Classroom Enrichment Grant Voting 2025 - Auburn City Schools
Please use the form below to vote for your 2025 Classroom Enrichment Grant Nominee.
Only one vote per 24 hours
USE THE ARROWS TO VIEW THE TEACHER/PROJECT INFORMATION
AUBURN CITY SCHOOLS
Beth Bass
From Imagination to Creation: 3D Printing Adventures
Our 3rd-5th grade STEM classes are seeking funding to acquire 3D printer filament to enhance our hands-on engineering curriculum. With this resource, students will engage in the full engineering design process from brainstorming and sketching to designing, printing, and testing their own 3D models. This tactile, creative experience will deepen their understanding of STEM concepts, foster problem-solving skills, and inspire innovation as they bring their ideas to life. The filament will enable us to sustain this impactful program, empowering young learners to explore technology and engineering in an exciting, real-world context.
Flexible seating is a vital component in an early childhood classroom. Flexible seating can help young children stay focused, reduce disruptive behavior, and improve engagement. I am always looking for ways to teach students in the most effective way possible!
Sensory Oasis: A Dedicated Space for Emotional and Academic Success
I am seeking funding to create a dedicated sensory calm down area to support the emotional and sensory needs of our students. this space will offer a peaceful environment with calming visuals, soft lighting, textured fabrics, noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, and visual aids. Designed to help students manage stress and regulate emotions, it will empower them to return to class feeling calm and ready to learn. Your support will provide students with essential tools for emotional well-being and academic success, ensuring they thrive in a nurturing, structured environment.
Our students would greatly benefit from the opportunity to receive this grant, as it will allow us to create a more dynamic and inclusive learning environment in our co-taught classroom. With the funding we would be able to purchase collaborative materials and supplies that will support diverse learning styles and needs. These resources will foster teamwork, encourage hands-on engagement, and provide opportunities for students. By having access to these tools, we can ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed. The materials will not only enhance the learning experience but also cultivate a classroom culture of inclusion.
Farm to table is a phenomenon in the culinary world, and the popularity of sustainability is only growing. So why not teach these concepts to kids? We can! I believe that having tower gardens in the classroom would provide a dynamic tool for teaching sustainable agriculture and plant biology. Students will learn how to maintain their gardens. We will integrate visual art that encourages attention to details to show what we grow. Guest speakers will allow our students to see sustainability in action and will give them the chance to try their hand at farm to table in the classroom! Let's inspire our kids to do more great things!
I am in need of flexible stools for my students to use on a daily basis. The stools can be utilized at students' desks and small group tables. The stools are easily accessible and versatile to mix up pairings and groupings. Also, lab students volunteer teach in my classroom throughout the week. The stools are perfect space savers where co-teaching can occur conveniently. When using flexible stools, students are able to wiggle around while learning. Studies show this freedom allows students to feel more engaged and alert during school activities.
Each week, students delve into a new literary movement, from the transcendental musings of Emerson in the Northeast to the gritty realism of Steinbeck’s West. They aren’t just reading—they’re experiencing the literature. This is the essence of our project-based learning course, which transforms the American Dream into a multidimensional narrative crafted by the students themselves. The grant will bring this vision to life by providing the resources needed to build engaging, hands-on projects that connect literature with real-world applications.
The Quack Shack: A Brooder for our Classroom Ducks
In my first-grade classroom, students engage in an enriching hands-on science experience by hatching duck eggs. This project teaches students about the life cycle of animals, responsibility, and empathy through real-life observation and care. Once the ducklings hatch, they require a safe, warm, and comfortable environment to thrive. This grant will fund a high-quality brooder, ensuring that our ducklings receive the warmth and care they need during their early development. By securing a proper brooder, we can continue to give students an up-close look at the early life stages of ducks while reinforcing lessons in science and responsibility.
Woodland Pines Elementary School is a new school in Auburn City that is still purchasing resources. I have recently moved back into the classroom after years of teaching Title I. I am writing to request funding for flexible seating options for my first-grade classroom. The classroom size varies from eighteen to twenty students. The diverse classrooms need an environment that offers students with engagement, collaboration with groups, comfort, and movement. Flexible seating will increase student engagement by providing students with choice and comfort which enhances learning for all diverse learners.
