2024 sees another record year for the HRCEF Impact Teaching Grants program for both applications and awarded grants. This year, the foundation received 39 grant applications requesting a total of $95,000, representing an $35,000 increase from the previous record set in 2023. Thanks to the generosity and support from the community, HRCEF was able to award over $64,000 this year, funding 28 innovative and creative projects across all Hood River County School District schools.
Grants this year include art and science projects, along with new recreational equipment, and books for readers of all ages. Hood River Middle School secured a grant to purchase materials for a multi-year tiny home construction project, which aims to teach students all about design, math, marketing, and valuable trade skills. Up at Wy’East more students than ever will be able to enroll in the popular DIY Skateboard class, which similarly challenges students to design and build their very own skateboard.
All K-3 elementary school students in the district will now be able to learn how to ride a bike during P.E., after securing a grant to purchase balance bikes. Inquisitive students at May Street Elementary will enjoy observing the minute details of the natural world with a new digital microscope, while students at Cascade Locks have hands-on fun working with clay in the school’s nascent ceramics program.
These grants are just a few of the many wonderful projects being implemented by HRCSD teachers this year. Curious about the 2024 Impact Teaching Grants? Scroll down to learn more about the 2024 Impact Teaching Grants from our applicants in their own words or click on the link skip to a specific school.
The HRCEF Impact Teaching Grants program awards funds to teachers and staff who find better ways to teach, new subjects to explore, and interesting experiments to try. The goal of the program is to provide the critical funds that will turn the best of these ideas into action. The program is open to any Hood River County School District teacher, staff, or student.
Impact Teaching Grants are funded entirely by the generosity of the Hood River County Community, and with budget cuts affecting the 2024-25 school year, your support is more important than ever before. If you would like to help support the Impact Teaching Grants program, please click on the button below.
Cascade Locks Elementary
Clay Art as Therapy – Jennifer Wilson, Sheri Halloway, Kate Gordon, Annie Haifley, Derek Gris
“Clay has a uniquely therapeutic quality that I have seen settle and calm children; it retains their attention for hours. … We have a kiln here at the school but no budget for clay, glazes, brushes, and a slab roller. I have some tools and glazes that I bought along with a box of clay for my class to make hand-built clay projects for gifts for the holidays. I witnessed such a wonderful shift in the students during our clay time. I saw a marked difference ranging from improving mental health to enhancing physical dexterity. … The tactile nature of clay allowed my students to express themselves in a non-verbal way, which proved to be incredibly powerful for them. … We want to build a ceramics program at Cascade Locks Elementary because clay projects promote and encourage positive sensory development, motor skills, self-esteem, and self-expression, problem-solving skills, discipline, and pride.”
Reading at Home Challenge – Kate Gordon, Jennifer Wilson, Jennifer Greer, Sabrina Barbour, Annie Haifley, Jill McNealy, Derek Gries, Kirsten Zucker, Kate Getchis
“Last year, we hosted a family literacy night for our students who were in reading intervention and/or on an IEP … We called it the ‘Read at Home Challenge’. Students were given a bag of 3 to 4 books at their phonics level to read at home. … We assessed students to see their phonics growth and found that every student that read consistently in that 6 week challenge, increased their phonics reading level from below grade level to at or above grade level! These scores were maintained into the summer and the fall of this year. … As a staff, we want to encourage and reinforce reading at home … We would like to increase our number of lower level decodable books so that our kindergarteners can enjoy these colorful high interest stories. … This winter, we would like to increase that amount and host our 3-5 family literacy night to educate parents on how to read at home with their child.”
May Street Elementary
Conceptualizing Size — Digital-Microscope – Ryan Campbell
“I will use all of the funds to purchase a digital microscope. … Besides having a microscope to aid our learning across multiple subjects and lessons, I’d like to start an art and science unit that investigates small things in nature. Students will use the digital microscope to take an enlarged picture of an organism under magnification. Students will use save these pictures and use them to create a detailed drawing of their chosen organism. Examples of these organisms would include mushroom gills, flower pedals, seeds, micro-invertabrates, etc. . .”
New/Replace Physical Education Equipment (Rainbow Mesh Vests, Team Teeter Toss Set, UltraChute Parachute, Rainbow Rubber Rings Set)- Erich Harjo
“These four (4) items will benefit the students at May Street Elementary by using different methods and tools to teach sports skills. The students at our school, and as well as those who join us in the years to come, will enjoy using this new gear as they learn and grow in physical education. … [The Team Teeter Toss Set] will enhance student learning by teaching the students how to aim and focus on a target by tossing the ring onto the poles. Teams will strategize where to throw the rings to score the most amount of points, which will increase their desire for accuracy as well as working together to plan how to block other teams from scoring. … The parachute has bright colors and is easy to use. It is perfect for color coded teamwork activities. … The Rainbow Rubber Rings set will be a new purchase for our school. This set will teach target-style tossing and throwing skills in a safe and controlled manner. Students will practice different methods of tossing, including over, under, and frisbee style throwing.”
