Enabling Innovative Instruction

TEACHER GRANTS:

Enabling Innovative Instruction

EDUCATOR GRANTS

The Peninsula Schools Education Foundation funded 21 grants for the 2023 grant period, at all grade levels. Congratulations to all the grant winners! Check back in 2024 for information about future grants.

Important Dates

April 1 – May 1: Grant application submission period.
May 1: Grant application period closes.
June: Grant recipients notified.

Applications must be submitted via the online application available at the link below.

Grants closed for 2023

Priority Criteria:

Focus on enhancing student learning and social, emotional development.
Materials that are reusable.
The number of students impacted per dollar invested.
Innovative tools to address the needs of diverse and underserved student populations.
Expenditures that PSEF does not typically fund include salaries, furniture, employee travel, books, digital subscriptions and core curricular materials.

Key Information:

Grants will be awarded in various amounts up to a maximum of $1000.
Schools, departments, or other groups within the district may be awarded more than one grant.
Multiple individuals may submit a single grant collaboratively.
Projects which impact students in multiple schools may exceed the $1000 maximum.
Joint school projects are encouraged.

2018 Grants were awarded to 5 schools in the Peninsula School District and to 7 teachers who submitted grant proposals

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2017 Grants were awarded to 15 schools in the Peninsula School District and to 39 teachers who submitted grant proposals

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2017 Grants were awarded to 15 schools in the Peninsula School District and to 39 teachers who submitted grant proposals

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2016 Grants were awarded to 15 schools in the Peninsula School District and to 39 teachers who submitted grant proposals

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2015 Grants were awarded to 16 schools in the Peninsula School District, to 54 teachers who submitted grant proposals.

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2014 Grants were awarded to 13 schools in the Peninsula School District, to 19 teachers who submitted grant proposals.

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In 2013 Peninsula Schools Education Foundation, awarded 29 grants to teachers in 16 different schools in the Peninsula school district.

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GRANT RECIPIENTS

2023
2022
2021
2019 Spring
2018 Fall
2018 Spring
2017 Spring
2017 Fall
2016
2015
2014
2013

For the 2023 grant period, the Peninsula Schools Education Foundation funded 21 grants, at all grade levels. Congratulations to all the grant winners!

School	Teacher	Proposal
Discovery	Mandery	Basketball Beats
Evergreen	McCarthy	Hands-on Library Stations
Minter Creek	Schuette	STREAM Night
Pioneer	Towner	3D printing filament
Swift Water	Wilson	Percussion From Around the World
Voyager	Northstrom	Universal Design for Learning in TK
Goodman	Hyatt	Options Indoor Greenhouse Project
Goodman	Anhalt	GMS Stem Enhancement
Goodman	Mladenich	PE Health and Wellness Lifetime Sports Integration
Harbor Ridge	Harrison	Heart Zone/Heart Rate Monitors
Harbor Ridge	Brent	GraviTrax Design Engineering
Kopachuck	Frank	Growing National History Day Across PSD Middle Schools
Gig Harbor	Swanson	Insane in the Membrane
Gig Harbor	Yeaman, Stephens	Ceramics Materials for Students Success
Gig Harbor	Yeaman, Stephens	Portfolio Acrylic Paint Purchase
Gig Harbor	Gillard, Gossler, Marten, Kennedy, Fagerstrom, Davis, Houston	Diverse Voices in Reading, Library Choice Grant, Personal Growth Through Diverse Voices, other Novels for Students. *Funded in Memoriam of Katie Matsubara
Peninsula	Kealy, Hogeberg, Pinneo, Morrison, Osera	Peninsula High Reads, Classroom Library Expansion, other Novels for Students. *Funded in Memoriam of Katie Matsubara
PHS, HBHS, GHHS, GMS, KPMS, KMS, HRMS	Giovanini	CAPE Career & Pathway Expo
All Elementary Schools	Comstock	Playground Communication Boards
All Elementary Schools	Furer	Hands on Art
Harbor Heights, Discovery, Minter Creek	Moore	Full Inclusion Hands On Block Coding for all Students

Congratulations to our 2022 grant winners! Between PSEF and PSD, 41 grants were funded at 14 schools.

