The IRTA Foundation continues to work toward the future by offering $15,000 in grant money to educators.
How the Program Works
Being an educator, do you often think of this phrase - Extra Funds Needed - when it comes to planning special projects for your students? Due to recent state budget cuts, you may be finding that additional revenue sources are no longer available for such unique activities.
The Illinois Retired Teachers Association (IRTA) Foundation is making $15,000 in grant money available to 45 counties in Illinois. This special grant will provide additional funds to public school educators (Pre-K through 12) so that their students will have the means to participate in special projects. The program will rotate each year among Northern, Central, and Southern Illinois. The grant is available in IRTA Areas 5 and 6 for this current year. The following counties are included: Alexander, Bond, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Macon, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Montgomery, Moultrie, Perry, Piatt, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, Shelby, St. Clair, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, and Williamson.
How Can You Participate?
Please download the application by clicking here and complete the grant proposal by describing your needs for the grant, telling how you will use it, and explaining the difference your project will make in the lives of your students. Please submit your application by mail to the IRTA Foundation, 620 N. Walnut St., Springfield, IL 62702. All proposals must be postmarked by September 12, 2008. A special committee will select the recipients of the grant money in October 2008. Recipients will be notified shortly after this time.
2007 IRTAF Grant Winners
In November, the Illinois Retired Teachers Association Foundation (IRTAF) will be awarding over $10,000 in grant money to 29 elementary public school educators (K-6) from Northern Illinois counties. Over 90 applications were received and 28 special projects were chosen. This grant money will allow these educators to enrich their instruction with materials not otherwise available to them. Their students are the real winners! A special thank you to the Illinois Principals Association for their assistance with the promotion of this program.
Below, you will find the name of each winner listed, along with his/her school, the amount of the award, and a summarized paragraph of each project in the winners' own words.
Grant Winner Julie Albers and Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges
Julie Albers, Midland Elementary School, Lacon ($285.00)
At Midland Elementary School in Lacon, teachers have adopted the Four Blocks Framework for literacy instruction. Our teachers at the second grade level use Making Words as an important part in the Working with Words Block of the Four Blocks model. Making Words is a hands-on activity in which children manipulate letters to construct words, sort words by spelling patterns and use sorted patterns to spell and read new words. (Cunningham & Hall, 1994 and 1997). Grant funding will allow us to purchase letter tiles, overhead letter tiles, tile racks and resource materials so that our second grade teachers can effectively use this instructional activity in their teaching.
Local Officer Jean Mann, Grant Winner Mary Alepra, Principal Janean Friedman, and Regional Director Joe Wasson
Mary Alepra, Wethersfield Elementary School, Kewanee ($300.00)
I am seeking funding to purchase software and a membership to a spelling website to provide reading, math and spelling practice and enrichment for my students. By using technology, my students will be motivated to learn and excited to participate in learning center activities. Additional software will better help me to meet the needs of the second graders in my multiage classroom.
Local Officer Linda Hinrichs, Grant Winner Debbie Anderson, Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges, and Principal Michelle Andrews
Debbie Anderson, Hedding Grade School CUSD #217, Abingdon ($475.00)
The IRTAF grant funded my project to increase oral language activities both in my classroom and in the home. Teachers and families should work collaboratively to ensure that children are provided optimal learning experiences. Educators and researchers both agree there is no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together.
Principal Shari Flagg, Grant Winner Lonna Bostic, and Regional Director Joe Wasson
Lonna Bostic, C.R. Hanna, Orion ($200.00)
Students in my reading class would participate in a unit using the book, Little House in the BigWoods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. They would act out parts, taste some of the foods Laura would have eaten as a child, and learn new vocabulary words. Using this trade book would hopefully help them see how happiness can come without material possessions. History and kindness would be taught through the eyes of a little girl named Laura.
Local Officer Fred Ingold, Superintendent Craig Doster, Local Officer Mary Sexton, Grant Winners Melanie Conley and Kaci Rollings, Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges, and Principal Jama Wahl
Melanie Conley and Kaci Rollings, Central Elementary, Ottawa ($500.00)
Due to the fact that our world is changing at an exceptional pace, our students need to have access to the best equipment we can provide them. Having adequate science supplies should not be luxury but rather a minimum requirement. Our students' exposure to different technologies and up to date equipment will provide them with the opportunity to have a competitive part in the educational community and eventually the professional community. Securing modern microscopes to use with our Science curriculum is a great step in giving our students a competitive edge with other students at their educational level.
