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Past Grants Recipients

In October 2025, HSEF was proud to award grants totaling more than $75,000 through 28 projects throughout the district. 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 2025 Grant Recipients

Heather Asher

Student Impact | 450

Imagine transporting back in time and into the shoes of a historical figure in the Revolutionary War! Students at Riverside Intermediate will get to have this amazing experience through student’s creative writing, technology, and imagination. Students will write a narrative from the perspective of their historical figure. That narrative will be transitioned into a children’s book with a QR code that will take readers to a video of a student dressed in costume dressed as their historical figure talking to children in the future about life during the Revolutionary War.

Lindsey Bradshaw

Student Impact | 320

This will provide high-powered digital microscopes with large visual display capabilities to enhance science instruction for students at HIJH. These microscopes will allow live projection of microscope slides, pond water, and various biological and physical specimens to a large screen making microscopic exploration a collaborative, accessible, and engaging experience. This initiative will foster hands-on learning, support critical thinking, and make the microscopic world accessible to students who may be unable to use traditional compound microscopes.

Jacquie Carson

Student Impact | 200

This project supports engaging materials that will be used to bring English learners and their families together in a welcoming space where they can access community resources and enjoy games and activities. It will combine fun, practical support and connection to strengthen relationships between families, schools, and the community while also supporting mental health and a sense of belonging.

Anthony Cortelyou

Student Impact | 110

This project connects sixth grade math and science standards through hands on music experiences that reach all types of learners, including right brain, non-traditional students. Students explore math concepts like exponents through note values and science concepts by investigating sound waves, pitch, frequency, and how materials affect sound. Using guitars, amps, DJ mixer, loop pedal, and drum set, students engage with STEM in an interactive, memorable way, building both skills and human connections. This project reinforces the idea that intelligence has many areas, and every learner can succeed when teaching reaches the whole brain.

Brooke Denny

Student Impact | 1,300

Panther Entrepreneurs empowers students to transform innovative ideas into reality. Utilizing a growing state-of-the-art STEAM lab, students will engage in a hands-on journey of entrepreneurial discovery. From concept development and market research to prototyping and pitch creation, they’ll leverage 3D printers, laser cutters, engraving and cutting machines, and design software. This program fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative application of STEAM principles, culminating in a showcase where students present their viable, self-made products and businesses to the community through our Panther Store.

Lindsey Ealy

Student Impact | 110

The Exceptional Learners Department at Sand Creek Intermediate will benefit from high-quality headphones along with a storage compartment to better support students with sensory processing needs. Many students rely on audio supports, such as text-to-speech, throughout the day in place of traditional reading. Providing sturdy, comfortable headphones will help minimize sensory overload and support focus, independence, and calm-especially during standardized testing and instructional time.

Erin Gastineau

Student Impact | 165

Students enrolled in Project Lead the Way Human Body Systems spend time learning about the Respiratory System. Part of the instruction follows a case study of an asthmatic patient to understand the impact of disease on respiratory function. Students will measure lung capacity with a spirometer. These spirometers will provide students a hands-on opportunity the mimics what they can expect to use when pursuing higher education in the medical sciences. Learning these skills at the secondary level provides an invaluable and realistic experience to students preparing for future studies in biomedical related fields.

Lesley Glaze

Student Impact | 50

This project will establish a hot beverage cart that will deliver coffee, tea, or hot chocolate to the staff members at HSE High School, organized by students in the Adult Transition Program. Young adults in the Transition Program work on skills needed to become independent and employable in our community. Franchised coffee shops can be a demanding job, and this project will create a training environment for young adults to gain the skills needed for employment. The young adults will create an application for teachers and staff to order their beverages to be delivered. Transition students will be responsible for creating an inventory document, ordering materials needed, creating a delivery route, collecting and counting money, and cleaning up any materials. 

Erin Grampp

Student Impact | 75

This project will allow Preschool Engligh learning students to naturally increase their vocabulary and communication skills through repeated exposure to the English language. The GrapeSEED materials are specifically designed to meet the needs of English language learners. Within the GrapeSEED materials, oral language is the initial focus. The provided activities emphasize listening and speaking prior to reading and writing, mirroring how children naturally acquire language. The immersion-based experiences use stories, songs, chants, and conversations to provide repeated exposure to vocabulary and sentence patterns. Language structures are introduced gradually and then reinforced through spiraled repetition. The entire program is student-centered and encourages student interaction and participation rather than direct grammar instruction.