*PSD directly funded grant

School	Teacher	Proposal
Discovery	Kingsbury	Physical Education Equipment*
Evergreen	Swanson	Music and Movement Project
Evergreen	Dalby	Regulating Emotions Through Games
Evergreen	Barber	Engineering Lab Recess Choice
Gig Harbor HS	Yelsky	Vernier Physics Dynamics System
Goodman MS	Hyatt	Copy Machine Printer for Options
Harbor Heights	Morrison	OSMO Coding
Harbor Ridge	Tanneberg	Tools for Growth
Harbor Ridge	Brent	Snap Circuits
Henderson Bay	Hampton	Laminator
Henderson Bay	Chornoma	Iwata Sprint Jet Studio Air Compressor
Key Peninsula	Smith	Pixton
Key Peninsula	Schrock	integrating Gaming in Class Content to Enrich Learning
Key Peninsula	Babbitt	Rocketbooks for Math
Kopachuck	Coffelt Hollet	Supplemental Instructional Resources for MS Humanities (Flocabulary Only)
Minter Creek	Hefa	Science Enrichment for Third Grade (Only Salmon tank, lid, rocks)
Minter Creek	Schuette	Straws for Rocket Launcher
Minter Creek	Schuette	Bug Magnifier
Minter Creek	Nelson	Minter Creek STEAM Night
Minter Creek	Aliment	MC Bass Xylophones on the Move*
Pioneer	Towner	Coding & Programming Through Drone Integration
Pioneer	Smith	Cardio Drumming Set
Pioneer	Dumas	Makedo for Cardboard Construction
Pioneer	Wisner	Growing Garden Adventure
Purdy	Long	Cooking Up Communications
Purdy	Marousek	Clay Slab for Art
Purdy	Kuchar	We Thinkers Social Thinking
Purdy	Ruffner	Self-Regulation Centers in the Classroom
Swift Water	Wilson	Strings and Swift Water
Swift Water	Le Tellier	Edison Robots for Technology & Coding in the Elementary Schools
Swift Water	Wallace	Library MakerSpace Materials
Swift Water	Waage	Baseball Gloves*
Voyager	Rimmele	School-Home Connection Backpacks
Voyager	Butler	Move, Work, Breathe Sensory Room
Voyager	Burnes	Music Enhancement-Student Ukulele Collection

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on in-person learning, the PSEF board voted to award proportional school-based grants that support high quality remote learning.

Congratulations to our 2020-21 grant winners! All hardware, equipment and web-based resources awarded through these grants was approved by the District technology department and has been distributed to the 34 grant winners at the 11 schools listed below.

School	Teacher	Proposal
Discovery Elementary	Vanette Mower	Laptop
Discovery Elementary	Diana Bray	Scholastic Super Science Magazine
Discovery Elementary	Polly Towle	Document Camera
Discovery Elementary	Hollianne Winter	Leveled Books for Classroom
Discovery Elementary	Becky Wallace	Laptop
Discovery Elementary	Diane Belknap	Laptop
Evergreen Elementary	Amy Barber	STEM Backpacks
Evergreen Elementary	Stephanie McCarthy	Tacoma Art Museum - Virtual Field Trip
Goodman Middle School	Megan Barkley	Conference Camera
Goodman Middle School	Brenda Aston	Virtual Field Trip to Egypt
Goodman Middle School	Megan Barkley	Monitor
Harbor Ridge Middle School	Krystal Kennedy-Wheeler	Read Naturally Program, Sequenced Series
Harbor Ridge Middle School	Kirstin Brent	Headset
Harbor Ridge Middle School	Barbara Vukas	Headset
Henderson Bay High School	Dominique Hampton	Bookwidget App
Henderson Bay High School	Jenna Bates	Headset
Key Peninsula Middle School	Katherine Schrock	Pixton Education App
Key Peninsula Middle School	Joanna Babbitt	Headset
Key Peninsula Middle School	Cynthia Deare	Nearpod Gold App
Key Peninsula Middle School	Mandi Thorne	STEM tech kit
Key Peninsula Middle School	Melinda Peckham	Headset
Kopachuck Middle School	Jesse Ernst	Android wifi enabled cell phones
Kopachuck Middle School	Kelle Bryson	Headset
Minter Creek Elementary	Todd Hering	Headset
Pioneer Elementary	Jen Wisner	News-O-Matic App
Pioneer Elementary	Tami Bradford	Rekenrek STEM kits
Pioneer Elementary	Kerstin Thaut	Social-Emotional Regulation kit
Purdy Elementary	Julie Lee	Laptop
Purdy Elementary	Wendy Stuart	Boom Cards App
Purdy Elementary	Sheila McNelis	Everyday Speech Social Emotional Learning App
Purdy Elementary	Shelley Sutich	STEM Backpacks
Voyager Elementary	Annette Welpman	Read Naturally Program, Sequenced Series
Voyager Elementary	Catherine Schwab	STEM stories
Voyager Elementary	Kathy Johnson	Postcards and stamps
Voyager Elementary	Kristen Lagao	Scholastic News Magazine, Print and Digital Issues

