Educators from over 50 Round Rock ISD campuses and departments were selected to receive $126,000 in Excellence in Education Grants from the Round Rock ISD Partners in Education (PIE) Foundation.

The Excellence in Education Grants provide resources for educators to execute innovative ideas, programs, materials, equipment, field trips and various other needs that enhance student learning. All Round Rock ISD students are impacted by the grants in some capacity.

“Innovation in the classroom is so important for our students as it provides unique opportunities to expand the learning process in the classroom,” said Marianne Reap, PIE Foundation executive director. “The Foundation has found through reading these amazing grant requests that we have students in our community that have never had the opportunity to visit a museum, attended a play or opera, have not experienced creating and maintaining a garden, are in need of hygiene kits and so many other materials and items that we may take for granted. Through the PIE Foundation Excellence in Education Grants, our teachers will now have the necessary funding to fulfill their creative ideas and provide new information and interests to their students.”

To award the grants this year, the PIE Foundation, along with board members and members of Round Rock ISD administration surprised one campus and their grant winners in each of the District’s five learning communities throughout the week of Aug. 26 through Aug. 30. A video highlight capturing the excitement of the surprise, and the announcement of the remaining winners, were posted to the District’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Vimeo pages to share the good news with winners and the community.

Videos from Cedar Ridge, McNeil, Round Rock, Stony Point, Westwood learning communities and District Departments.

Photo galleries from the surprise visits can be found on the District’s Smug Mug page.

View the list of campuses and Round Rock ISD department Grant recipients:

 

Cedar Ridge Learning Community 

  • Rodney Page $2,000 Phoenix Rising Young Men’s Service, Success HS
  • Angela Floyd/Anita Savva $660 Functional Feedback, Ridgeview MS
  • Michael Plaza $2,550 Learning Modules for Student Learning, Cedar Ridge HS
  • Brenda Speck $3,500 The Great Outdoor Classroom, Berkman ES
  • Stephen Cage $4,000 Robotics Club , C.D. Fulkes MS
  • Jo Moyer $785 Young Women’s Mentoring Group, Success HS
  • Liliana McSween $950 Brain Breaks Bring Better Behavior, Forest Creek ES
  • Travis Mutscher $1,500 Principal Grant, Ridgeview MS
  • Rob McDonald $5,000 BBQ Equipment, Cedar Ridge HS
  • Ellen Lukasik $1,300 Computer Science for All, Success HS
  • Lori Keller $2,500 Drop Everything and Lead Student Groups, Blackland Prairie ES
  • Mat Bartley $4,100 Professional Sketching in CTE, Ridgeview MS
  • Pamela Nagar $2,000 Ready Bodies, Learning Minds, Callison ES
  • Caty Hight $1,000 Princeton Review Kit-AVID, Cedar Ridge HS

 

McNeil Learning Community

  • Kristen Prud’Homme $1,000 Classroom Carpets Come Alive, Joe Lee Johnson ES
  • Gigi Schoener $2,000 Transformation Room, Brushy Creek ES
  • Dan Nguyen $1,000 Princeton Review Kits-AVID, McNeil HS
  • Ellen Frazier $2,000 Fine Arts Got Talent: Art and Music Collaborative, Pond Springs ES
  • Carol Hand-Bryan $870 Outdoor Learning, Live Oak ES
  • Emily Kupersztoch/Amy Terrazas/Taryn Ostendorf $2,000 Literacy Without Borders Growing a World Languages Collection For All Learners, England ES
  • Kristen Fournier $1,500 Those Kids Got Skills: Social-Emotional Skills Classroom Libraries Initiative, Forest North ES
  • Stephanie Ludlow $2,000 Circle of Arts Friends, Pearson Ranch MS
  • Jerry Marie Rodriguez $1,500 Leveled and Diverse Texts, Deerpark MS

 