Parkdale Elementary
Making Meaning in Math – Maggie Kellogg, Holly Lavoie, Denise Long, Madeline Cunningham, Jenay Coval, Courtney Castañeda, Paula Lindquist, Lydia Rivera, Kipp Dixon
“To sum up, making math more meaningful for our students by using read alouds, games and manipulatives is a win win. Teachers should expect to see increased student engagement when using these tools. When students are engaged, they are able to make more real life connections and will develop positive attitudes towards math. … Teachers will use the books to introduce topics at the beginning of units. Books will help students understand why they are learning the concepts. … We will use games to build fluency and vocabulary throughout the unit. Students can work independently or with others to practice math concepts and other life skills like turn taking. …Manipulatives will be used to build understanding before teachers move to pictorial representations and numbers. In addition, they can be helpful for word problems. Word problems are challenging for all students, but they can be especially tricky for English language learners. Through the use of these different tools, the students’ experience will be enhanced through multimodal learning. …
Voices Worth Hearing: A High-Quality Sound System for Parkdale Elementary – Lydia Rivera, Kelsey Contreras, Maggie Kellogg
“We are proposing a portable sound system to allow for optimal opportunities. Having a portable sound system allows us to store it properly, take care of the equipment, and bring it outside for events such as our open house evenings. It also allows for flexible setup during music concerts so the audience can get the best auditory experience possible. … Performance is a large part of a music education, it allows students to demonstrate their learning and share it with others. This creates a sense of confidence and pride in a students’ hard work, and it’s only fair that it gets presented with great quality. A large part of our students’ education is family involvement. Being able to hold events with the clearest sound for parents and our community will ensure the best experience possible.”
Westside Elementary
Children’s Social Studies Books – Emily Rappleyea
“[I hope to] purchase fiction and nonfiction texts to build background and content knowledge to support 5th grade social studies topics. Our social studies curriculum, TCI, provides students with a digital textbook that they read to gain an understanding of social studies information. The text is fine, but could be supplemented with more student friendly resources. This is where the social studies texts that I hope to purchase will come into play. These children’s books will give students a second (or third or fourth!) source of information so they have a well rounded understanding of the standards. I also selected texts that represent diverse perspectives, something the TCI texts only lightly touch on.”
Enhancing Spanish and bilingual books – Debi Gallagher, Christina Rivera, Sasha Smith
“My project is to focus on updating and enhancing the Spanish and bi-lingual library collection, emphasizing fiction and non-fiction high interest books. The main goal is to enhance the quantity and quality of books available for our Spanish reading population including staff, students and families, and fostering a love for reading and promoting equity. … Bilingual books help students develop English and Spanish literacy while at the same time foster a sense of respect for the primary language for many of our students. … The ELD classroom will also be using the books we purchase. Bilingual texts are an important tool in motivating students to read a variety of texts and help many students in order to develop higher levels of English proficiency.”
Private Learning Spaces – Martha Dell, Katie Hollatz
“We would like to order sound absorbing walls that allow us to create private spaces for students to learn and reduce distractions for students with sensory and/or attention challenges. Both the Learning Center (LC) and Structured Learning Center (SLC) are busy places! … In addition to traditional academics, social-emotional skills and self-regulation have become a significant part of the learning occurring in the LC. Our students have experienced trauma, are impacted by an autism spectrum disorder, are impacted by ADHD, and/or have learning disabilities. In the LC they are processing emotional experiences, playfully exploring how to deal with challenges, trying to sound out a word they just can’t figure out, and being pushed to the brink of frustration while learning how to recognize and handle that feeling. These are vulnerable situations. Having the benefit of some visual and audial privacy is necessary to ensure they all feel comfortable taking these risks with their teacher and make the most of their learning time.“
Kindergarten Reading Enhacement – Sarah Fox, Amalia Shaner, Gretchen VonLubken
“The Kindergarten team at Westside Elementary would like to purchase leveled readers to help support ourcurrent reading program, Wonders. … We need books that offer practice in not only sight-word reading, but also practicing the current phonics skills/letter sounds taught in our weekly lessons. Our goal as a Kindergarten team is to teach each and every student the basic skills needed to read text by using sight words and phonics (sounding out words) and to offer sufficient practice to help all students reach proficiency in reading. By bringing in better books to help practice basic reading skills that match up with what we are teaching, we feel that all students will be impacted and given more confidence and practice in the skills they need to be great readers.”