2019 Grants were awarded to 11 schools in the Peninsula School District and to 17 teachers who submitted grant proposals, in addition to CAPE and Hands on Art Programs

School	Teacher	Proposal
Hands on Art	Marla Morgan	Multiple Projects
All Schools	Joy Giovannini	CAPE
Minter Creek	Nate Sears	African Drums
Minter Creek	Alice Kinerk	PACE Greenhouse
Goodman	Matt Haver	Goodman Recording Equipment
Harbor Ridge	Kirsten Brent	Illuminated Jewelers Loupes
GHHS	Kristin Zetterstrom	A Voice for All Students
GHHS	Eric Wolgemuth	Wireless Accelerometers
Artondale	Carolyn Hanson Smith	Out of Box experiments
Kopachuck	Keith Garton	Edison is Awesome
Evergreen	Jennifer Martin	Science Innovation
Goodman	Shelby Belfoy	Incubator (& Materials) for Science Classroom
Discovery	Cindy Greetham	Innovator Biographies
Purdy/Minter	Elizabeth Auter	Social Emotional Games
Harbor Hts	Nicole Senon	Math Stations
Voyager	Michelle Merideth	Speech Therapy: Fixing Rs
Voyager	Catherine Schwab	Virtual Reality Adventure
Harbor Ridge	Kathryn Porteus	Virtual Reality Headsets
Artondale	Rashelle Pratz	Whiteboards

In Fall 2018, Peninsula Schools Education Foundation awarded 7 grants to teachers in 15 different schools in the Peninsula School District, in addition to CAPE and Hands on Art programs

Teacher	School	Proposal
Amanda Balera	Peninsula High School	Tablets for Virtual T-shirts
Joy Giovanini	All Schools	CAPE
Jennifer Hanziel	Henderson Bay Alternative High School	The Science of Art
Carlyn HansonSmith	Artondal Elementary	Create Wonder with Robotics
Erin Tesdahl	Henderson Bay High School	Video Productions with Recording, Editing, and Publishing
Lora Duncan	Artondale Elementary	Happiness in Music
Jeremy Wilson	Discovery Elementary School	Keyboards for Music Theory
Marla Morgan	Hands on Art	Multiple Projects
Heather Jones	Evergreen Elementary	Virtual Reality Equals Real World Learning
Ben Pinneo	Peninsula High School	Audiobooks via Chromebooks for Students with Reading Needs
Kate Burkart	Discovery Elementary	Social Thinking
Michelle Meredith	Voyager Elementary/ Student Services	Auditory Processing Grant
Katja Rimmele	Voyager Elementary	Sensory Toolkits
Maile Flanders	Minter Creek	Self-Regulation Centers in Classrooms
Kara Beloate	Peninsula High School	Lighting Peninsula: The Stage & The School

2018 Grants were awarded to 5 schools in the Peninsula School District and to 7 teachers who submitted grant proposals

school	teacher	proposal
Peninsula High School	Amanda Balera	Virtual Body Systems Thermal Imaging T-Shirts
Goodman Middle School	Lisa Halsan	Yoga for Relaxation & Stress Relief
Vaughn	Beth Stitt	Eyes and Ears for All
Vaughn	Martha Arneson	Student Self-Regulating Break Space
Purdy	Wendy Stuart	Puppets in the Classroom
Evergreen	Hugh Maxwell	Authentic reading with Classic Literature
Evergreen	Christy Dalbe	Authentic reading with Classic Literature