I propose a project aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of mathematics through hands-on learning experiences. Fifth grade students will create math games that will be shared with and taught to third grade students. This initiative will provide an engaging, interactive way for fifth graders to apply and solidify their math skills while simultaneously helping third graders build a strong foundation in mathematical concepts. This cross-curricular project will also offer significant opportunities for vertical planning between teachers and enrichment for students.
My classroom will be transformed into an Operating Room for a hands-on, engaging math experience! Students will step into the role of surgeons, visiting different operating rooms to “operate” on patients. By solving and evaluating expressions using the Order of Operations (PEMDAS), they’ll determine the necessary surgical tools for each procedure. This interactive activity aligns with 6th grade Math Common Core Standards and makes mastering expressions both fun and memorable!
This Grant would go toward outside Metal RaisedGarden Bed to help my students continue knowledge of Farm to Fork Concept. This would be directly outside my kitchen for easy access to incorporating fresh herbs and vegetables. The cost would help offset the start up cost.
Our school library is excited to provide every student with a Paddington Bear book, encouraging a love for reading while promoting family time and a sense of community. To celebrate, we will host a Paddington Picnic, where students and families can enjoy stories and activities together. During their class time in the media center, students discover the wonders of the rainforest, including its diverse animals, plants, and flowers, and learn about iconic London landmarks such as Big Ben, the London Bridge, and the Queen. Students will create a London cityscape as well as a rainforest with paper vines and a waterfall.
Enhancing Engagement and Learning Through Flexible Seating
This grant will fund the implementation of flexible seating options in the classroom to create a dynamic and student-centered learning environment. By providing alternative seating choices such as wobble stools, floor cushions, standing desks, and balance balls, students will have the opportunity to select seating that best supports their learning needs. Research shows that flexible seating promotes increased focus, collaboration, and engagement, ultimately leading to improved academic outcomes. This grant will help transform the classroom into a space that fosters movement, choice, and a positive learning atmosphere.
Snack Smarts: Empowering Students Through Daily Nutrition
As educators, we have all learned about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and we know that student's cannot learn when they are hungry. While we have plenty of instructional supports and materials, we are not allowed to use our teacher money to buy any kind of food. Like many other teachers, I do my best to provide snacks for students, but as prices rise, I fear I will not be able to provide near as much. Receiving a grant like this would allow me to purchase bulk snacks from Sam's to last us half of a school year! Full bellies are proven to increase academic success, and everyone deserves that, whether their families can afford it or not!
I sponsor a book club at Auburn Junior High School; this club attracts students who love reading and want to discuss books outside their English class. This grant will ensure that all members have access to the selected reading materials, allowing for a more inclusive and enriching experience. Establishing a well-resourced book club is not just about reading—it’s about fostering intellectual engagement and building a sense of community. By funding the purchase of books for this club, it will create an accessible space for discussion, learning, and shared appreciation of literature.
The highlights of every school year are my classroom transformations! I transform my classroom into something entirely different and entirely magical: a bakery full of cake to celebrate learning magic e, Jurassic Park to wrap up learning all about animal hibernation, migration, and adaptation, a construction site to break apart words and put them back together as contractions, and a pizza parlor when we have finished learning about the diphthong au/aw. I would use this grant to purchase items to make these days even more magical (a sand tray to dig for dinosaur bones!), and to create a brand new transformation for my first graders!
ESL students in our country face many challenges and adversities on a daily basis, which is why the goal of my grant is to enhance English language learning through interactive games, educational materials, and real-life experiences. When I think about ESL students being thrown into a new school with new people, teachers, a new town, etc., I realize how overwhelming it must be for anyone. However, doing so in a place where they don’t look like everyone else and don’t speak the language is truly daunting. Our ESL students are remarkable, and as an ESL teacher, I strive to create an environment where they feel welcome and comfortable.
In my classroom, I recognize the ultimate potential of hands-on learning to foster curiosity and engagement among all. I have brought these beliefs to life and become a leader at my school by creating and implementing classroom transformations. Imagine you walk into your second grade classroom and the entire room has been transformed into a hospital! You spend the day in scrubs working through second grade standards, all while engaging in hands-on learning without even realizing you are working! It's a blast and reaches ALL learners. I would love to use funding to build a classroom transformation closet that includes props, materials, etc.