Hood River Middle School
HRMS Tiny Home Builders – David Scharfenberg
“We seek to teach a blend of 7th and 8th grade students the basic skills to build a tiny home. We are using a business model, from design, construction and marketing the tiny home to the public. This will give many students an insight into the construction trade skills, and can lead them to a meaningful career in these trades, and also as savvy consumers when they are adults. We will integrate industry professionals for all aspects of the build, including, but not limited to, framing, electrical, plumbing, roofing, siding, insulation and interior design. … This project will give students hands-on experience in many facets of the construction trades. Another objective is to give students a business perspective on running such a business. A related objective connects to the many academic facets, which are too numerous to mention, but include writing skills, math skills, as well as many forms of communication.”
Literature Circle Books: African American Focus – Jennifer Mall, Kyla Louis
“We are looking to create a unit using books written by and about African American teenagers in the United States. Students will be able to select 1 (potentially 2) books to read in a small group so they can study and discuss the themes and ideas presented in their books. 8th graders are also studying U.S. History in Social Studies. We plan on tying in our ELA unit to some of the themes they are studying in US History (slavery, racial discrimination, Civil Rights etc.). We are hoping this unit builds students’ knowledge as well as empathy.“
Functional Support Spaces – Julie VanDeHey
“I am looking to get a whiteboard horseshoe table to serve as an area to provide small group instruction for 8th grade core math and science students. Eight graders are reluctant to accept help, but they LOVE whiteboards, and adore writing on tables! … Students will access math and science help at a table large enough to serve a group, and where they can process their thinking directly on the table-top surface. Getting support is often embarrassing for middle schoolers, so having an awesome place for them to actually get the help would do wonders I believe. It is nothing flashy or exciting, but it is a need our students have day in and day out.”
Wy’East Middle School
Expanding Skateboard Building Class – Patrick Getchis
“Skatemaker started as an after school club 10 years ago. Throughout this project, students design and fabricate a custom skateboard to take home and enjoy. It is a perfect STEAM project, as it authentically calls on students to use creative problem solving to make a meaningful product. … This class fills quickly and I am constantly looking for avenues to make the experience more rich for students. I am requesting an upgrade in tooling to ensure we can accommodate the shear number of students enrolling. Students love taking this class and often return years later to describe how much they enjoyed the learning experience. Many of the students who sign up for this class continue studying STEM in high school and beyond.“
Habits of a Successful Beginner Band Musician – Anders Foster
“We are seeking funding to acquire a complete set of ‘Habits of a Successful Beginner Band Musician,’ a renowned program resource designed to instill essential musical skills and habits in middle school students. This method book covers a wide range of topics, including instrument technique, music theory, and ensemble playing, ensuring a well-rounded musical education for our students.”
Mary Poppins Jr. Tap Dance Numbers – Jennifer Graves, Stephanie Harris, Anders Foster
“Over the next four months the students of Wyeast MiddleSchool will all come together to create the musical Mary Poppins Jr. The musical each year unites students of all ages and from different back grounds and skill sets to create a group project of a full musical. Students design and create sets. They also have a chance to be leaders in the process of student directing. Students can choose to be on the acting or technology crew and the process lasts most of the school year. This year we want to add tap dance and choreography to the production process. Through this part of the project students would experience a dance form most of them would never have an opportunity to learn. They would also be able to perform for as a team for a live audience in our musical.”
Hood River Valley High School
Garden to Table – Patty Fateley
“With cooking being an essential skill for our students, we want to introduce the life long skill of growing their food into our classroom experience. We are going to incorporate planting and caring for the plants throughout the year, even the colder months, by using both indoor pots and Hydroponics with grow lights and outdoor raised garden beds and a greenhouse. They will grow herbs, vegetables and fruit that they will tend, harvest, learn to store and use in their cooking activities and as a classroom snack. From the Garden to the Table is an excellent way to teach our students about food origins, nutrition, and healthy eating behaviors. They will be engaged in exploration and inquiry of the growing process and timeline of the different plants. Cooking helps students learn and practice math concepts and build language skills. And eating meals together can help build their self-confidence and lay the foundation for healthy eating habits.”
Photography Equipment – Matthew Gerlick
“We have a New course At HRVHS this year Called Photography. Where students use professional DSLR cameras to learn about the elements and principles of photography, and practice post-production in the Adobe Suite while learning to become more effective and affluent visual storytellers. Students currently need more equipment to exemplify this field of study. and to grow our visual storytelling program we are looking for tripods, lenses, filters, photo printers and cameras. … Students will be able to print their own images for display, learn about the post-production printing process and how to effectively take their images from concept to paper. The student will have the ability to explore photography through the use of different lenses which will enable them to explore their passions and interests with more finesse.“
Kiln Shelf Replacement – Gabrielle Iversen
“The two kilns that serve the high school ceramics program need new kiln shelves. … Because the shelves can last up to 10 years MANY students will benefit- I fire THOUSANDS of students projects per year and the kilns and shelves get heavy use over the school year. The ceramics program has expanded so much in the 10 years I have been running it- it’s a very successful program that has enabled thousands of kids to explore their creativity in clay but it requires alot of equipment. All students who take ceramics will be making work that will be fired on these shelves.”
