The Virginia Beach Education Foundation (VBEF) has awarded a record $150,000 in grant funding this school year to support innovative projects and learning programs in Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS). At the foundation’s annual Teacher Grants Improve Futures (TGIF) Celebration Dec. 6, it formally recognized the recipients of the 71 grants as well as grant underwriters.

Also announced at the event was the winning artwork for the foundation’s 2018 Commemorative Print. “If I Could Keep You Little” by Leigh Drake, Old Donation School art teacher, was selected through an online voting process that closed Dec. 5.

Through its Adopt A+ Grants program, the VBEF awards both innovative learning grants and schoolwide grants that support classroom instruction and improve student learning and achievement. Grants for 2017-2018 projects were awarded to 38 different schools and included 15 schoolwide grants and 56 innovative learning grants.

Innovative learning grants provide teachers with up to $2,000 for materials, supplies and expenses related to activities, experiments and inventive learning opportunities for children. Up to $5,000 is awarded for schoolwide grants, which are designed to support activities and programs that will benefit the entire school community.

All grants are funded through corporate underwriters and personal donations made directly to the foundation as well as proceeds from two annual fundraising events: The Pearls of Wisdom Oyster Roast scheduled for April 14, 2018, and a golf tournament scheduled for June 27, 2018 at Heron Ridge.

Congratulations to the schools and grant directors listed below for their award-winning 2017-2018 VBEF grant projects.

Schoolwide Grants

• Alanton Elementary School, “This Ain’t Your Momma’s Library…Anymore,” Fara Faust (grant director), Virginia Beach Schools Federal Credit Union (grant underwriter)
• Cooke Elementary School, “Code, Create & Collaborate in MakerLab,” Amy Rille (grant director), Verizon Foundation (grant underwriter)
• Corporate Landing Elementary School, “Widening the World through Publishing,” Amy Furlich (grant director), Beach Windows & Siding (grant underwriter)
• Glenwood Elementary School, “Makin’ It Gator Great!” Tammie Soccio (grant director), Lifetouch (grant underwriter)
• King’s Grant Elementary School, “Innovation Nation: Everyone Can Be Part of the In Crowd,” Sharon Darling (grant director), MassMutual (grant underwriter)
• Landstown High School, “Eagle Wind Power,” Keith Leonard (grant director), HBA Architecture & Interior Design (grant underwriter)
• Linkhorn Park Elementary School, “Teching Out MakerSpace,” Ashley Bash (grant director), The Breeden Company (grant underwriter)
• Old Donation School, “Fin-tastically Fun Sustainability,” Caitlin Kaminski (grant director), RRMM Architects (grant underwriter)
• Rosemont Forest Elementary School, “Oh, the Places We’ll Go (Virtually),” Sheena Smith (grant director), Quality Stone Concepts (grant underwriter)
• Rosemont Forest Elementary School, “Welcome to the STEMnasium,” Brad Ward (grant director), GeoEnvironmental Resources (grant underwriter)
• Salem Elementary School, “It’s Pure Genius Time,” Lindsey Olinda (grant director), Youth Services Club of Virginia Beach (grant underwriter)
• Trantwood Elementary School, “R.E.E.F.S. Restoring Environmental Endowments for Future Sustainability,” Kathy Dungan (grant director), Beach Municipal Federal Credit Union (grant underwriter)
• White Oaks Elementary School, “Learning Garden,” Kimberly Williams (grant director), Optima Health (grant underwriter)
• Windsor Oaks Elementary School, “Seeing Our Learning in 3-D,” Irene Sclafani (grant director), Kiwanis Club of Norfolk Foundation (grant underwriter)
• Windsor Oaks Elementary School, “Full STEAM Ahead – Starting a Makerspace,” Irene Sclafani (grant director), Horace Mann (grant underwriter)

 

