Education Funding Grants

Grants

July 19, 2007 5 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

GRANTS AWARDED

NEA Grants

The NEA Foundation recently announced the winners of its Summer 2007 Student Achievement grants and Learning & Leadership grants.

The $5,000 Student Achievement grants are awarded to public school teachers who improve students’ knowledge of standards-based subject matter. Winners for Summer 2007 are:

Alaska: Rhett D. Buchanan, Teeland Middle School, Wasilla.

Arizona: Jesus Arrizon, Southwest Junior High School, San Luis.

California: Jenni Taylor, Environmental Charter High School, Lawndale.

Florida: Angela Hale, Forest Grove Middle School, Fort Pierce.

Illinois: Nathan Meyer, Tri-Valley Middle School, Downs; Esther Oganda Ohito, John J. Pershing West Magnet School, Chicago.

Kentucky: Kimberly Lesher, Farnsley Middle School, Louisville.

Michigan: Julie Reyers, Grand Rapids Montessori High School, Grand Rapids.

Minnesota: Glory Ann Oljace, Pillsbury Mathematics, Science, and Technology Magnet School, Minneapolis.

Missouri: Linda Beebe-Boring, Westview Elementary School, Lee’s Summit.

New Jersey:Kristen Van Ollefen, Mawbey Street School No. 1, Woodbridge.

New York: Jonathan Atlas, Trinity Elementary School of Communication, New Rochelle; Jennifer Bodkin, Haverstraw Middle School, Haverstraw.

North Carolina: Mary Brandenburg, Gray’s Creek High School, Hope Mills; Teresa Anne Caron, Swain County High School, Bryson City.

Texas: Jennifer Morrier, Boone Elementary School, Houston; Benjamin A. Underwood, Travis Middle School, McAllen.

Vermont: Deborah Johnson, Troy School, North Troy.

Virginia: Deborah Greif, Grayson County High School, Independence.

Learning and Leadership grants support public school teachers and staff members either as individuals or in groups. Individual grants of $2,000 are awarded to fund participation in professional development programs, and $5,000 group grants are awarded to fund collegial study or mentoring experiences for faculty who are new to an assignment. A list of recipients is below.

Alabama: Lisa Marie Allen, Orange Beach Elementary School, Orange Beach.

Alaska: Dona J. Helmer, College Gate Elementary School, Anchorage; Gabrielle Willis, Anchorage School District, Anchorage.

Arizona: Andrea Rodriguez, Dietz Elementary School, Tucson.

California: Gwen Hines, Mountain View High School, El Monte; Sharon Regner, C.T. English Middle School, Los Gatos.

Delaware: Linda Teplica, Lord Baltimore Elementary School, Ocean View.

Georgia: Antoinette C. Smith, Cedar Grove Middle School, Decatur.

Idaho: Karen L. Smith, The Independent School District of Boise City, Boise.

Indiana: Mary Jane Gregan, Burnett Creek Elementary School, West Lafayette.

Louisiana: Aleshia C. Taylor, Northeast High School, Pride.

Maryland: James David Heller, James H. Blake High School, Silver Spring; Ellen K. Singer, Belmont Elementary School, Olney.

Michigan: Leigh Howell, Menominee Area Public Schools, Menominee.

Minnesota: Kelly Ann Frankenfield, Jefferson Elementary School, Faribault.

Missouri: Stephanie Marie True, Bayless Intermediate School, St. Louis.

New Jersey: Donna Hutcheson, Spring Garden School, Nutley.

New York: Frances Diaz-Sanhueza, Public School 116, Brooklyn; Marisol Ponte-Greenberg, The Bath Beach School, Brooklyn; Jennifer A. Spina, Ontario Primary School, Ontario Center; John Walsh, Irwin M. Altman Middle School 172, Floral Park.

Ohio: Bethlea H. Pieratt, Monroe Elementary School, Monroe.

Oklahoma: Ginger L. Kneller, Jane Addams Elementary School, Tulsa.

Oregon: Mike Barber, Metropolitan Learning Center, Portland.

