The Hood River County Education Foundation (HRCEF) has awarded nearly $65,000 in grants as part of its 2024-2025 Impact Teaching Grants program. These grants are designed to support innovative teaching projects that enhance student learning and professional development in the Hood River County School District. This year, 29 grants will directly benefit more than 3,800 students across the district, funding a wide range of educational resources such as multilingual teaching aids, STEM tools, art supplies, and musical instruments.
Among the grant recipients, Adam Smith, a science teacher at Hood River Middle School, will use his grant to purchase 64 new microscopes for his classroom. These modern microscopes will replace older models, providing students with hands-on learning experiences that are crucial for engaging them in science. Similarly, at Parkdale Elementary School, Elise Tickner will acquire a new kiln to replace an older kiln that no longer functions, allowing students to explore clay and ceramics projects. Tickner’s initiative has been met with great enthusiasm from Parkdale staff, who are eager to learn how to use the kiln to enhance student creativity. At Hood River Valley High School, Brittany Meier will be using task boxes to help her students learn vital career skills through simulated job training.
“We’re so proud of our ability to support our public schools and the teachers that make them so wonderful,” said Aspen McKenna, Chair of HRCEF’s Board of Directors. She cited the generous support of the scholarship grantors and donors as key to the foundation’s success, but also noted that there were more than $150,000 in teaching grant requests this year. “It’s our goal to raise even more money from our community to provide even more support to our schools. We have a lot of work yet to do.”
To learn more about this year’s grants, click or scroll for details on specific Hood River County school projects.
Impact Teaching Grants are funded entirely by the generosity of the Hood River County Community, and with budget cuts affecting both the 2024-25 and the 2025-26 school years, 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
Learning Through Stories — Lacy Gries
“Every month Purposeful People has a different Character Trait theme, that helps students learn skills to feel successful in school, relationships as well as build their confidence. The monthly themes are as follows: Respect, Responsibility, Gratitude, Empathy, Perseverance, Honesty, Cooperation, Courage and Creativity. … Studies show that student success is dependent on their ability to regulate & process their emotions so that they can focus and engage in academics. The books we are requesting help students understand and navigate through relationships & emotions, build confidence and increase their ability to work through challenges.”
Playful Kindergarten focused on Social Emotional Learning — Sara Crompton
“My goal with this project is to get a variety of tools to practice the social emotional and life skills that students will learn through direct instruction, such as self-regulation, empathy, tolerance for frustration and growth mindset, sharing, problem-solving skills. … Additionally, my intention is to implement more play-based learning strategies during our Math and ELA lessons by gamifying tasks instead of just using traditional worksheets. By exploring different kinds of play, students will learn and practice vital skills that will enhance their executive functioning, self-regulation, empathy, tolerance for frustration, growth mindset, sharing, focusing, and problem-solving skills. This approach to Kindergarten aims to increase equity and student engagement, improve behavior, foster the development of healthy relationships and learning environment, and increase school readiness and academic achievement.”
May Street Elementary
Domino Chain Reaction — Kristi Van Dooren
“Along with our Science study of Forces and Motion, we’d like to have the students build a long complete chain of dominoes. … Students will conduct an investigation to provide evidence of balanced and unbalanced forces of motion of an object. Students will make observations of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.All 4 classes will build one long chain reaction of dominoes. … All of the third grade classes will collaborate in building one long chain reaction event. Each class will design their own domino pattern and then all of the classes will have their chain reaction connected together to make one complete chain reaction event.”
Physical Education Enrichment — Eric Harjo
“I am seeking a grant for three (3) items for the Physical Education department at May Street Elementary. The products requested will enhance student learning, strengthen their cognitive ability, and focus on learning new skill sets. … Currently, when needing a “barrier” for invasion styles games like Capture The Flag, Dodgeball, and other strategy games, we use the mats designated for the climbing wall. These mats do not stay up during game play, and makes it difficult for students to engage in the activity. Having these new barriers will help the students in many ways. … The Action ToppleTubes Sets (one set blue/gold, one set green/orange) will be a new purchase for May Street. This will be an excellent way for students to hone their skills on agility, formulating a team plan, and working together.”
