Fall 2025 Grant Recipients

Congrats to our Fall 2025 Grant Recipients

Michelle Charles - School Pantry
The purpose of the grant is to create a school pantry for families at Beaumont Elementary School.

Kimberly Meader - Bringing New Music to Life: A Student-Composer Collaboration with Steve Danyew
This project invites students into the heart of the creative process by partnering with composer Steve Danyew to create (commission) a brand-new choral work written specifically for the Preble High School choirs. Over two school years, every Preble High School choir student will have a hands-on role in bringing this new piece of music to life.

Alyssa Zingler and Sandra Gomez - Newcomer and Refugee Assistance
This grant will support providing hygiene baskets to each family, which includes shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, dish soap, dish sponge, deodorant, body lotion, and body wash. In addition, the grant also provides Lyft/Uber gift cards to enable families to travel for the purpose of enrollment and/or enrollment assessment purposes.

Marta Maciolek - Planet HTRAE Story Path
Installation of a permanent story path along the walking paths of Planet HTRA, McAuliffe Elementary School's natural outdoor space, which includes a prairie, pond, and wooded area. This interactive literacy trail will feature pages from children’s books displayed in weather-resistant stations along the path, encouraging reading through movement and exploration.

Danielle Plennes - Districtwide Elementary Diabetic Field Trip
The grant will provide transportation to enable a field trip for elementary students in the District with Type I Diabetes. At many of our elementary schools there is only one diabetic student, so there isn't a sense of community for them. The field trip is a way for kids to meet other people who live life similar to each other and know they are not alone.  

Haleigh Doyle & Staci Perry - Lombardi STEAM Challenges
The goal is to acquire additional materials for STEAM lessons, including Rube Goldberg kits containing durable, non-consumable materials that can be used for multiple years.

Janelle Krebsbach - Peer Connections in the Community
Goal is to fund community outings for students in the autism program and positive peer supports from their general education classes to high interest locations in the community. 

Dr. Kane Mach - Reimagining Community, Strengthening Connections
This grant supports two intentional school events that reflect East High School's commitment to building strong relationships among students, families, staff, and the greater East community. These two events are designed to remove barriers, foster trust, celebrate success, and create opportunities for students both in and beyond the classroom. 

Sara Rathsack - Dreambox Literacy Incentives and Celebration
A goal of the 11 After School Program sites is to have 100% of students at grade level in literacy at the end of the school year. Grant funds will be used to encourage the use of Dreambox Literacy software and reward students when they reach milestones in the software, such as, finishing grade level skills, reading for a specific amount of hours, and completing a certain amount of lessons.  

Jessica Loritz - Slab Roller
The purchase of a professional-grade clay slab roller to significantly upgrade the ceramic arts facilities at Edison Middle School. The acquisition of a slab roller will provide greater efficiency allowing students to dedicate more time to design, advanced techniques, and conceptual development, thereby enhancing the rigor, quality, and accessibility of the ceramics curriculum.

Tammy Van Ess - The Hammock Hollow
The Hammock Hollow project will allow kids to explore their love for reading and outdoor learning. Reading outside during the school day offers students a refreshing change of pace that enhances both their academic and emotional well-being. Outdoor reading spaces like Hammock Hollow can transform literacy from a routine task into a joyful, immersive experience.

Michelle Flicek  - Raising Young Engineers & Club Time for All
Raising Young Engineers is a project that includes a number of field trips for first graders to the UW-GB STEM building to complete engineering challenges/projects.

Club Time for All grant will allow students to attend an after school STEAM focused club at no cost. The club will provide 5 weekly after school sessions to students. They will learn about a specific STEM theme and create a number of weekly projects. 

Katie Kohtala - Garden Club Grant
The grant will enable Danz Elementary to purchase a small shed, add shelving, repair the sink, and replace bird baths and feeders in the garden. In addition, the grant will also help cover the cost of a bus for a field trip to the Botanical Garden in the spring of 2026.

Michelle Eberhardt - Around the World in Healthy Bites a Passport to Healthy Plates
The "Around the World in Healthy Bites: a Passport to Healthy Plates" Culinary Club will provide middle school students at Red Smith with an engaging, hands-on learning experience focused on nutrition, wellness, cultural awareness, and essential life skills. This after-school club will meet weekly and introduce students to healthy cooking techniques while exploring flavors, traditions, and recipes from cultures around the world. Students will work collaboratively in a foods lab setting to prepare nutrient-dense meals and snacks, learn safe and sanitary food-handling practices, and develop confidence in the kitchen. The grant will support the purchase of fresh ingredients, global spices, culturally authentic cooking tools, and small appliances—such as air fryers—that make it possible to prepare healthier versions of traditional dishes.

Lauren Imlay - ELA 11 and AP Language and Composition of American Voices
The grant will purchase novels that support the Wisconsin state standards and the College Board CED standards of learning that students need to master by the end of the year.

Dana Roffers - Dance Team Uniforms
The goal is to purchase dance team uniforms for West High School. 

Hannah Bruesch - 7th & 8th Science Club Trees for Tomorrow Field Trip
This grant supports a transformative outdoor learning experience for 50 seventh- and eighth-grade students from Lombardi Middle School. Over the course of four days and three nights at Trees For Tomorrow Natural Resource Education Camp in Eagle River, Wisconsin, students will participate in an immersive, hands-on educational program designed to build environmental literacy, foster leadership skills, and strengthen students’ personal connection to the natural world.

DeAnne Keyser - Martin Musical
The goal is to work with students in grades 4 and 5 at Martin Elementary to present a musical to students and families in the spring of 2026. Students will try out for parts, practice during recess and after school, learn group dances, create sets, props, and costumes, and create notices. 

Brett Vandenlangenberg - Pedaling Toward Wellness: Enhancing Fitness Access with Recumbent Bikes
The grant will replace outdated upright bikes with two new recumbent exercise bikes that will significantly improve both the safety and performance quality of our fitness room. Modern recumbent bikes offer a low-impact cardiovascular workout that minimizes stress on the joints and lower back—making them suitable for users of all fitness levels and physical abilities.

Robert Kumpula - Girls Flag Football Team Transportation
This grant would provide funds for transportation, removing a barrier and allowing the team to compete, grow, and continue building momentum for female athletics at East High School. This program not only promotes physical health and teamwork, but also strengthens student connectedness to school, an important factor linked to improved attendance, academic success, and overall student well-being.

Kally Vyskocil - 4th Grade Field Trip to American Family Field
The grant will provide transportation and admission for a field trip to American Family Field to provide students with a meaningful, hands-on learning experience that supports our curriculum goals and promotes teamwork, curiosity, and community engagement. Attending this event will enhance students’ understanding of how  rainfall helps to shape the land and affects the types of living things found in a region.