Christopher Hamon

Student Impact | 900

This project will provide Lego Spike Prime kits to all junior highs within HSE Schools. This project supports 45 additional Lego Spike Prime kits, enabling deeper, multi-day projects through extended building and programming challenges for students. This project creates a hands-on innovation space where students take ownership of meaningful, extended design challenges, giving students expanded opportunities to explore STEM pathways and preparing them for high demand careers in technology and engineering.

Lisa King

Student Impact | 670

This project will bring BBC Micro:bits – mini computers that are powerful, versatile, and student-friendly – into all 5th and 6th grade STEAM classes at HIJH. Micro:bits give students the power to design, code, and invent. With Micro:bits, students will move from being consumers of technology to producers by coding interactive video games, creating practical digital tools, and designing real-world projects. Students will have access to computer science in a way that is engaging, hands-on, and directly connected to their everyday lives. This combination of innovation, accessibility, and real-world application sets the project apart.

Deborah Kletch

Student Impact | 520

In this hospital simulation project, Fishers Junior High students step into the roles of medical professionals, working collaboratively to diagnose patients and develop treatment plans. They conduct research, analyze symptoms, and run lab tests to confirm their findings. In the surgical practice area, students apply precision and teamwork to perform simulated procedures. Throughout the experience, they engage in critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving, mirroring real-world medical challenges. The project fosters both scientific knowledge and collaborative skills, encouraging students to think like healthcare providers. By combining hands-on practice with group work, it offers an engaging, immersive introduction to the medical field.

Ann Marie Lotridge

Student Impact | 100

This project will create portable nature journaling kits, each stored in a durable bucket for our 6th-grade STEM students. Each kit includes a weather-resistant journal and a mini microscope or hand lens. Students will take their kits outdoors to observe, sketch, and analyze the natural world. This project engages students in authentic field-based scientific practices. By making supplies organized and portable, every student can participate equally, fostering curiosity, data collection skills, and environmental awareness.

Jessica Marks

Student Impact | 120

This project provides Kindergarten students with enough engaging, reuseable Math and Science manipulative materials to use year after year. It allows students to engage and manipulate things they are learning about through science and newly implemented math curriculum. Materials will be presented in provocations; thoughtfully prepared material, environment, or question designed to spark curiosity, wonder, and deeper exploration in children, rather than to guide them to a single “right” answer. Students will have the opportunity to engage in hands-on, thought-provoking experiences with kindergarten science and math standards!

Adrienne Moore

Student Impact | 572

The Core Vocabulary Communication Board and Social Communication Portable A-Frame Sign at New Britton Elementary will serve as visual tools that support student communication, collaboration, and inclusion across all grade levels. Integrated into the curriculum, they will enhance lessons in language arts, social-emotional learning, and life skills by providing a hands-on way for students to express ideas, practice vocabulary, and engage with peers. The boards will especially benefit the Life Skills classroom, supporting meaningful participation for all learners. This project brings learning outdoors and strengthens communication in both academic and social contexts.

Erin Nornberg

Student Impact | 71

Research shows that the incorporation of multisensory strategies within phonics instruction enhances neural pathways required for literacy development. Acquiring tactile, auditory, and visual resources through this grant to use in small group instruction and intervention would be used to improve students’ phonemic awareness, decoding, and spelling outcomes for our littlest learners, particularly students with reading difficulties or learning differences like dyslexia.

Jennifer Norris

Student Impact | 150

Words That Heal will connect literature and writing with student well-being. By reading stories and poems that highlight resilience, empathy, and identity, students will find mirrors for their own experiences and windows into the lives of others. Alongside the reading, they will keep personal journals, participate in creative writing circles, and produce original poetry, short stories, and reflective essays. The project will end with a student-created anthology of “Words that Heal” to be shared with peers, families, and the school community.

Laura Novak

Student Impact | 400

Calling all curious minds and story makers, let’s write a shape story! Shape Stories is a book written by former kindergarten teacher turned writing curriculum developer Amanda Shackelford. This book was the inspiration for the launch of an innovative approach to developing writing skills for Kindergarteners employing the expertise and interventional skills of occupational therapists. What happens when strategies are implemented in the classroom that increase visual motor skill development, eliminate habits that lead to letter reversals, promote writing fluency, and increase confidence in written expression skills? According to the research, positive academic impact on writing skills for our students!