Innovative Learning Grants

• Alanton Elementary School, “Learning to Express Yourself with Legos,” Fara Faust and Heather Thomas (grant directors), Damuth Trane (grant underwriter)
• Bayside High School, “Robots in the Classroom,” Brenda Lamb and Kim Barboe (grant directors), HBA Architecture & Interior Design (grant underwriter)
• Brandon Middle School, “Bringing Creativity and Innovation to the Library,” Krisha Loftus and Amy Ricks (grant directors), Sheila & Steve Magula (grant underwriter)
• Cooke Elementary School, “Creating Mini-Makers with Stories,” Amy Rille (grant director), Tidewater Home Funding, Waller Todd & Sadler Architects (grant underwriters)
• Cooke Elementary School, ”Exploring Molecules with ‘Happy Atoms,’” Madeline Isacoff (grant director), Speight Marshall & Francis (grant underwriter)
• Cooke Elementary School, “Doggone Kind Kids!” Katrina Wright (grant director), RRMM Architects (grant underwriter)
• Corporate Landing Elementary School, “Reading in the Wild: Student Choice Book Clubs,” Amy Furlich (grant director), Cherry Bekaert (grant underwriter)
• Creeds Elementary School, “Climate Change Crusaders,” Diane Marx and Lilly Lillie (grant directors), Speight Marshall & Francis (grant underwriter)
• Creeds Elementary School, “Planting the Seeds of Tomorrow: Literacy Garden,” Diane Marx and Tammy Humphreys (grant directors), Whole Foods (grant underwriter)
• Dey Elementary School, “And the Award Goes to…” Karen Reidelbach and Susan Hardesty (grant directors), Kimley-Horn (grant underwriter)
• Dey Elementary School, “Elementary Mechanics Find Machines Simple!” Karen Reidelbach and Tiffany Johnson (grant directors), Damuth Trane, PACE Collaborative (grant underwriter)
• Dey Elementary School, “‘Bee’ing Problem Solvers,” Kristy Hingerty (grant director), Damuth Trane (grant underwriter)
• Dey Elementary School, “Munch N’ Math,” Karen Reidelbach and Suzanne Buhner (grant directors), PACE Collaborative (grant underwriter)
• Dey Elementary School, “Oysters, Collaboration and Water Quality,” Nicholas Tempest and Sarita Cole (grant directors), Virginia Beach Education Association (grant underwriter)
• Dey Elementary School, “Green Screeners,” Edgar Jumper (grant director), Speight Marshall & Francis (grant underwriter)
• Dey Elementary School, “Coding + Creating = Children Loving Computer Science,” Kristy Hingerty and Susan Hardesty, Virginia Beach Education Association (grant underwriter)
• Glenwood Elementary School, “Building Our Way to Math with Legos,” Barbara Kimpan and Nancy Fanning-Munson (grant directors), Virginia Beach Education Association (grant underwriter)
• Indian Lakes Elementary School, “Making with Minecraft,” Kim Harrison and Kelly Hoggard (grant directors), Comfort Systems of Virginia (grant underwriter)
• Kellam High School, “Kellam High School Peer Tutoring Center,” Carrie Gantt (grant director), Beach Windows & Siding (grant underwriter)
• Kempsville Middle School, “Commit to be Fit 2020: New Approach, New Equipment and New Curriculum for Secondary Health and Physical Education,” Joey Caruthers and Mary Sutterluety (grant directors), Optima Health (grant underwriter)
• Landstown Elementary School, “Adding the Science in STEAM,” Nicole Cabral and Christina Enlow (grant directors), Thompson Consulting Engineers (grant underwriter)
• Landstown Elementary School, “The Coding Corner,” Nicole Cabral and Terri Troia (grant directors), Beach Windows & Siding (grant underwriter)
• Larkspur Middle School, “Instagrammar,” Vashti Richards and Melanie Hamblin (grant directors), Horace Mann (grant underwriter)
• Linkhorn Park Elementary School, “Constructing Lego Mathematicians Block by Block,” Timothy Bakner (grant director), Quality Stone Concepts (grant underwriter)
• Lynnhaven Middle School, “Breaking into Breakout Boxes is a BLAST!” Bryan Dulmage (grant director) MacDonald & Ingram Wealth Mgt., Design Systems & Services Corp (grant underwriters)
• Lynnhaven Middle School, “Bluefish Video Production Studio,” Bryan Dulmage and Beth Camper (grant directors), Waller Todd & Sadler Architects (grant underwriter)
• New Castle Elementary School, “Ukuleles for Learning,” Susan Hall (grant director), Jakes Smokehouse Bar-B-Que & Catherine’s Catering (grant underwriters)
• Ocean Lakes High School, “Engaging Escape Room Experiences,” Jim Cartwright and Lindsey Peterson (grant directors), Optima Health (grant underwriter)
• Ocean Lakes High School, “SECCES: Student Engagement Constructing Collaborative Educational Spaces,” Jim Cartwright and Scott Sonier (grant directors), Thompson Consulting Engineers (grant underwriter)