PurposeFULL People Books — Nicole Sibert
“PurposeFull People (PP) is the HRCSD’s K-5 SEL curriculum via the Character Strong Program. PP
focuses on supporting students to acquire and apply 3 foundational social-emotional competencies: Emotion Regulation Skills, Social Skills, and Executive Functioning Skills. The district was able to provide each elementary school one hard copy of each of the recommended SEL books that supplement the SEL curriculum. … We would like to complete the collection for our school. Since only one book is provided per grade level, teachers have to share and grade levels sometimes have to borrow. … These supplemental books that were purchased during the 23/24 school year have been a wonderful and tangible resource for teachers to access and use in class while teaching the weekly lessons. The SSS team also utilizes the books during small group SEL skill building lessons.”
Sensory/Motor Room — Erin Bertram
“A sensory room designed for universal access supports the well-being and learning of all 450 students in an elementary school by aligning with evidence-based practices and social-emotional learning (SEL) frameworks. …These spaces foster inclusion, offering benefits for students with specific needs (e.g., sensory processing disorders, ADHD, or autism) as well as those experiencing stress, anxiety, or overstimulation. … Universal access ensures that the room is not limited to students with documented needs but is available as a proactive resource for any child requiring additional support. Studies, such as Pfeiffer et al. (2011) and Ayres’ sensory integration framework, demonstrate that sensory environments enhance learning and participation in school activities. Integrating the sensory room with an SEL curriculum teaches students to use sensory tools as part of their self-regulation strategies, fostering lifelong skills for managing emotions and behaviors. Accessible to teachers and counselors, the room becomes a shared resource for whole-class interventions, small-group work, or individual sessions, ensuring it benefits the entire school community.”
Parkdale Elementary
Ceramic Kiln — Elise Tickner
“Parkdale Elementary would like to purchase a ceramic kiln for our elementary art program. The kiln will be integrated into existing art curriculum for all grade levels. It will also be available for the after school program, Excel. The thirty year old kiln at Parkdale became non- functional last Spring. Upon research into fixing it we found out the the Duncan company is no longer in business. Right now, besides the 3-D printer in fifth grade, Parkdale Elementary is limited to 2D art-making, such as drawing, painting, cutting and pasting. While these projects provide students with a solid foundation in artistic techniques, they don’t have an opportunity to experience the tactile, three-dimensional process of working with clay. Replacing the kiln will address this gap and provide a diverse, hands-on learning experience that aligns with current educational standards. This will increase creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving with our students. With ceramics, students can explore texture, form, and structure, gaining a broader understanding of artistic media and processes.”
Lifetime Balance Skills — Kipp Dixon
“There are three pieces to this project. The first piece would be giving every single student in our school the opportunity to learn life-long balance skills by rollerblading during PE classes. The roller skates that most of our elementary schools currently have that are owned by the PTO’s are 40-50 years old, uncomfortable or broken, and most prohibitively – require a team of adults to help students get them on and off. They are impossible to use during PE. The second piece is that these adjustable rollerblades could be used by our after-school program. Our after-school skating sessions mostly serve our hispanic students, and this would give these kids even more exposure to balance skills. … The third piece is classroom behavior and schoolwork incentives, and also helping our students reach the required threshold of active minutes in school per week. Oregon requires elementary school students to be active at least 150 minutes a week in structured, sequential activities. Right now our students get less than 80 minutes on average of PE per week, and then a few short movement breaks with their teachers throughout the day. These rollerblades would be another way for classroom teachers to get their kids into highly-active, structure movement during the week.”
Native Literacy and Authors — Denise Long
“After attending the Tribal History/Shared History we propose providing K-1 classrooms with books about Native American culture, stories, and songs. For grades 2-5, having books that cover a broad range of Native American experiences and histories would not only enhance the curriculum but also give students a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives in all five content areas—social studies, science, math, language arts, and the arts. When selecting books, it’s important to include a mix of both fiction and non fiction resources. … Reading fiction and nonfiction books by Native American authors not only promotes literacy but also helps to foster empathy and understanding among students. By seeing Native American voices and experiences reflected in stories, both students and staff can build a deeper connection to the material and develop a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity of human experience. This is particularly important in educational settings, where students should be exposed to a wide range of perspectives to help reduce biases and promote inclusivity.”