2017 Grants were awarded to 15 schools in the Peninsula School District and to 39 teachers who submitted grant proposals

school	teacher	proposal
Voyager	Leslie Walker	Mathematical Engagement
Voyager	Melissa Northstrom	Flexible Seating for Kindergarten
Vaughn	Marci Cohoe	Flexible Seating
Vaughn	Douglas Smith	Ozobots for Creative Coding
Purdy	Gaylene Peterson	Hydroponics in the Classroom
Purdy	Carolina Jackson	Books on Natural Disasters
Evergreen	Terry Hammond	Music Classroom Rug
Evergreen	Jamie Shipman	Alternative Seating
Evergreen	Amanda Kennard	Flexible Seating
Evergreen	Jennifer Martin	Alternative Seating
Discovery	Nicollette Le Tellier	STEM Stereo Microscopes
Discovery	Socal	Unlock Your Learning
Discovery	Ashley Trinh	Becoming Non-Fiction Authors
Artondale	Karoline Columbini	Kindergarten Wobble Chairs

2017 Grants were awarded to 15 schools in the Peninsula School District and to 39 teachers who submitted grant proposals

School	Teacher	Proposal
Artondale	Rennie Walker	Meaningful Math
Hands on Art	Lisa Bosselmann	Harbor Heights Elementary
Hands on Art	Katharine Moore	Wire Sculptures - Vaughn Elementary
Hands on Art	Laura Scherer	Hokusai Wave - Voyager
Hands on Art	Karoline Colombini	Perspectives of Mt. Tahoma - Artondale
CAPE	Joy Giovaini	All four middle schools
Voyager	Michelle Meredith	Speech Buddies
Voyager	Catharine Schwab	Coding Playground
Voyager	Sheryl Mills	Coding With Color
Purdy	Shelbi Frame	Lego Boost
Purdy	Ann Cook	3 D Printer
Purdy	Gaylene Peterson	Creative Blocks
Minter Creek	Penny Bowles	Enriched Literacy
Kopachuck MS	Keith Garton	October Skies
Key Peninsula MS	Katherine Schrock	Breakout Kits
Key Peninsula MS	Andrea Bowman	KPMS Sensory Room
Harbor Heights	Alex McDougall	Finch Robotics
Harbor Heights	Nicole Senon	STEM Rubiks Cube
Harbor Heights	Shauna Coxford	High Noon Books
Harbor Heights	Nicole Holsather-Nelson	LEGO Brick Project
Gig Harbor HS	Kristin Zetterstrom	Tools for Theatre
Discovery	Nicollette Le Tellier	Engineering Design Projects
Discovery	Lauren Jarvis	Art Club
Artondale	Lora Duncan	Ukulele Joy
Peninsula HS	Amanda Balera	Thermal Imaging Bio T-Shirts

2016 Grants were awarded to 15 schools in the Peninsula School District and to 39 teachers who submitted grant proposals

School	Teacher	Proposal
Goodman MS	Mary West	Color My Conversation Kit
Voyager	Leslie Walker	Mathematical Engagement
Voyager	Melissa Northstrom	Flexible Seating for Kindergarten
Voyager	Laurie Dye	Science Integration
Vaughn	Marci Cohoe	Flexible Seating
Vaughn	Douglas Smith	Ozobots for Creative Coding
Purdy	Gaylene Peterson	Hydroponics in the Classroom
Purdy	Jane Hansen	Wobble Our Way to Great Work
Purdy	Carolina Jackson	Books on Natural Disasters
Harbor Ridge MS	Kathlenn Bossenbroek	7th Grade Life Sciences
Artondale	Karoline Colombini	Kindergarten Wobble Chairs
Goodman MS	Carrie Zamberlin	Stand 2 Learn
Gig Harbor HS	Eric Swanson	GHHS Jazz Band
Evergreen	Teri Hammon	Musical Classroom Rug
Evergreen	Jamie Shipman	Alternative Seating
Evergreen	Amanda Kennard	Flexible Seating
Evergreen	Jennifer Martin	Alternative Seating
Discovery	Nicollette Le Tellier	STEM Stereo Microscopes
Discovery	Socal	Unlock your Learning
Discovery	Ashley Trinh	Becoming Non Fiction Authors