Local Officer Linda Hinrichs, Grant Winner Diana Craig, Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges, and Superintendent Mary Bush
Diana Craig, Williamsfield Elementary, Williamsfield ($250.00)
My child friendly, magazine project, "Around the World with a Turn of a Page" will take the intimidation factor out of reading. A magazine with vivid pictures, short articles and inviting text will tempt struggling readers to read, spark conversation and comprehension in very young readers and encourage well established readers to continue! In addition to the magazines, students can take ownership of their reading by leaving comments about what they've read, which enters them into a weekly drawing for a new book! As an adult, I take comfort in reading a simple article, looking at the pictures or trying a new recipe I found in a magazine, I want young students to feel the same!
Upcoming Area 2 Representative Marti Swanson, Region 2 Director Dee Cavenaugh, Grant Winner Julie Fievet, and Principal Jean LeBlanc
Julie Fievet, Rockland Elementary School, Libertyville ($350.00)
Rockland Elementary students will be learning tinikling during their physical education classes for several weeks each year. Tinikling is a traditional Philippines folk dance using poles and music. Using both current and traditional music, students in p.e. classes will work in groups creating routines for this activity. In addition to promoting physical fitness, it also instills confidence in all children and exposes them to a different culture and to a different idea of dancing and can be done by all students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Regional Director Joe Wasson, Grant Winner Kathryn Fordham, Local Officer Virginia Ray, and Darren Erickson
Kathryn Fordham, Tampico Elementary School, Tampico ($500.00)
My project is to provide 2nd grade students in my school access to a quality classroom library that includes various leveled chapter books of interest to the students. I will be purchasing both fiction and nonfiction books so students can learn to read for enjoyment and also to have the opportunity to read across the curriculum. I want to provide all 2nd grade students access to quality children's books by outstanding authors.
Grant Winner Sandra Gabriel and Local Officer Velma Krueder
Sandra Gabriel, West Carroll Primary School, Savanna ($300.00)
Young children learn to read by reading and the establishment of a Take Home Library of emergent and early readers will allow Kindergarten children and their parents to practice the reading skills now learned in Kindergarten. It will also help to establish good habits of parents and children working together to continue to develop their school skills. The children will have the opportunity to check out an appropriate book from the Take Home Library each night to read and enjoy with their parents. The additional practice the children get will help in making them more successful in their reading development.
Local Officer Carol Hoffman, Local President Bert Kinate, Grant Winner Louann Harms, Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges, and Principal Ron Schramm
Louann Harms, Westview Elementary School, Fairbury ($200.00)
My project, Magnificent Magazines - Fostering Life Long Readers, involves the purchase of high quality children's magazines to use as a curriculum extension in four 3rd grade classrooms. Magazines will be used for free reading, strategy practice in curriculum planning, center development, homework assignments, and with younger grade reading buddies.
Superintendent Lowell Taylor, Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges, President Loretta Bell, Grant Winner Amy Harn, and Principal Craig Mathers
Amy Harn, Forreston Grade School, Forreston ($300.00)
With the grant money, Amy will be able to purchase student guitars to introduce her music classes to beginning guitar playing. The students will be able to read guitar frets and play basic chords. The students will learn to accompany the music class while they sing basic lullabies and folk songs. This will increase the student's knowledge of how music is produced and increase their love of music.
Principal Chuck Lamb, Grant Winner Kristina Hodge, and upcoming Area 2 Representative Marti Swanson
Kristina Hodge, Chesak Elementary School, Lake in the Hills ($500.00)
A classroom library will promote students to develop or enhance their literary skills. It will develop phonological awareness. Reading provides an opportunity for students to make connections between stories and real life.