Jasmine Osborne

Student Impact | 90

Raku is an exciting and unpredictable pottery firing technique that originated in Japan. Unlike traditional firings where pottery cools slowly, Raku involves a rapid and dramatic process. The Raku firing event helps students develop crucial skills in logistics, timing, teamwork, and safety to ensure a successful and memorable experience. Students actively assist in the process from creation of their ceramic work to the firing process.

Jessica Sargent

Student Impact | 600

This project will create a bilingual book source within the school library at Geist Elementary. Books will be available in both a native language and in English. Students will feel empowered to read in the language that they are comfortable. Literacy in a native language promotes literacy in additional languages. Providing bilingual books to students in their native language will also help family engagement as families are able to read and enjoy books with their children. This bilingual library will provide access to literature and strengthen home-school connections by allowing families to read in both languages, and foster pride in students’ linguistic and cultural identities.

Jessica Shelton

Student Impact | 540

Students will travel the world without leaving the classroom! Using interactive maps, puzzles, games, and hands-on activities, students will explore the world using inspiration from read alouds and discussions. Students will collaborate in groups with interactive maps to steer their own learning. They can select countries and learn about their location, capital, flag, population, language, landmarks, and fun facts. Students will benefit from collaborating and taking ownership of their learning and will gain geographical knowledge and skills with map and puzzle practice while improving relational skills through books and activities.

Robyn Stout

Student Impact | 720

Ari Ozobots will bring Math and Science into the STEM Lab like never before! Going beyond traditional coding usage, Ari can teach students about the Life Cycle, the Night Sky and measuring distance. It is important more than ever before to be able to tie classroom needs into the STEM Lab. The Ari robot by Ozobot boasts as a “best in class” robot proving it is easy to use for many hands with plenty of subject transfer.

Kevin Stumpf

Student Impact | 857

Disc golf is an ideal addition to junior high wellness and the FAP class. This project gets students outside, moving in a fun and inclusive way. Each round provides walking for cardiovascular health while improving flexibility, core strength, and coordination through different throwing motions. The game naturally builds social interaction and teamwork, while fostering healthy competition in a low-pressure environment. Disc golf is accessible for all skill levels, making it a transitional sport that students can enjoy for a lifetime of activity. With minimal equipment and easy setup, it offers maximum return for student health, wellness, and lifelong fitness habits.

Nicolle Symons

Student Impact | 60

Ozobots are small, programmable robots that introduce students to coding, robotics, and problem-solving through interactive, hands-on learning. By programming Ozobots with color codes or digital platforms, students build critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration skills while seeing their code come to life. This project makes abstract concepts tangible, fosters engagement across subjects, and prepares students with essential 21st-century skills in a fun and meaningful way.

April Walden

Student Impact | 600

Chomp Chomp! Let’s elevate the invention process of critical thinking, designing, creating, and building 2D and 3D projects with endless possibilities for students in art! The Chompsaw, a newly innovative invention of a safe “jigsaw” for children ages 5+ allows students to safely cut out cardboard without having to relinquish this part of the design process. Due to the thickness of cardboard, a free art medium used by many teachers, the adults typically have to cut out student designs themselves, an overwhelming and arduous task. Students will use the Chompsaw to create 2D Self-Portrait Picasso Heads.

Madeline Wellington

Student Impact | 100

This project will bring hydroponic towers into 6th grade science classrooms at Sand Creek Intermediate, allowing students to actively observe and investigate photosynthesis and the cycling of matter. Instead of only reading about plant growth in textbooks, students will engage in hands-on learning as they monitor, measure, and care for plants. The hydroponic towers provide a living model that fosters curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. This project will enhance student understanding of life science standards while promoting environmental awareness and sustainable practices.

Karen Wijesekera

Student Impact | 491

This project will support a class set of ukuleles for the music room at Cumberland Road Elementary to expand students’ access to diverse sound sources, instrument genres, and playing techniques. The current music classroom has access to percussion and wind instruments, but currently no string instruments. The ukulele is a great gateway into the world of string instruments because it is small and has simple chords that are even accessible to little kindergarten hands.

Jenifer Young

Student Impact | 100

Pathways to Language without Barriers uses rhythm and sound to break down barriers to English learning. Students will engage in evidence-based routines that support grammar, vocabulary, and phonics while strengthening fluency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This project creates a safe space where students gain confidence, lower stress, and move beyond hesitation to become expressive, capable language learners.

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