2015 Grants were awarded to 16 schools in the Peninsula School District, to 54 teachers who submitted grant proposals

School	Teacher	Proposal	Designation
Goodman MS, KPMS, HRMS, Kopachuck MS	Joy Giovanini (20+ PSD teachers, 50+ PSD high school students)	CAPE (Career & Pathway Expo)	PSEF Board of Trustees Designee
Hands on Art	Lisa Bosselmann	Harbor Heights Elementary
Hands on Art	Katharine Moore	Wire Sculptures - Vaughn Elementary
Hands on Art	Laura Scherer	Hokusai Wave - Voyager
Hands on Art	Karoline Colombini	Perspectives of Mt. Tahoma - Artondale
CAPE	Joy Giovaini	All four middle schools
Voyager	Michelle Meredith	Speech Buddies
Voyager	Catharine Schwab	Coding Playground
Voyager	Sheryl Mills	Coding With Color
Purdy	Shelbi Frame	Lego Boost
Purdy	Ann Cook	3 D Printer
Artondale, Vaughn, Purdy, Harbor Heights	Meredith/ Lloyd/ Curran/ Comstock	Video Modeling Project
Discovery	Wilson / Waage	Discovery Performance Lighting
Gig Harbor HS	Coovert/ Freeman/ Chadwell	GH Speech & Debate
Kopachuck MS	Bollender	Building Community
Harbor Ridge MS	Hockmuth/ Tweeten	Microscopes
Minter Creek	Hefa	Encouraging Hands on Math through Manipulatives
Minter Creek?	Hall	Informational Text
Evergreen	Wright/Brantley/ Garrison/ Porter/ Shipman/ Carter/ Henderson	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Project Kits	Warner Karshner Grant Designee
Discovery	Munoz/Lantz	Chromebooks for REACH
Discovery	Davis/Munoz/ Bergman	iPad for Communication Success Using Apps & Video Modeling
Discovery	Grinberg	Applying the Sciences Together
Discovery	Bigger/Bray/ Squires/Perine/? Greetham/Grinberg	Cognitive Engagement & Creative Thinking Toolkit
Discovery	Lewis	OSMOS & I Pads for 1st Grade

2014 Grants were awarded to 13 schools in the Peninsula School District, to 19 teachers who submitted grant proposals

School	Teacher	Proposal	Designation
Gig Harbor HS	Dena Berkey/Carol Rivera	Underwater ROV
Vaughn		Hands on Art
Evergreen		Hands on Art
Minter Creek		Hands on Art
Discovery		Hands on Art
Voyager		Hands on Art
Harbor Heights		Hands on Art
Artondale	Karoline Colombini	Hands on Art
Peninsula HS	Dave Stitt	Cool Science
Peninsula HS	Andrew Hosford	Modernize PHS
Peninsula HS	Katrina Cardinal	Focus 22
Henderson Bay HS	Kelsey Patterson	Parent Communication
Gig Harbor HS	Chris Coovert	Speech & Debate Competitions
Vaughn	Lisa Mills	Voice of Vaughn	Warner Karshner Award
Harbor Ridge MS	Shira Stark	A Camera in Every Hand
Harbor Ridge MS	Kristin Brent	Vernier Labquest Program
Goodman MS	Carol Rivera	ROVs in Extreme Environments
Purdy	Marilyn Paulson	Chord Buddy Strum for Fun
Minter Creek	Amanda Hefa	Learning Materials
Harbor Heights	David Rucci	Scooters
Discovery	Jeremy Wilson	Discovery Newscast Part 1
Discovery	Cheryl Munoz	Social Thinking
Discovery	Kate Burkart	Reading Pens
Discovery	Diana Bray	BuildingMathematical Fluency
Vaughn	Matthew Mills	Real Time, Real Data Collection	PSEF Trustees Award