Wisconsin: Donna Jo P. Cuyler, South Milwaukee High School, South Milwaukee; Jayne E. Jaskolski, Twenty-First Street School, Milwaukee.

International Education

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have announced a 3-year, $9.1 million grant to Pratham, a Mumbai, India-based nonprofit organization, in support of its Read India initiative.

Carnegie Corporation

The Carnegie Corporation of New York has announced a $10 million grant to New Visions for Public Schools for the second phase of its New Century High School Initiative, which aims to prepare high-school students for college and the workforce.

Early-Childhood Education

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices awarded $10,000 grants to 10 states to develop policies that address the needs of at-risk infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The states are: Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia.

Afterschool and Summer Learning Programs

Teams of education leaders in Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Rhode Island received $50,000 grants to improve afterschool and summer learning opportunities for students through the Supporting Student Success initiative, sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices.

The New York City-based Atlantic Philanthropies recently awarded a two-year, $1.5 million grant to the Los Angeles-based After-School All-Stars to help build the organization’s leadership team and deliver services and support for its local chapters.

Arts Education

The Starr Foundation, based in New York City, awarded a one-year, $1.5 million grant to Young Audiences, also based in New York, for its Arts for Learning Lessons program. Arts for Learning Lessons provides 5,000 children with arts-based literacy instruction.

Catholic Schools

The Archdiocese of New York City received a $22.5 million gift from investor Robert Wilson for the Cardinal’s Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to children who wish to attend a Catholic school in the city.

Learning Disabilities

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in Lansdowne, Va., awarded a total of $1.5 million in grants to four private schools that are meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities. The schools are the ASSETS School in Honolulu; Lawrence School in Cleveland; Chartwell School in Seaside, Calif.; and the Jemicy School in Owings Mills, Md.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the July 18, 2007 edition of Education Week

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Hiring, Retention, and Fill Rates: A Data-Driven Sub Strategy
Explore what keeps substitutes coming back and hear how one district rebuilt its substitute hiring process and improved its fill rate.
Content provided by Frontline Education
Early Childhood K-12 Essentials Forum Early Childhood Education: Building Essential Skills for Success
Join this free virtual event to examine the biggest challenges in supporting young children, from preschool through elementary school. 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Absenteeism Webinar
Attendance Isn't an Attendance Problem
Boost attendance by strengthening relationships, belonging, and support with practical strategies from Doug Fisher & Nancy Frey.
Content provided by Corwin

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding Video What's in Store for School Funding for 2026-27?
A new education tax credit, federal budget negotiations, and more are in store.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 17, 2026.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Eric Lee for Education Week
Education Funding Trump's Education Department Is Letting Tens of Millions of Dollars Expire
Education Week found the agency didn't spend its full budget last year and appears on track to do so again.
10 min read
A collage-style illustration of images of the U.S. Department of Education building, the U.S. Capitol building, and dollar bills on top of a wooden school desktop with a pencil on it and a school bus underneath. The dollar bills appear to have been punched out with a hole punch in a few areas, and those missing circles are sprinkled on the desk and school bus below.
Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
Education Funding From the Feds on Down, School Funding Is Uncertain. What to Know
Federal turbulence during the Trump administration highlights the precarity of state and local funding, too.
7 min read
An illustration of three school leaders at a desk and one is holding an umbrella. They are all looking up into the sky where a sun is peeking through several clouds that are depicting dollar bills.
Illustration by Robert Neubecker for Education Week
Education Funding Trump Cut Their Education Grants. Here’s What Happened Next
Grantees whose work ground to a halt last year lament broken promises and abandoned projects.
15 min read
Dr. Stephanie Cross, a professor at Georgia State University, photographed in her home in Brookhaven, Georgia.
Stephanie Lee Behm Cross, a professor at Georgia State University, stands in her home in Brookhaven, Ga., on July 13, 2026. Cross ran a teacher-residency program funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant until the funding was abruptly terminated in February 2025.
Dustin Chambers for Education Week