Speech-Language Therapy Resources — Haleigh Johnson
“This project seeks funding to purchase and develop specialized materials designed to enhance speech therapy for students at Parkdale Elementary, with a particular focus on sound awareness. These materials will support the development of phonological awareness, articulation skills, and auditory discrimination, which are critical foundations for language and literacy development. By strengthening sound awareness, I aim to address common speech and language difficulties, including articulation disorders, language delays, and early literacy struggles, to give students the foundational skills they need for academic success.”
Westside Elementary
Fluency Library for Struggling Readers — Martha Dell
“Repeated reading at a student’s instructional level is a researched based way to improve reading fluency. Students with reading disabilities often struggle to find attractive, engaging materials at their level. These resources will be used with my students in their general education classroom, in the Learning Center, and/or for homework, to help support their independent reading and develop fluency. … I would like to purchase fluency readers to supplement my reading intervention programs. These books will be used in specially designed instruction or be available for students to check out and take home or to their classroom for repeated reading. … Increasing reading fluency significantly improves comprehension by allowing readers to focus on the meaning of the text rather than decoding words, leading to better understanding, stronger vocabulary acquisition, increased confidence in reading, and overall improved academic performance.”
SEL Books — Leah Sklader Yost
“Every month our school focuses on a different Character Traits through our evidenced based curriculum from Purposeful People. … We would love to provide as many of the recommended books for our classroom teachers every month, so that students can further explore the lessons being taught through their Character Trait curriculum. All of the books that are recommended are great examples and stories of how kids can apply the lessons learned, from a social emotional lens. We at this time do not have access to many of the books and feel that stories are one of the best ways to engage students and increase deeper discussions. … Studies show that student success is dependent on their ability to regulate & process their emotions so that they can focus and engage in academics.”
Specialized Equipment Request- Special Education — Jody Wiewel
“At HRCSD, some students benefit from specialized equipment. The soft-lite barrel is appropriate for use for a variety of sensory regulation, communication and motor skill development for a variety of student ages and abilities. The Soft-Lite Barrel would be primarily utilized with students who are in our Structured Learning Center though other students who would benefit will have access as needed. … Likewise, the sensory crash mat will support sensory regulation. This item will primarily be used in the Learning Center, but will also be available for occupational therapy sessions, other students in need of sensory regulation, and can be moved to different locations in the building through the years as student needs arise. The regulation can come from the heavy work of jumping on the mat, the relaxation of the body during some quiet time, or the return to body awareness through proprioception as the student climbs and moves around on the pad. Whether due to autism, attention deficit disorder, trauma, or other causes, the number of students in need of this kind of support continues to increase in our schools.”
Hood River Middle School
Extended Greenhouse Use — Patricia Carpenter
“Our HRMS FACS program is centered on Farm to Table gardening. At the start of the school year we harvest the gardens for the previous year, process and freeze what we can, and use produce directly in our classroom kitchen. In the late fall and winter, we focus on food safety, baking, and cooking skills. Then, in late winter and early spring, we start seeds intended for our mid-late spring plantings. It is important for the students to participate in the entire process in order to develop a deep understanding of our food system and how we can farm and garden in the ecosystems of the gorge. Currently, in the face of climate change, the Greenhouse is too hot to grow healthy seedlings and spend much time in tending to the plants. … I’m proposing that we use the grant funds to purchase light colored shade cloth panels for the south facing side of the greenhouse. They will filter the light to improve the temperature as well as prevent the scorching of our seedlings. The shade cloth will also help us maintain appropriate moisture levels for the plants.”
HRMS Marching Drums for Pep Band — Benjamin Tell
“Last year I established a Pep Band here at HRMS. We play at a few of the HRMS football games. We currently borrow marching drums from the High School. The Pep band at HRMS has been growing and I feel it’s time for our set of drums! … Pep band is a big draw for the students. We play popular songs at loud volumes! Two things that middle schoolers love. The whole reason I started pep band was to increase the overall enrollment of music students here at HRMS. Since taking over the position I have added over 60 music students to my roster. That equates to about 120 music students at the school. 90 of those students are in a band class. I feel that pep band will continue to help get students into the band program. We also play around the school one day in the spring to promote band as a choice for students next year as an elective. The past two years, I’ve had to wheel our big bass drum around, and hold the snare drum for a student to play. The marching drums will help continue to improve our music program.”