Laptop based data gathering with 3 axis accelerometer – Ted Cramer, Kevin Haspela
“These accelerometers will allow us, in the Physics classes, to expand our study of force and motion. They
are particularly good at measuring centripetal accelerations. … The study of force and motion is fundamental to the understanding of physics and with more accurate and usable methods of measuring acceleration we can more effectively teach Newtons Laws of Motion. … These accelerometers
would allow us to more accurately measure the centripetal acceleration of the device. It would make a lab activity that we currently do much more valid and interesting to students.”
“It Happened in Oregon” supplementary books – Steve Noteboom, David DeHart, Caroline Koehler, Eugene Strobeck, Dave Case
“We want to purchase 80 reading books “It Happened in Oregon” to supplement our social studies curriculum. … We do not have an Oregon History class at the high school. This book will provide us a resource to fill in some of the gaps in our curriculum that focuses on Oregon History.”
Equitable Opportunities – Lisa Rust, Samantha Petrie
“In an effort to comply with new standards, I recently completed an American Red Cross CPR/AED/First Aid instructor certification course so that I can now teach and certify any or all of my 11th-grade advanced health students. I want to be able to offer my students who successfully complete the CPR/AED/First Aid skills assessment scenarios and written assessment an opportunity to receive their ARC certification cards which would be valid for 2 years. This would greatly benefit these students with employment, career training, job resumes, college applications, career and technical training, prerequisites, life experience, babysitting, etc. The cost of $36/per student for American Red Cross certification is cost-prohibitive for many of our students and raises issues of equity and access. This grant would significantly help students from all socioeconomic ranges gain their CPR/AED certification.”
Standing up for education – Kathryn Yasui
“I want to provide an alternative table option in my classroom for students who struggle to sit for 80+ minutes. Giving the option of an adjustable standing desk will allow for diverse learning needs and create an alternative collaboration space for other class projects and group work. … This will create opportunities for students who struggle physically (either with body pain or restlessness) in a traditional classroom to be more comfortable while also maintaining the expectation to be working at a desk.”
Block Print Business – Carol Birdsell
“Block printing is a great way to personalize canvas items such as tote bags, aprons, pencil cases, etc. I would like to teach the kids how to make money on their artwork by creating a small “Etsy” type business, teach the kids how to market, set price, block print on canvas and sell their items. … I would like to develop a unit of study that includes making, marketing and selling their work. Having a savvy business sense is vital for rising artists. The kids would learn how to design blocks that easily translates into merchandise for sell, not personal gain or expression. The students will learn the basics of photography their product and establishing a price for a reasonable profit.”
Stand Up Desks! – Amanda Webster
“We all sit way too much. Over the last year, I have been standing at my own teacher desk. The impact of standing more during the day is immense. … With this grant, I will purchase to stand-up desks and pilot this in my classroom. No more slouching, tired students. Stand-up desks have so many benefits: increased alertness, better posture, and stand-up desks have been linked to incredible health outcomes as well. There are numerous studies that have proven the positive impact of stand-up desks in the classroom and beyond.”
Multi-School Grants
Cascade Locks Elementary, May Street Elementary, MidValley Elementary Parkdale Elementary, Westside Elementary
All Kids Learn to Bike! – Kipp Dixon, Stephanie Perkins, Pamela Allen, Brandon Bertram, Erich Harjo
“Biking is a lifetime sport. Every single kid should learn how to bike, and it should be a part of our students’ physical education. … It fosters a life-long love of movement, and can be done at almost every stage of life. A fleet of balance bikes would get our youngest students introduced to cycling right from the start, in kindergarten, and encourage healthy activity outside the ‘normal scope’ of traditional ball sports. Balance bikes have been proven in multiple studies to help children at younger ages be able to cycle independently faster than other methods (like training wheels). The skills learned from balance bikes immediately transfer over to pedaling a bicycle. With this grant we would be able to get every single student in our district in K-3rd grade ready to ride a bicycle in PE.“
May Street Elementary, MidValley Elementary
Creating With Green Screen – Pam Turley, Tia Wells
“Students love hands-on learning! Green Screen is a great way for our students to learn technology while having a lot of fun. … With the materials in this grant our students will enjoy hands-on learning while they create videos using Green Screen. Videoing one another, puppets, small toys, or drawings, students will learn to use technology including a green screen app, lighting, microphones and camera app. They will collaborate with other students in developing an outline, story, and then videos. Having these Green Screen tools will ignite an interest in learning technology as well as storytelling, acting, videography, and editing. Students will expand their technology skills as well as strengthen social skills and bonds as they work together to accomplish amazing Green Screen projects.”