supplies. We’re working together to make the world a kinder, cleaner, and better place for everyone!”

Tiffany Zaleski

Student Impact | 300

This project will provide all students in Grades 2-4 with engaging, meaningful, hands-on STEM experiences. Through a VEX Go classroom set, students will gain confidence in engineering, competency in coding, and get authentic practice in collaborative problem solving. The VEX Go system includes real world, standards-based activities that allow all students to participate. Students will build robots to simulate solving everyday problems, including sustaining structures through severe weather, rescuing animals, and predicting motion in self-driving vehicles. Students must be creative and resilient as they work to make adjustments and overcome obstacles to meet activity goals.

Fall Staff Grant Application
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Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation
13485 Cumberland Rd
Fishers, IN 46038

Phone: (317) 594-4100
Fax: (317) 594-4109