Innovative projects in every La Crosse public school and in every curriculum area have been funded through the classroom grants program of the La Crosse Public Education Foundation.
About 90 grants, totaling more than $128,000, have been awarded in just the past two school years. For more background on our grants programs, as well as our annual Grants Award Luncheon, go to our Awarded Grants page.
Here are snapshots of some recent projects:
Plan-Do-Study-Act: a systems approach to improved learning
North Woods International Teacher Iliana Gonzalez-DeRemer engages students in a discussion about the benefits of planning.
At North Woods International School, teachers are creating a collaborative community of learners out of two Spanish-immersion classrooms for 4th and 5th grades.
In the team-based approach, students are in groups at tables, or in comfortable seating around the room. They are learning to use a continuous improvement approach: to plan what they intend to learn; to actually “do” the learning (not just “get” taught); then to analyze what worked and what didn’t; and finally to try alternatives and improve their outcomes.
Students will keep reflection journals and track their own growth through data.
RECIPIENTS: Iliana Gonzalez-DeRemer and Jessica Hembd
GRANT AMOUNT: $2,500
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- Amanda Thao (in back) with Lilly Retzlaff (left) and Emily Thao explore the globe.
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- Teacher Iliana Gonzalez-DeRemer watches as William Klatte programs an animation.
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- Emmerson Harcey, left, discusses plans with Iliana Gonzalez-DeRemer and Evelyn Gondola.
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- (Left to right:) David Elsen, Andrew Stanton and Maxim Roberts take up comfortable positions to begin their research.
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- Chosyn Michel, left, listens as Lai-Chia Vang makes a point.
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- (Left to right:) Emmerson Harcey, Ayla Miller and Lydia Mason work on their project using chairs purchased with grant money.
Engaging students in academics through musical instruments
Derrick Pangier, Taylor Turner and Damairius Mitjans-Banks use music to explain living systems vocabulary, such as geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.
Students at Spence Elementary are using musical instruments to bring science, social studies and other lessons to life. “The biggest thing is engagement,” says 5th-grade teacher Alyssa Gray. On this day, students composed music to help them study and understand science vocabulary.
RECIPIENT: Alyssa Gray
GRANT AMOUNT: $600
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- Asher Pleuss-Grimslid.
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- Cassara Herrera, Nicholas Oldenburg and Corbin Fitzgerald.
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- Teacher Alyssa Gray watches on as Jabari Roberson, Jayden Delao and Annika Forde perform.
Study of subatomic particles capped by Fermilab visit
Students in Central High’s Advanced Placement Chemistry class visited the control room at the Fermilab near Chicago in May as a capstone to their year-long study of subatomic particles. Students learned about the particle accelerator and other research, plus had a Q&A session with one of the scientists.
RECIPIENT: Naomi Golden
GRANT AMOUNT: $1,200
New mouthpieces make better music
Alana Seddon, music teacher at Logan Middle, works with 8th-graders Gao Na Thao and Gianna Hutchinson as they use mouthpieces purchased for school instruments with a grant for $1,127. Students enjoy improved sound quality and can play more easily.
Recycling bottle caps and lids into art
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- Summit Elementary students made art using discarded bottle cap lids.
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- Teacher Carissa Brudos assists a student as she drills the lid to the board.
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- Lids that otherwise would have ended up in the landfill became colorful art projects.
Summit Elementary students make art from discarded bottle cap lids, inspired by an artist who visited both Summit and North Woods schools. The $2,050 LPEF grant was awarded to Summit teacher Carissa Brudos and North Woods teacher Maria Mason.
Building math skills with tiny house design
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- Avonte Gaut-Page, a sixth-grader at Logan Middle School, works on his tiny house design during a summer school class.
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- Genesis Perren works on her floor plan.
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- Kellie Schmitz works with Mai Cheng Thao and Mai Ji Tjap
Students put math to work in designing floor plans, then had some hands-on fun using matchsticks to build their tiny houses. The project was one of several aimed at engaging students in developing reading and math skills with real-life experiences and hands-on projects.
RECIPIENT: Kellie Schmitz
GRANT AMOUNT: $1,200
