We are proud to provide 61 educators and 56 schools over $53,000 in grants to fund their creative class projects. Congratulations to the recipients and thank you to all of the educators in our communities dedicated to finding innovative ways to teach their students.
If you have any questions, please email spark@selco.org.
Alsea Elementary School
- Miranda Treadway, “Classroom Hydroponics” — Providing an opportunity to grow fruits and vegetables in a hydroponic system to better understand where their food comes from.
Applegate Elementary School
- Melinda McGladrey, “Enabling Success: Tools for Autism and Behavioral Life Skills” — Creating a supportive, inclusive, and stimulating environment where every student can thrive academically and socially.
Awbrey Park Elementary School
- Kerri Sage, “Conscious Discipline Shubert Books” — Providing the “Conscious Discipline Shubert” series, a unique set of books designed to build character through conflict for both children and adults.
Barnes Butte Elementary School
- Ashley Hawkins, “Exploration Stations” — Providing enriching project-based learning through STEAM activities, while teaching the skills of collaboration, cooperation, and communication.
Bertha Holt Elementary School
- Tracy Zehner, “Ukuleles for Musical, Cognitive, and Social Growth” — Becoming artists and composers through ensemble ukulele playing, while developing sensorimotor coordination and social interactions with classmates.
- Ashley Reich, “Name Our Chain! Holt Bolts Rock! ” — Showing our school spirit by proudly displaying our school name on the chain-link fence outside our school.
Blanchet Catholic School
- Toni Nanneman, “Buddies Boxes” — Purchasing new buddy boxes and refreshing others with quality activities and basic supplies.
Buena Vista Elementary School
- Christal Miller, “Learning Place Value with Classroom Economy” — Providing money bags to aid students in developing financial literacy through an immersive classroom economy.
Caldera High School
- Becky Horst, “Introduction to Medical Careers: The Apprentice Doctor” — Providing students with the materials necessary to learn and practice real-life, hands-on skills, which will generate new interest in healthcare careers and retain students in CTE classes.
- Josh Pikop, “Finger Skateboard Maker” — Designing and building personalized finger boards to play and show off to their friends, sparking creativity and excitement!
- Laura Gemignani, “Empowering Tomorrow’s Biotechnologists: Lab Coats for High School Students” — Providing lab coats for biotechnology class for ensuring safety, fostering responsibility, and enhancing professionalism.
Cascades Academy of Central Oregon
- Colin McCusker, “Sustainable Hydroponic Window Gardens” — Designing and fabricating sustainable hydroponic window gardens that provide organic herbs and greens to our PK-12 lunch program.
Cascades Elementary School
- Roxanne Savedra, “Printing Our Own Shirts” — Providing an ecotank printer with sublimation ink and paper to print created designs that will be heat transferred onto shirts to represent school pride and clubs.
Centennial Elementary School
- Amy Donaldson, “Good Game!” — Providing kindergarten students and their 4th-grade buddy class with a series of age-appropriate games and activities ... endless opportunities to practice and develop good sportsmanship and emotion regulation.
- Karen Tunnell, “Making Movies in the Classroom” — Taking our writing from words on a page to a finished project that really shines through iPads.
Cesar Chavez Elementary School
- Martha Dyer, “Chavez Library Literature Circles” — Providing opportunity for book discussions involving choice, ownership, responsibility, and chance to share insights within a circle.
Cheldelin Middle School
- Jacob Gradek, “Titan Rescue Project” — Creating opportunities for students to use teamwork, their knowledge of physics, and engineering to build custom rocket nosecones.
Clear Lake Elementary School
- Sharie Borneman, “Reading Science - Looking and Listening to the Sounds We Make!” — Purchasing phoneme phones and mirrors to help students learn to become fluent readers as they learn letter sounds and start to read words.
Coffenberry Middle School
- Shelby Shaw, “Special Education Barrier Breaker Center” — Encouraging independent reading and writing using assistive technology through reading pens and headphones with mics.
Culver Elementary School
- Keri Rahi, “Overcoming Obstacles in PE” — Providing PE equipment for students to have diverse experiences for building a foundation for a happy and healthy lifestyle.
Dayville School
- Sydney Thompson, “Digital/Audio Nook” — Creating a space for students in grades 7-12 to access digital reading material and audiobooks in a modern English Language Arts classroom.
Desert Sky Montessori
- Simone Morris-Martin, “Mobile Makerspace” — Building woodworking skills as students create a “Little Free Nature Library” and other school enhancements using tools from a Mobile Makerspace Cart.
Eddyville Charter School
- Stephanie Austin, “Mass Matters!” — Providing quality scales in a small, rural charter school that will help shape quality science students.
Evergreen Middle School
- Scott Harrington, “Powering it Up!” — Using new power tools in hands-on projects and labs in industrial arts/shop class.
Family School
- Abby Nehlslowe, “Learning Kits for Diverse and Complex Communicators” — Increasing functional language and play skills through highly motivating and engaging “core-word” instruction kits.
Forest Grove High School
- Heather Zehr, “The Knit-Witts Club” — Giving the opportunity to relax, unplugged, and channel their creativity by knitting or crocheting.
Gilham Elementary School
- Brian Gulka, “Paint by Numbers” — Igniting a love for art and nurturing creativity by providing paint by numbers for every student in 5th grade.
Green Acres School
- Erica Cooper, “Can You Read Through Space and Time? ” — Purchasing current reading books for students to complete a 40-Book Challenge during the school year.
Guy Lee Elementary School
- Monica Tapia, “Crafting for a Cause” — Warming bodies and hearts through knitting hats on a round loom, one to keep and others to donate to our school Family Resource Center and/or community.