Literacy Assistive Technology: C-Pen Reader — Megan Burfield
“The Special Education team at Hood River Middle School would like to obtain an assistive technology device to support students with reading disabilities. Once students arrive at middle school, literacy becomes an integral part of their academic day. They are now expected to use reading as a learning tool. If a student has a reading disability, it can significantly impact their ability to achieve success within the general education classroom. The C-Pen Reader is an assistive technology device that promotes inclusivity, and provides students with the opportunity to read, learn, and understand independently within the general education classroom. … The C-Pen Reader 2 can scan specific words or sentences, and then students can listen to that word or sentence out loud. This pen also has a built-in dictionary, allowing students to have access to definitions for unfamiliar words. This helps students to read more fluently, and comprehend what they are reading. The C-Pen can be used across all subject areas, making reading more accessible within all classrooms. Students with reading disabilities oftentimes struggle to keep up in class, take tests independently, complete and turn in assignments, and follow written directions. The C-Pen Reader 2 allows students to be exposed to text and literature, but gives them a different modality to absorb the information. … The C-Pen promotes independence, active learning, and opportunities to maintain inclusivity with our students receiving special education services.”
Zooming into Discovery: Enhancing Science Learning with Microscopes — Adam Smith
“Microscopes are essential tools for hands-on science learning, allowing students to explore the hidden world of cells, microorganisms, and materials up close. At HRMS, a shortage of working microscopes limits students’ ability to engage in critical investigations that foster curiosity and deepen understanding of key scientific concepts. Investing in high-quality microscopes will transform our science classrooms, enabling every student to experience the excitement of discovery firsthand, develop observational skills, and build a stronger foundation in life and physical sciences. This purchase is vital to cultivating future scientists and informed thinkers equipped for today’s STEM-driven world.”
Wy’East Middle School
College Workstations for Learnings with an IEP — Jillian Jarvis
“Many of my students enjoy coming to class and sitting, but each year I serve a number of learnings with sensory, occupational, and physical needs that are simply not met when we require students to sit at a desk for multiple hours each day. I would like to provide my classroom with a back row of adjustable desks so that students may choose to sit or stand while learning. … Students with an IEP often have the need to utilize equipment that can best support their physical and occupational needs while learning. I would like to provide these learners with the option for an adjustable desk as well as a noise free, under the desk, pedal bike to help support their focus and need for movement in a way that reaffirms the benefits of working while standing/exercising without labeling students as different.”
Hood River Valley High School
Classroom Library of Biographies — Jessica Apland
“The goal of this project is to create a classroom library of text-appropriate, engaging biographies that explore pivotal figures in U.S. history. By incorporating these books into our curriculum, we aim to enhance students’ understanding of historical events, build empathy through personal narratives, and foster a love for reading.”
Empowering Individuals of all Abilities through Job Skills Simulated Training — Brittany Meier
“All students deserve a chance to succeed in life after school. For some, that chance comes much easier than others. The objective for this grant is to provide structured job-like activities to the districts’ most impacted population in order to promote independent work and foster job and life skill development. … This grant would go towards buying supplies to create task boxes and a simulated work environment for students within the high school Structured Learning Center. A task box is a hands-on activity designed to help special education students practice and master specific skill sets. These boxes can range from math, to literacy, to fine motor skills, to life skills, to job skills. The idea behind these boxes is to make the learning engaging and effective. The task boxes include a task analysis which ensures that these targeted individuals can perform all the necessary steps to complete the final task. … The idea is to teach students skills they would likely be able to use for a job at their level. I think of jobs they could potentially hold independently (fast food restaurant worker, grocery or hardware store employee, cleaning service worker etc). I take the skills those jobs would require and determine how to scaffold those skills down to the level of my students to grow and progress. I work to build up their skill set by ensuring all the prerequisite skills are mastered.”
Livin’ Large at Lunch — Tammi Mosnot
“This year, our school became phone and device free from bell to bell. Phones must be off and away all day, even during lunch and passing times. We have seen extremely positive results in terms in of both academic and social engagement in light of this policy, but our school Culture and Climate Committee would like to offer fun lunch time activities for our students to fill the void of not being on phones. We seek funding to help pay for the supplies and equipment needed to provide fun and exciting lunch time activities. … We aim to positively impact school culture and climate by providing students with fun things to look forward to. We also aim to increase face-to-face social interactions that are screen free!”