Beyond the Resume: Auburn High School's Reverse Career Fair Experience
Auburn High School seeks funding to host its first "Reverse Career Fair", where juniors and seniors in Work-Based Learning will showcase their job-ready skills to potential employers, business leaders, and civic representatives. This event bridges education and the workforce by enhancing career readiness, networking opportunities, and employment access. A key component is community service, reinforcing civic engagement, teamwork, and leadership as essential career skills. The initiative supports ACS’s mission to foster career readiness and workforce development while strengthening partnerships between students and community leaders/members.
This grant seeks funding for seven portable basketball goals to integrate movement-based learning into the 6th grade math curriculum. Students will be divided into teams. Teams will spend one day collecting data based on shots taken vs. shots made. The next day teams will use the data to find the following: Fraction, decimal, and percent of shots made, graphing the data from all team members, and finding the mean, median, and mode from each team member. The goals will be used annually across multiple math units and will foster a positive and inclusive learning environment that supports various learning styles.
I am asking for flexible seating for my classroom. I would love to have swivel roll desk chairs for each of my students to be able to turn around to learn from all angles and to help with the wiggles we often encounter. My hope is that with this flexible seating, we can enrich our daily learning while allowing for more movement.
Our library is embarking on an exciting adventure with the Paddington Bear Project, transforming our space into a vibrant exploration of Paddington’s journey from Peru to London. Inspired by Michael Bond’s beloved character, this project will bring stories to life through immersive decorations and hands-on art experiences such as pinch pot sloths, rainforest animals, red double decker buses, and portraits of the Queen of England.
As the school librarian, it is my responsibility to build a library collection that is accessible for all students. This goal is evident in Richland Elementary School's Strategic Plan. In order to accomplish it, I plan to purchase books for students who have vision impairments as well as books for students for whom English is a second language, specifically Spanish and Korean texts as these are our two largest English Language Learner groups.
Learning and understanding the concepts of area and perimeter can be difficult. Through hands on enriching real world activities students have the opportunity to grasp the concept better. Construction workers, architects, and engineers use area and perimeter on a daily basis. With Makedo cardboard construction tools students would have a safe way to use the engineering process to build structures out of cardboard boxes. To further enrich the project upper grade students can come down and collaborate with our students to check their thinking and teach them what they know. Slowing down and teaching someone takes outside of the box thinking.
Project Heartbeat: Empowering Students to Save Lives
With the support of this grant, we will equip our students with essential CPR training materials, aligning with Alabama’s new law requiring students to practice this life-saving skill. The funds will be used to purchase face shields, one-way valves, disinfecting wipes, plastic lungs for manikins, and AED training pads. These materials will provide students with hands-on experience, ensuring they are prepared to respond confidently in cardiac emergencies.
This initiative not only fulfills a legal requirement but also empowers students with the knowledge and skills to make a life-saving difference in our schools and communities.
Planners will be provided to each student to support organization, track assignments, and manage deadlines. A large visual timer will be used during work sessions to promote time awareness, task initiation, and sustained focus. These tools will help students with disabilities build essential executive functioning skills such as planning, time management, and self-monitoring—critical for academic success and future independence.
Learning history through play, including role-playing and dramatization, is a powerful strategy backed by research to improve student engagement, understanding, and critical thinking. This active, hands-on approach supports deeper learning and promotes the development of communication, collaboration, and leadership skills—qualities that align with the United Way of Opelika’s mission to empower youth for lifelong success. I am requesting funding for historical character clothing to enhance these experiences and help students connect more deeply with the time periods we study. Dressing in attire that reflects the era brings history to life.
Wobble stools offer a unique solution to the challenge of maintaining focus and engagement in the classroom. Many students struggle to sit still in traditional chairs, leading to distractions that impede their ability to process and retain information. This natural but constant need for movement can interfere with their ability to follow lessons or complete tasks in a traditional classroom. Alternative Seating can help ALL students to focus and increase productivity. The stools purchased will be distributed to classrooms that serve over 50 students each day; they will all have an opportunity to use the stool regularly.
This upcoming year, I will embark on a new adventure as the Venture teacher at my school. I am super excited to play a role in helping students discover their passion for STEM education. One of the ways I hope to empower students is by providing opportunities for exploration. A Maker Space in the Venture classroom would allow students to tinker, create, and experiment, fostering problem-solving skills, perseverance, and confidence. Throughout the year, students will engage with Maker Space materials, including craft supplies, basic building materials, and engineering challenges.