Harrisburg High School
- Janna Swigart, “Mi Mini-Biblioteca & Escape Room Part 2” — Providing a variety of fun, comprehensible novels in Spanish to support language learners and continuing an Escape Room project.
Henry L Slater Elementary School
- Stephanie Lardy, “Slater STEM Class” — Experimenting to determine how physical principles and laws of physics occur using commonly found items.
Junction City Options
- Mindie Ezelle, “Operation Mazlow” — Providing a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment to help meet our students’ basic needs so they may adequately focus on learning.
Kennedy Middle School
- Rebecca Ansen, “Learning and Creating Community Through Books and Play” — Helping students with communication disorders and related learning disabilities increases their expressive communication and social-emotional communication skills through multicultural, literacy-based, and multi-modal engagement tools.
La Pine High School
- Brooke Berry, “Hawks Gear” — Designing and creating Hawks gear that is affordable for the students, staff, and local community.
Lakeview High School
- Jeff Cappe, “Patient Care Simulator Manikin” — Providing future healthcare providers with hands-on experience in patient assessment and care.
Laurel Elementary School
- Jeffery Tompkins, “It's a Great Day to be a Leopard!” — Purchasing video equipment and leopard costume, engaging students, building a positive school culture, and increasing pride in our community.
Lebanon High School
- Tina Carpenter-Walker, “Traditional American Indian Functional Art and Games” — Creating pieces of traditional American Indian functional art and games from five of the seven culture regions within the US to provide tactile experiences that will improve cognitive understanding.
Lincoln Middle School
- Nicholas Krissie, “STEM Rocks!” — Learning the blues the same way Muddy Waters, BB King, and most other blues legends did—by building their own guitars.
London Elementary School
- James Elwell, “Rhythm in Motion” — Investing in adaptive physical fitness integrating, music, exercise, and mathematical fluency.
Malabon Elementary School
- Denae Potterf, “KaPOW! Graphic Novels Engage Readers” — Creating an engaging library of graphic novels featuring a range of diverse characters to spark a life-long love of reading.
Meadow Ridge Elementary School
- Leanna Bennett, “Books for First Year Teachers” — Supporting our new teachers with a class library for all students to use.
- Amber Miller, “Adapted PE” — Providing PE equipment focused on adapted physical education.
- Amy Francis, “DecaDeck cards for First Grade Math” — Purchasing classroom sets of DecaDecks, printed on durable, waterproof plastic paper.
- Jessica Hanslovan, “Wall Mounted Climbing Net” — Providing our students with movement, activities, and climbing that have them feeling happier, healthier, and confident.
Memorial Middle School
- Peter Cook, “Library STEM Cell” — Giving students a space and materials to explore STEM activities in a lower-pressure, non-class environment.
Millicoma School
- Erica Homann, “Watercolor in Nature” — Improving our nature journaling endeavors by purchasing watercolor paints and journals.
Mt. Vernon Elementary School
- Kate Aly Brady, “From Chairs to Choices” — Discovering unique learning needs accessing seating options to better meet them.
Nellie Muir Elementary School
- Michelle Niktab, “STEAM in the Art Room-Stop Motion Animation and More” — Bringing art to life with stop-motion animation and more with technology in the art room!
North Douglas Elementary & Middle School
- David Ghelfi, “ ‘Rocket Club' Elective for Middle Schoolers” — Learning to build, design, and launch model rockets, gaining science, problem solving, and social skills.
Pioneer School
- Tabitha Ramirez, “Creating a Safe Space Starts with SEL” — Teaching students how to identify and respond to feelings in a healthy way through the use of age-appropriate literature.
Riverview Elementary School
- Amealia Schreiter, “Creating a Fun Classroom” — Providing flexible seating to help all students and abilities engage in learning.
Salem Academy Elementary School
- Charis De Vight, “Ukuleles for the Music Room” — Buying ukuleles for the music room along with ukulele tuners, ukulele instruction books, and ukulele storage bags.
Siuslaw High School
- Duane Bean, “Amplifying Student Learning & Creativity With Podcasts” — Providing students with a unique, alternative form of creative expression using their own voices, experiences, and perspectives through podcasts.
Siuslaw Middle School
- Brandi Bailey, “Let's Regulate!” — Equipping students with the life skills, knowledge, and strategies needed to regulate their emotions for a happy and healthy life!
Springfield High School
- Jill Plumb, “Digital Storytelling” — Writing individual scripts and creating a digital rendering with production, filmography, and editing techniques to create a story creatively and technologically for an audience.
Summit High School
- Heather Bussmann, “Graphing Calculators” — Purchasing graphing calculators to close the achievement gap.
Sweetbriar Elementary School
- Rose Thoman, “Instruments for Young Musicians” — Providing colorful glockenspiel, floor drums, and bumble bee puppets for our youngest musicians to explore, play, and create with.
Trinity Lutheran School
- Heather Stueve, “Building Capacity: The Art of Welding” — Providing the opportunity to learn welding skills as they design and build a practical and artful set for a theatrical production.
West Linn High School
- Conor Greaney, "Expanding Access to Emerging Technologies” — Expanding access to creative opportunities and technological experiences by adding a 3D printer to our makerspace.
Whitworth Elementary School
- Ellen Lewing, “We're Jammin’ ” — Providing Jumbie Jam steel drums and a set of instructional materials to start a fun new interactive “World Music unit” for our K-5 Music students.
Willagillespie Community School
- Audrey Hartsfield, “Outdoor Science and Exploration” — Creating an outside learning space that will allow kindergarten students to explore their senses and experience the natural world in alignment with our language arts.