• Ocean Lakes High School, “Students Learning & Earning with Spirit T’s,” Jim Cartwright and Rebecca Strohm (grant directors), Beach Municipal Federal Credit Union (grant underwriter)
• Old Donation School, “Sew Me, Code Me, Show Me!” Christina Troxell and Tammy Henderson (grant directors), Kimley-Horn (grant underwriter)
• Pembroke Elementary School, “Comics for a Cause,” Susan Ruhl and Melinda O’Reilly (grant directors), Virginia Beach Education Association (grant underwriter)
• Pembroke Elementary School, “Dash to the Future,” Melinda O’Reilly and Susan Ruhl (grant directors), Presidio (grant underwriter)
• Pembroke Meadows Elementary School, “Let’s Go LEGO,” Lauren Pate and Aria Shindelar (grant directors), The Breeden Company (grant underwriter)
• Pembroke Meadows Elementary School, “Unleash the Power of Solar Energy with Globalized STEAM,” Lauren Pate and Dianne Saal (grant directors), HBA Architecture & Interior Design (grant underwriter)
• Plaza Middle School, “Little Free Library Literacy Warriors,” Katherine Doyle and Mitzy Cromwell (grant directors), Waller Todd & Sadler Architects (grant underwriter)
• Point O’View Elementary School, “Bee-Bots: Programming and Robotics for Kids,” Mercedes Rivera and Wendi Williams (grant directors), Kiwanis Club of Norfolk Foundation (grant underwriter)
• Princess Anne High School, “Curved Space Time Simulator and Our Place in the Solar System,” Jeff Kinser (grant director), The Breeden Company, Kiwanis Club of Norfolk Foundation (grant underwriters)
• Princess Anne Middle School, “Break Out of the Ordinary!” Meaghan Sachs (grant director), RRMM Architects (grant underwriter)
• Rosemont Forest Elementary School, “Beyond Coding with Kano,” Sheena Smith and Brad Ward (grant directors), Thompson Consulting Engineers (grant underwriter)
• Rosemont Forest Elementary School, “Welcome to the STEAM Room,” Brad Ward (grant director), GEICO (grant underwriter)
• Rosemont Forest Elementary School, “Cultivating Curiosity and Computational Thinking with Cubelets,” Brad Ward (grant director), PACE Collaborative (grant underwriter)
• Rosemont Forest Elementary School, “Kid’s Baking Championship: Sweet Science Edition Season 2,” Brad Ward (grant director), Cherry Bekaert (grant underwriter)
• Salem High School, “Literary Scientists,” Cindy Kube (grant director), Beach Municipal Federal Credit Union (grant underwriter)
• Salem High School, “Putting the Arts Back in Language Arts,” Lacy Krell and Allyson Taylor (grant directors), Lifetouch (grant underwriter)
• Salem Middle School, “Promenade through the Arts: Innovative Creation Showcase,” Laura Parker and Jennifer Mazur (grant directors), Speight Marshall & Francis (grant underwriter)
• Salem Middle School, “Field Trips without Permission Slips,” Heather Wade (grant director), Lifetouch (grant underwriter)
• Seatack Elementary School An Achievable Dream Academy, “Lego My Makerspace,” Jennifer Evans and Anne Bianchi (grant directors), Waller Todd & Sadler Architects (grant underwriter)
• Shelton Park Elementary School, “Big Learning with Little Robots,” Deana Hubbell and Cathy Bowler (grant directors), GEICO (grant underwriter)
• Shelton Park Elementary School, “Making Global Connections with Level Up Village,” Deana Hubbell and Amanda Pontifex (grant directors), Presidio (grant underwriter)
• Three Oaks Elementary School, “Interactive Multisensory Learning Garden,” Lorrie Voshell and Christiane Sosnowski-McFarland (grant directors), Virginia Beach Garden Club (grant underwriter)
• Trantwood Elementary School, “Dashing through Music,” Gina Lane and Brooke Martinette (grant directors), Thompson Consulting Engineers (grant underwriter)
• Trantwood Elementary School, “Making a Difference Using Makerspace,” Susan Jerasa and Lisa Lee (grant directors), PACE Collaborative (grant underwriter)
• Trantwood Elementary School, “One Book, One School, One World,” Janet Roewer and Nancy Lambert (grant directors), Patsy & Jim Slaughter (grant underwriter)
• Virginia Beach Middle School, “Finding My Voice,” Leah Krueger and Melissa Kramarczuk (grant directors), Damuth Trane (grant underwriter), Quality Stone Concepts (grant underwriter)
• Woodstock Elementary School, “Sparking Some Curious Fun while Creating ThingAMaJigs with the Rigamajigs,” Stephanie Wyman (grant director), Horace Mann (grant underwriter)

To read more about VBEF grants and special events, to donate to the foundation’s Adopt A+ Grants program, or to purchase commemorative prints, visit www.vbef.org or contact VBEF coordinator Debbie Griffey at 757-263-1069.