In 2013 Peninsula Schools Education Foundation, awarded 29 grants to teachers in 16 different schools in the Peninsula School District

School	Teacher	Proposal	Designation
Voyager	Laurie Dye	Design Challenge
Gig Harbor HS	Wayne Lackman and Kristin Zetterstrom	Voice for All Performers
Gig Harbor HS	Kristin Zetterstrom	Power for Theater Tech Students
Gig Harbor HS	Eric Wolgermuth	Climate Change Simlulation Lab
Gig Harbor HS	Eric Swanson	Gig Harbor HS Band
Gig Harbor HS	Chris Coovert	Speech & Debate Competitions
Henderson Bay HS	James Corboy	My Life Soundtrack
Peninsula HS	Mary Ann O'Dell	Biology Resources
Key Peninsula MS/PHS	Kareen Borders	Chemistry Alive
Key Peninsula MS	Phyllis Isbell	Edible Garden/Winter Salad
Kopachuck MS	Kelley Bolender	Building Community
Harbor Ridge MS	Shira Stark	Microbiology on the Go and Diving into ROVs
Harbor Ridge MS	Matt Condit	Vernier Labquest Program
Goodman MS	Carol Rivera	21st Century Microscopes
Goodman MS	Carol Rivera	Up ROV Design
Artondale	Debbie Mahaffie	Using Razz-Kids to Increase Reading Skills
Voyager	Scott Markowitz	Voyager Field Science and Orinthology Program Expansion	Karshner Memorial Grant Designee
Voyager	Kim Schock-Rosenbach	Hands on Art
Vaughn	Katherine Moore	Hands on Art
Purdy	Marilyn Paulson	Keyboards in Motion
Minter Creek	Dawn Barnes	Using Informational & NarrativeText in 1st Grade
Minter Creek	Phylis Slater/Kim Schock-Rosenbach	Hands on Art
Harbor Heights	Karen Kent	Hands on Art
Harbor Heights	Kim Hollar	Sight Words
Evergreen	Therese Souers	Building Scientific Understanding
Discovery	Jeremy Wilson	Strings at Discovery
Discovery	Diana Grinberg	Hands on Art
Discovery	Kate Burkart	Assistive Technology
Artondale	Karoline Colombini	Hands on Art

In 2009 the family of Warner Karshner made a generous memorial gift to the Peninsula Schools Education Foundation (PSEF), honoring his legacy of supporting great schools in the Peninsula School District. This gift is used by PSEF to make grants that help teachers encourage students to engage in experiences that promote goodness in the community.

Mr. Karshner was a clinical psychologist at the Family Center for Behavioral Health in Gig Harbor. As the chair of the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce Education Task Force, he founded the “Partners In Learning” picnic. Mr. Karshner was known as a builder of partnerships between schools and the community, and his family remembers him coming home with a twinkle in his eyes after activities focused on that goal. “Imagine kids having that ‘twinkle’ experience of developing love and pride knowing their contributions helped strengthen their community,” his wife Diane Nason said.

Each year PSEF selects a grant application that reflects these values for funding and designate it as the Warner Karshner Memorial Grant Award. Past recipients of the award include:

2017 Andrea Bowman, Key Peninsula MS, KPMS Sensory Room
2016 Cheryl Munoz, Purdy Elementary, Multisensory Math Project
2015 Wright, Brantley, Garrison, Porter, Evergreen Elementary, Science, Technology & Engineering
2014 Lisa Mills, Vaughn Elementary, Voices of Vaughn Elementary / Music
2013 Scott Markowitz, Voyager Elementary, Field Science and Ornithology Program

2012 Eric Swanson, Gig Harbor High School, Percussion Instrument Inventory Expansion
2011 Denise Ohlson / Jim Inglebritson, Evergreen Elementary School, Infinite Potential Physical Science books
2010 Kristen Zetterstrom, Gig Harbor High School, Tools Used in Theater Set Construction
2009 Shira Stark, Harbor Ridge Middle School, Implementing Project 3D View in Science using GPS Handheld Receivers