MPISD Foundation Awards Educator Grants
It’s always exciting and satisfying to give teachers money to spend on their students. Especially when they don’t know they’re getting the funds.
Members of the MPISD Education Foundation Board got to experience that when they presented grants totaling $32,060.97 to 37 teachers on 7 campuses on October 25.
“We make a big deal out of Grant Distribution Day,” said Dr. Judith Saxton, the MPISD Foundation Executive Director. “We bring members of the MPHS Band, some cheerleaders and, of course, the Tiger mascot with us. We make a lot of noise, and the presence of the MPHS Tiger disrupts some campuses but to see the looks of surprise and happiness on the faces of those receiving the grants makes it all worthwhile.”
The grants were awarded to teachers at the Annie Sims Elementary, E.C. Brice Elementary, Frances Corprew Elementary, Vivian Fowler Elementary, P.E. Wallace Middle, Mount Pleasant Junior High, and Mount Pleasant High Schools.
Grant recipients and their funded projects are:
Annie Sims Elementary School: Third-grade teacher Tammy Bragg for iPads with headsets to use as an additional tool to actively engage the students in her dual language classroom. Third teacher Blanca Meeks to purchase chapter books for students who are beyond the 3rd-grade reading level in Spanish in her dual language classroom. Third-grade teacher Claudia Ramirez for iPads for her students to use to complete bilingual research projects in her dual language classroom.
E.C. Brice Elementary School: Second-grade teacher Kristina Broadway for the purchase of lock boxes, locks, and UV pens to simulate the escape room experience to teach students team building, problem-solving skills and comprehension of academic subjects. Third-grade teacher Marcia Chamness for dictionaries for each of the students in her classroom; Third-grade teacher Carmelita Perez for flexible seating in her class; Fourth-grade teacher Marie Snodgrass for classroom sets of high-interest novels; and, Fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Walker for dictionaries for her students.
Frances Corprew Elementary School: Second-grade teacher Flor Acuna for Spanish language social studies books; Fourth-grade teacher Sarai Garcia-Pena for iPads to use for intervention and research projects; First-grade teacher Amanda Phillips to create a classroom library; and, First-grade teacher Juan Manuel Serna for STEM Lego robotics kits.
Vivian Fowler Elementary School: Fourth-grade teacher Maribel Castillo for to build a diverse classroom library; Third-grade teacher Christi Moss to purchase children’s literature to use in math lessons; and, Third-grade teacher Jennifer Rivera to buy English and Spanish books for her dual language classroom.
P.E. Wallace Middle School: Special Education teacher Jamie Carr for updated science materials to allow students hands-on experiences. Fifth and Sixth-grade P.E./Health teacher Karlton Davis for the Fitness Finder program to encourage students to incorporate physical activity in their daily lives. Fifth-grade math teacher Tammy Davis for flexible seating for her classroom. Sixth-grade math teacher Sharon Fain for manipulatives to improve student understanding of math concepts. Sixth-grade STEM teacher Tara Flores for Robotics kits to assist students in creating and programming robots. Fifth-grade dual language science teacher Olga de la Torre Guzman for iPads to use in bilingual research centers. Fifth and Sixth-grade physical education teacher Abdiel Luzunaris for mini tennis courts to teach students the fundamentals of tennis. Fifth-grade social studies teacher Magdalena Martinez for dual language social studies books and flexible classroom seating. Sixth-grade math teacher Chrishina Maull for manipulatives to assist student learning of math concepts. Fifth-grade dual language social students teacher Arely Nava for iPads to use in bilingual research centers. Principal Nathan Rider to purchase materials for a Nine Square in the Air structure. Assistant Principal Shonda Rutledge for materials to use with the Girls Real Life group on campus. Sixth-grade reading teacher Tonya Schultz for materials (books and games) to enhance student learning. Choir and Theatre teacher Diane Swiger for hand-held wireless microphones, a laptop, and spotlight for choir and theatre productions, and Fifth-grade language arts teacher Deyanira Torres for mini iPads to allow students to interact with online reading programs.
Mount Pleasant Junior High School: Eighth-grade math Kendyl Bowers for graphing calculators; for classroom laptops; Seventh-grade language arts teacher Mandy McCorstin for Breakout EDU Kits (escape room kits) and, Eighth-grade math teacher Margarita Ortega for graphing calculators.
Mount Pleasant High School: Math teacher Karen Russell to take math students to the TAMU-Texarkana Math Contest; Forensic Science teacher Sadonna Stinson for facial anatomy kits; and Director of Theatre Arts Jace Sturgill for computers for the Fine Arts Department.