Grant Winner Angela Kamper and Local Officer Velma Krueder
Angela Kamper, West Carroll Primary, Savanna ($320.00)
These grant funds will be used to purchase a variety of items for use throughout the kindergarten curriculum. A few of the items include a puppet and doctor's kit to be used in the dramatic play area, a copy of the classic story, This Old Man as well as a storytelling doll to be utilized for storytelling, and several flip books for use during literacy centers. All of the items will be helpful for strengthening oral language skills and boosting early reading skills.
Regional Director Joe Wasson, Grant Winner Jolene Kelly, Local Officer Virginia Ray, and Darren Erickson
Jolene Kelly, Tampico Elementary School, Tampico ($400.00)
The first and second grade teachers at Tampico Elementary developed a project to purchase supplemental science materials. The project includes purchasing eight science themed tubs and a science library. The materials available in each tub will expand and enhance on concepts taught in the science curriculum by providing hands-on, real life materials. These tubs will provide activities that will not only work on science concepts, but also improve on reading and writing skills.
Two Student Council Officers, Membership Chair Jeanne Houle, Grant Winner Mrs. Jimmie Luster, Unit President Jodie Stewart, and upcoming Area 2 Representative Marti Swanson
Mrs. Jimmie Luster, Miguel Juarez Middle School,Waukegan ($200.00)
We are co-teachers on a mission to increase reading skills at Miguel Juarez Middle School. We started a literacy program last school year. This year our student council would like to provide tutoring and literacy training for the 1st graders in our feeder school.
Principal Ryan LaDage, Grant Winner Karen Meyer, and upcoming Area 2 Representative Marti Swanson
Karen Meyer, Alden-Hebron Elementary School, Hebron ($300.00)
Students in Karen Meyer's Third Grade class in rural Hebron, Illinois, study art and biographies as an integrated unit. After researching, reading, painting, and drawing about a chosen artist, students write, illustrate, and publish their own biography. A professional artist visits the classroom to demonstrate his/her craft.
Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges, Grant Winner Kim Milder, and Principal Mary Gerbode
Kim Milder, Lena Elementary, Lena ($450.00)
The purchase of interactive software and hardware will allow me to incorporate more technology into my therapy sessions with my K-3 students with autism and significant communication impairments. These materials would greatly enhance my therapy techniques to help unlock the wonder of communication with many of my students.
Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges and Grant Winner/Principal Sherry Moyer
Sherry Moyer, Orangeville Elementary School, Orangeville ($350.00)
IRTAF funds were used to begin a book room at our elementary school. The book room serves as a resource for teachers to match text to a group of reader's ability and interest. All of our students have discovered a joy for reading with the support of the book room.
Principal Dave Knuckey, Grant Winner Vicki Peterson, Local Officer Joann Dennis, and Regional Director Joe Wasson
Vicki Peterson, Longfellow, Rock Island ($250.00)
We will paint a large map of the United States on our school's blacktop playground. Students will work with adults to create an accurate, colorful map detailing all the states painted in different colors. We would need to purchase the stencils of the U.S. map, paints, and brushes. The students will create the accurate map with adult guidance. Classrooms will be able to use the map as an outdoor learning site for geographic lessons. So many of our students are visual learners, that the "mega-map" would enhance learning once it was completed. Students would learn the value of cooperation by working together on this project with adult supervision.
Principal Steve Sash, Grant Winner Kathleen Pratt, Local Officer Bob Glaser, and Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges
Kathleen Pratt, DePue Unit School District #103, DePue ($530.00)
Mrs. Pratt will begin pen pal letter writing with her third grade students. Maps and a globe will be purchased and used to locate geographical areas of pen pals. The majority of children in Mrs. Pratt's school are Hispanic and low income. They have very little knowledge of other cultures or other communities outside of their own community. Learning through geography maps or globe, and communicating through letter writing, will expand their knowledge of our society.
Local Officer Dick Strong, Grant Winner Kimberly Reiley, Principal Suzi Hesser, and Regional Director Joe Wasson
Kimberly Reiley, Challand Middle School, Sterling ($300.00)
My project would be to provide a variety of books (genre, reading levels, and interests) to students in my classroom. Through reader's workshop, I am putting focus on ways in which self-selected independent reading can become the basis for reading instruction in the classroom. Advocates of reader's workshop recognize the role of personal motivation in the process of making meaning with print. Students will be able to pick and choose a variety of books they want to read within their reading range.