Round Rock Learning Community 

  • Marla Menchaca $3,500 Discovering the Importance of Biology Through Student Directed Inquiry and Project Based Learning, Round Rock HS
  • April Harris $430 Hands-On-Literacy, Cactus Ranch ES
  • Chris Caldwell $1,000 The Language of Arts Visual Literacy, Chisholm Trail MS
  • Marlin Parrack $1,450 Speak Up! Listen Up! Level Up!, Walsh MS
  • Gabriela Cowen $1,770 College and Career Readiness Club, Cedar Valley MS
  • Rebecca Peacock $525 Playful Mathematics, Bluebonnet ES
  • Jennifer McMullen $152 Brag Tags, Cactus Ranch ES
  • Randi Chaverria $3,500 CAD and Pattern Making and Plotter, Round Rock HS
  • Elaine Deanda/Gabby Seale $2,400 Growing Powerful Readers, Deep Wood ES
  • Madison Kennedy $2,000 Bluebonnet Enrichment and Discovery Hour, Bluebonnet ES
  • Lauren Lansford $2,250 Laying the Groundwork for a Mindful Campus, Chisholm Trail MS
  • Crystal Bridge $880 Raz-Kids are Rockin’ Readers!, Cactus Ranch ES
  • Matt Goff $1,500 Principal Grant,Round Rock HS
  • Jennifer Mercer $2,250 Walk This Way, Fern Bluff ES
  • Denna Wolf $910 Sensory Path Hallway, Great Oaks ES
  • Cynthia Clement $1,000 Princeton Review Kits-AVID, Round Rock HS
  • Corianna Gagliardi and Amanda Williams $2,000 Book Club Bonanza!, Sommer ES

 

Stony Point Learning Community 

  • Andrea DeAngelis $640 STEM Enrichment for 8th Grade Science, Coding and Technology Classes, Hopewell MS
  • Kendal Mowers $670 The Write Start, Herrington ES
  • Staci Gammage $1,000 Princeton Review Kits-AVID, Stony Point HS
  • Tiffany Vogelman $422 Kinder Cool Down, Double File Trail ES
  • Christina Weshahi/Erin Appl/Carly Ferrill $756 Growing Little Learners, Caldwell Heights ES
  • Kelly Perch $2,500 STEM Think Tank, Hernandez MS
  • Sandra Aguais $2,200 Outdoor Classroom, Union Hill ES
  • Claudia Faulkner $2,000 Leemos para Aprender, Hopewell MS
  • Pamala Bethke $2,500 STEM Time with the Ambassadors of STEM, Stony Point HS
  • Amanda Sickert $1,200 Mindfulness Grows Here, DAEP
  • Leigh Ann Burnell $1,730 Building Equity Through Culturally Responsive Literature, Herrington ES
  • Stephanie Stoebe $1,072 Seeing Myself in the Literacy Library, Teravista ES
  • Melissa Toy $870 Light Up Our Life, Robertson ES

 

Westwood Learning Community 

 

  • Sharilyn Woodall $1,100 Powerful Learning Centers, Anderson Mill ES
  • Sara Dietert $1,500 Creating Leaders Through Literacy, Canyon Vista MS
  • James Allen $2,000 Using Hydroponics and Ag-Science to Spark Interest in Biotech Careers, Round Rock Opportunity Center
  • Jessica Rinehart $1,000 Princeton Review Kits-AVID, Westwood HS
  • Jean Riggins $560 Chick Life Cycle-Problem Based Learning, Canyon Creek ES
  • Jennifer Foster $2,500 Community Fence Art, Anderson Mill ES
  • Tim Bray $1,360 Reading for Cultural Languages, Westwood HS
  • Danielle Oehler $1,470 Technology Enhancing Reading, Purple Sage ES
  • Alexandra Peoples $1,500 Facilitating Inquiry Through Participation Experiences, Spicewood ES
  • Trissa Williams $1,100 Raising Awareness about Anxiety, Westwood HS

 

Departments 

  • Darell Emanuel, Round Rock ISD Curriculum Department; $2,200 for STEMFest 2020
  • Desiree Le, Round Rock ISD State and Federal Department; $1,500 for Meeting Homeless Youth Basic Needs in Round Rock ISD
  • Kelly Martin, Round Rock ISD Community Education Department; $2,000 for Parent Seminars
  • Askia Little, Round Rock ISD Curriculum Department; $2,600 for Argument Driven Inquiry
  • Margo Vogelpohl, Round Rock ISD State and Federal Department; $3,000 for Pre-K Rodeo and Rock Ready
  • Edie Binns, Round Rock ISD Professional Development Department; $1,000 for Professional Learning
  • Tim Lowke, Round Rock ISD Fine Art Department; $2,000 for Addressing Hunger in Round Rock
  • Dr. Lora Darden, Round Rock ISD Future Readiness Department; $2,500 for AVID Senior Celebration
  • Michelle Swain, Round Rock ISD Gifted and Advanced Academics Department; $5,000 for AP Exam Fee Scholarships