Native Arts, Beading Craft on the Loom and off Loom — Matthew Gerlick
“Native American Culture is an essential part of the identity of the Columbia River Gorge, yet it is often unseen and untold, Together we want to celebrate and learn through the native art of Beading, inviting in Tribal Artists to teach our students local Native Bead Craft from the Yakima Tribe. Students will reflect on their own lives, and create symbolic colors and patterns which will be translated into the native craft of beading, learning stories and the craft from Native American professionals. … [We] have planned to collaborate with Lucille Begay; Native American outreach liaison at the Columbia Gorge ESD, who has worked to set up a week-long workshop with our students taught by tribal elders from the Yakima Nation who excel at Native American Beadcraft. Students will learn about the art and craft of beading, use a bead loom, and create multiple works of art while listening and learning from native American professionals. This workshop will continue past this one-week experience, as Amirra and I will continue this project to the finish which will last 2-3 weeks. In the end students will have a work of art that they can wear, gift or add to a garment and more.”
Pacific Northwest Themed Bathroom Murals — Emily Adams
“Our goal is to beautify the school by incorporating some of the natural imagery that is abundant in The Gorge into the school community, the school bathrooms specifically. We hope to create a more welcoming environment by including the diverse natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest such as the mountains, valleys, and wildflowers. … The NAHS will create removable murals for the upper walls of the HRVHS bathrooms to include at least 1 boys’, 1 girls’, and 1 gender neutral bathroom. We will use paint on 3’x8’ wooden boards. Our proposed theme is Pacific Northwest Wildlife. Each mural will have a unique design inspired by the theme. For the design process, there will be a student team for each bathroom. Teams will create two possible designs for each bathroom which the HRVHS student body will then vote on. Final designs will then be painted by National Art Honor Society Students using the main art room for workspace and storage. Final boards will be installed on the upper walls of the chosen bathrooms.”
Hood River Options Academy
Quality Books for Classroom Libraries — Emily Kohner
“This grant requests 850 dollars to purchase books from the last two years of the Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) titles. … The Hood River Options Academy is the only district school that does not have a stand-alone library. Teachers have classroom libraries that students can use to check out books. This grant would increase the number of quality modern books that students can check out. We know that students who read widely from books that they choose themselves read more and show increased reading skill. It is vitally important that students have access to books that are engaging. Having access to modern books with protagonists that students identify with is an important driver of student free reading.”
Multi-School Grants
Parkdale Elementary School and Mid Valley Elementary School
Fostering Literacy through Spanish Children’s Books — Kristi Meyers
“As a school committed to fostering bilingualism, it is essential to provide our students—many of whom are native Spanish speakers or are learning Spanish alongside English—with high-quality, engaging literature in both languages. This collection will include a wide variety of genres and topics, ranging from picture books and early readers to chapter books, nonfiction texts, and cultural stories. Currently, while our library has some Spanish-language books, our collection is limited. Many of our students have expressed a desire for more books in Spanish, and teachers have noted the positive impact that bilingual books have on literacy development, particularly in terms of vocabulary expansion, comprehension, and a deeper connection to students’ cultural heritage. … The addition of books that reflect Hispanic cultures and experiences will promote inclusivity and help students develop a deeper understanding of the world around them. This is especially important in a bilingual school setting where students’ diverse backgrounds are central to the community. The selection of books will be carefully curated to ensure a balance of high-interest, age-appropriate literature that caters to diverse interests and reading abilities. We will focus on acquiring books that not only promote literacy but also reflect the richness of the Spanish-speaking world, offering stories and themes that resonate with our students’ lived experiences.”
Hood River Valley High School, Hood River Options Academy
Yearbook Cameras For A Beautiful Yearbook! – Jen Durand
“The Hood River Valley High School yearbook program seeks funding for new DSLR cameras to enhance our students’ ability to capture high-quality images that represent the heart of our school community. Current equipment is outdated, limiting students’ ability to learn modern photography techniques and produce professional-grade content. With new cameras, students will gain valuable hands-on experience in digital media, building skills in photography, storytelling, and design. Upgraded equipment will also ensure that our yearbook continues to be a cherished keepsake for students and families.”