BEF Awards 19 Spring Innovation-Grants

Congratulations to the following Berkley Schools staff members for receiving a Spring 2025 Berkley Education Foundation (BEF) Innovation-Grant. The BEF funds innovative project requests, special materials to enhance lessons and educational technology. Innovation-Grants are for more than basic classroom supplies. They are an opportunity for staff members to be creative, push the envelope and expand learning for students. The BEF has an annual $15,000 allocation to support Innovation-Grants. If you’d like to donate to the BEF to support the Grant program, you can do so online.

Adult Transition

• Joseph Altizer, Mixing Up Success: Empowering ATP Students Through Culinary Skills. This grant purchases a KitchenAid stand mixer, to be able to expand the culinary program to include more complex and rewarding recipes, while also making cooking tasks more inclusive. 
• Sharon Berke, Hoppy Puppy Pop Up. Berkley ATP students are the business owners of Hoppy Puppy, a dog treat brand, and they are expanding to host a Pop Up shop. This experience will  provide students with direct sales experience and allow them to build their communication, math and employment skills.
• Sarah Gerds, Independent Living Skills. Equipment to outfit the new apartment learning space in The Den, the new home for ATP. Students will have the opportunity to develop and refine essential skills for independent living, including home management, organization, personal care and social interaction.

Anderson Middle School

• Heather Roesner & Briana Black, Life Baking Cooking Class. The Life Skills class will visit Cake Crumbs. Cake Crumbs has skilled and fun pastry chefs that will guide students through cake designs and decorating techniques, using a variety of pastry tools and ingredients. 
• Heather Torrente, Stand Mixers for Family and Consumer Science. Four kitchen stand mixers to utilize during cupcake, cake and bread making labs.

Angell Elementary School

• Melissa Watkins, At Home Reading Program. Decodable books for students to take home for practice and to boost confidence.

Berkley High School

• Jennifer Bell, LEGO Sets for Speech Therapy Activities: Building Communication and Teamwork.
  Integration of LEGO sets into speech therapy provides a unique opportunity to enhance communication, foster teamwork and improve social-emotional development for students. 
• Jacob Charlip, Holocaust Center - Inquiry Through Artifacts. Students will take a trip to the Zekelman Holocaust Center and learn about historical artifacts while studying a historical inquiry unit.
• Kristi Magy, Poetry: Playing with Words. This grant purchases poetry and language games for students and allows students to explore and command language to improve their overall writing skills.
• Mary Martinuzzi, Independent Reading. Students will be given the opportunity to make book choices for the class independent reading library, by shopping online and at a local bookstore.
• Sarah Noble, "Lights On!" for Encore! The BHS Encore! Show Choir is excited to utilize technology in creative ways to optimize their storytelling on stage and in competitions with new lighting equipment that is versatile and can be programmed.
• Jennifer Plater & Jacob Charlip, World History Storytelling Project. This project will engage 11th grade World History students in creating original children’s books using Google Slides. These books will creatively teach key world history topics from 1250 CE to the present, using accurate facts and narrative techniques tailored for a 2nd–5th grade audience.
• Susie Sims, Connectors to Help Smart Bracelets. Sources of Strength peer leaders will be given smart bracelets that will allow them to give direct access to mental health help.

Burton Elementary School

• Becky Posey, Ramps and Pathways. The Kodo Kids Rubber Ramp set will support an entirely new level of play and exploration through self-discovery and problem solving in the TK classroom. 

Norup International School

• Danielle Crowder & Valerie Mace, Mini Microphones for Norup 5th Grade News. Fifth graders at Norup have been doing a news broadcast this year which is fostering a sense of community, leadership and creativity. Mini Microphones were purchased to enhance the audio output quality of the news segments.
• Ben Moy, Clip on Tuners. Clip on tuners for the Middle School Orchestra students will lessen tuning time every day. Tuners will also be used as an instructional tool to help students individually assess their own intonation and give students visual feedback in order to increase their ability to play in tune.

Pattengill Elementary School

• Samantha Letvin, Gelli Plates - A Curriculum Expansion. Gelli printmaking is a new way to monoprint and offers endless possibilities with the ability to transfer pictures and draw directly on top of them. Gelli prints are made using a special type of plate made from a gel that is not only durable, it’s reusable, vegan, odor free, silicone free, latex free, nontoxic, and yields clear results. 
• Kate McGowan, VersaTiles from Hand2Mind. VersaTiles will help provide students with hands-on learning tasks related to math and literacy and will reduce paper use and waste in the classroom.

Rogers Elementary School

• Nikki Stone, Slabtastic Clay Cutter. This grant will purchase a multi-slab cutter that cuts 25-pound bricks of clay into 3/8" slabs which will save time and create consistent sizing when prepping student materials.