Titus County Shared Services: Speech Therapist Jenna Davis for assistive technology devises to allow students to access iPads; and, Occupational Therapist Judy Schmidt for materials to begin a Bal-A-Vis-X project in the District.
“We are so thankful to the MPISD Foundation for presenting grants to our staff members,” said MPISD Superintendent of Schools Judd Marshall. “These funds will allow our teachers to do things that will benefit our students that would not be possible without Foundation assistance. These supplemental funds help us enrich the learning experiences of our students. I am also very thankful to all our employees and community members who have donated to the Foundation. Without them, these grants would not be possible.”
Saxton added, “We are really excited to have been able to fund so many grants this Spring because the Foundation has now awarded nearly $200,000 in grants to MPISD teachers as we begin our fourth year of operation. We have exceeded our expectations thanks to the generous donations from MPISD staff members and the Mt. Pleasant community.”
Anyone interested in donating funds to the MPISD Foundation should contact Saxton at 903-575-2000.
Left: Wallace Principal Nathan Rider to purchase materials for a Nine Square in the Air structure
Right: Fowler third-grade teacher Jennifer Rivera to purchase English and Spanish books for her dual language classroom.
Schultz: Wallace sixth-grade reading teacher Tonya Schultz for materials (books and games) to enhance student learning
Stinson: MPHS Forensic Science teacher Sadonna Stinson for facial anatomy kits
Swiger: Wallace Choir and Theatre teacher Diane Swiger for hand-held wireless microphones, a laptop, and spotlight for choir and theatre productions
Members of the 2018-19 MPHS National Honor Society
Mt. Pleasant High School NHS Holds Induction Ceremony
Five seniors and forty-four juniors were inducted into the Mount Pleasant High School Chapter of the National Honor Society during a special ceremony on October 30. The forty-nine new members join the thirty-two returning senior members of the chapter.
To be inducted into NHS, a student must have earned a weighted cumulative GPA of 5.10 and must meet certain service standards, as well as character standards, as exemplified in behavior and personal conduct both on and off campus. The NHS inducts students who meet the criteria in their junior or senior year during the fall semester.
NHS members are involved in community and campus level service projects throughout the school year.
Officers of the MPHS Chapter are President Harper Davis, Vice President Rebecca Yox, Secretary Audrey Courreges, Treasurer Mallory Campbell, Parliamentarian Alex Vaseleck and Historian Jose Liera. MPHS faculty sponsor is English teacher David Clark.
This fall’s new members are:
Senior Inductees: Averie Ayers, Jose Mata, Maria Mendez, Bailey Sisk, and Jonathan Woods.
Junior Inductees: Clara Alvarado, Christopher Araiza, Aaliyah Avellaneda, Caleb Ball, Daisy Bautista, Ashley Benyshek, Hailey Benyshek, Connor Brison, Keatra Brown, Shelby Courreges, Baylee Craig, Natali Delgado, Estela Dorantes, Anna Elliott, Virginia Fuentes, Erika Galindo, Jimmy Gonzalez, Maritza Gonzalez, Aliyaah Howard, Natalie Howard, Colby Hunnicutt, Jacqueline Juarez, Maggie Lilly, Jaquelin Lomeli, Abigail Mason, Ally McCrumby, Danielle Merriman, Felicity Miller, David Nava, Israel Perez, Brian Ramirez, Omar Ramirez, Jordan Rivas, John Rodriguez, Caroline Rose, Laura Sanchez, Yessenia Serna, Lizbeth Tavares, Kaleb Thompson, Heriberto Vargas, Brooke Vaughn, Paola Ventura, Emily Walden, and Grace Whitten.
Returning Senior members of the MPHS NHS Chapter are David Barboza, Andrea Beles, Mallory Campbell, Makenzie Cota, Audrey Courreges, Colton Craft, Kayla Cuellar, Harper Davis, Taylor Dillard, Paula Flores, Gustavo Galindo, Alicia Garcia, Rustyn Goolsby, Israel Hernandez, Rocio Hernandez, Annie Le, Jose Liera, Katherine Lopez, Jose C. Martinez, Ali Grace Merritt, Maritza Quinones, Cesar A. Ramirez, Martina Ramirez, Erica Salazar, Ezequiel Salazar, Alexus Sampson, Samantha Santos, Johnathan Segari, Alexandra Vargas, Alex Vaseleck, Rebecca Yox, and Leshly Zermeno.
Members of the MPHS National Honor Society Faculty Council are LeAnne Blalock, Regina Crouch, Jerilyn Goolsby, Ann Jenkins, Lindy Merriman, Maryna Otero, Larry Russell, Bryan Trickey, and Dawn Trickey.
Contact: Kelly Cowan