Principal Doug Nelson, Grant Winner Shelly Reusch, Vic Johnson, and Regional Director Joe Wasson
Shelly Reusch, Aledo Junior High School, Aledo ($350.00)
Middle school students love to get their hands dirty! This outdoor classroom will allow students to not only get their hands dirty, but to also use their boundless energy to learn about plants, gardening skills, environmentalism, and sustainable living. Students will have the opportunity to start plants from seeds and then transplant them into a garden area. They will also have the chance to learn about organic ways to encourage the optimal growth of plants.
Local Officer Fred Ingold, Superintendent Craig Doster, Principal Jama Wahl, Local Officer Mary Sexton, Grant Winner Julie Rolando, and Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges
Julie Rolando, Central School - Ottawa Elementary #141, Ottawa ($500.00)
Limited materials and limited funding get in the way of providing students with experience and skills they so desperately need in order to become functional members of society. I have the opportunity to greatly impact the lives of special needs children in this program. Given the needed materials, I can teach them functional academic skills, socialization, communication skills, daily living skills and meet their needs as individuals. With the funding from the IRTAF, I will be able to purchase many needed kitchen items that will enable my students to attain the greatest level of independence possible.
Upcoming Area 2 Representative Marti Swanson, Region 2 Director Dee Cavenaugh, Principal/Grant Winner Guy Schumacher, and Student Council President Christina Reszel
Guy Schumacher, Butterfield School, Libertyville ($400.00)
With the purchase of a new digital video camera, the students at Butterfield School will create an anchor room to film daily announcements and events that would be shared with students and staff through the Butterfield Broadcast System, K.I.D.S. The opportunity to bring life long learning into an elementary school where students are provided an opportunity to write a script, run a film camera and present as though in a television studio is tremendously powerful, giving rise to a future Walter Cronkite, Katie Couric, Dan Rather or Barbara Walters.
Grant Winner Tamara Smith, Carlene Mattern, Local Officer Joann Dennis, Regional Director Joe Wasson, and Principal Michael Hughes
Tamara Smith, George O. Barr Elementary School, Silvis ($250.00)
Students in George O. Barr Elementary School in Silvis will be writing letters and sending fabric squares to authors and illustrators. The authors and illustrators will return the fabric squares to the students. Teachers and volunteers will collect the squares and sew them together into a wall hanging quilt. The quilt will hang in our new library in our new building.
Local Officer Linda Hinrichs, Grant Winner Medessa Vancil, Area 1 Representative Norma Hedges, and Superintendent Mary Bush
Medessa Vancil, Williamsfield Elementary, Williamsfield ($500.00)
Having the Fast Math computer software program on two of our school computers will allow my students to achieve math fact recall with speed and accuracy. Knowing math facts with speed and accuracy is the strongest foundation teachers can give students in mathematics. Achieving fact recall will allow students to understand difficult math concepts more easily. Math facts will be used throughout a lifetime in education and in adult daily living skills.
Local Officer Dick Strong, Grant Winner Jacqueline Watson, and Regional Director Joe Wasson
Jacqueline Watson, Jefferson Elementary, Sterling ($450.00)
The "Literacy Times Two for Home and School Project" will construct independent literacy skills both at home and school. The purchased Read Together Take-Home Packs and Instant Literacy Centers will together build on family literacy and literacy in the classroom. Students and parents will have the opportunity to work with one another on a specific book for the week from the take-home packs, while in the classroom during center time; students will work cooperatively at the instant centers on vocabulary, phonics, sentence building, and grammar activities.
Membership Chair Jeanne Houle, Grant Winner Wendy Wiegers, Unit President Jodie Stewart, and upcoming Area 2 Representative Marti Swanson
Wendy Wiegers, Little Fort Elementary, Waukegan ($400.00)
With the grant money, Wendy will purchase material for costumes for the Broadway musical, The Wizard of Oz, which will be presented in the spring. Over one hundred first through fifth graders will be transformed into Dorothy and all of her friends (and enemies!) through costumes made by teachers and parents. The goal of the project is to create a love for musical theater as either a performer, stage crew member and as future audiences and stars of the musical theater stage.
