Foundation For Allen Schools Funded Classroom Grants at

Ereckson Middle School

2022-2023 Classroom Grants

Might as Well Be Awesome Grant

This grant under Counseling Curriculum was awarded to Leslie Norris, Dewey O'Neill and Laurie Schaefer and will benefit 1,250 students at Ereckson Middle School.

This grant will provide Ereckson Middle School with the ability to implement a year-long self-care program. It will allow us to equip teachers and staff with tools and strategies to create a healthier and more productive climate for student success.

Making the Dream Possible!

This grant under CTE Curriculum was awarded to Raul Castillo and will benefit 30 students at Ereckson Middle School.

When mention of team competition in casual conversation occurs, one can‚Äôt help but to think of athletic events; perhaps such conversation might elicit a favorite team or game.  At the moment, robotics competitions may not be in the forefront of peoples minds, but such competitions have recently exploded in participation, so much so that even ESPN has covered the VEX Robotics World Championship in 2016 and CBS did a Sports Spectacular episode in 2017.  The championship takes place every year in Louisville, Kentucky, where more than 1100 teams from 30 nations compete. 

With robot utilization driving development in areas such as medical, agricultural, and public transportation, more and more attention will be drawn to the demands for such skill sets (coding, building, teamwork) to fulfill the growing robotics needs and implementation.  And it all starts with our students!

Oral Learning Supports for Core Subjects

This grant under English Language Arts (Secondary) Curriculum was awarded to Sabrina Passanante, Chelsie Burdick, Ashley Barnes, Chris Stinson, Jessica Hong and Darren Gaas and will benefit 1300 students at Ereckson Middle School.

Implementing headphone devices within each classroom will accommodate student comprehension in reading and writing content. The headphone devices will support students' need for the many digital activities and listening components in the classroom and curriculum. Providing leather headphones will allow for ease of sanitation after each use.

Mastering the Beginning Band

This grant under Fine Arts Curriculum was awarded to DJ Vaccarezza, Matt McGann and Chris Garza and will benefit 210 students at Ereckson Middle School.

6th Grade Beginner Band students will have the opportunity to work with professional musicians to build their individual playing skills and talk about opportunities in the music world!

Taking Math to the Next Level with IXL

This grant under Math - Secondary Curriculum was awarded to Laurie Merrick, Katie Kelley, Jim Benner, Anita Haskell, Michael Willingham, Paula Hudson and Carl Wells and will benefit 600 students at Ereckson.

EMS students are ‚ÄúTaking Math to the Next Level‚Äù using IXL Math learning platform.  Individualized and targeted instruction made possible for each and every student.  A teacher's dream come true: a tool that is easy to implement and creates successful, confident, growing math students!

Growing By Leaps and Bounds

This grant under Science / STEAM Curriculum was awarded to Heath Anderson, Lori Allen, Sarah Twedt, Bryan Jordan, Tanya Carleton, Raul Castillo, Ashley Hughes, Dawn Byars and Darren Gaas and will benefit 1,200 students at Ereckson Middle School.

EMS students are “Growing By Leaps and Bounds” as they explore and apply scientific reasoning while growing plants in Vertical Tower Gardens.

We Got the Beat!

This grant under Science / STEAM Curriculum was awarded to Lori Allen, Dawn Byars, Darren Gaas, Ashley Hughes and Joe Poorman and will benefit 600 students at Ereckson Middle School.

EMS students take a pulse on learning while using pulse-oximeters to measure their cardiovascular health and make connections between the circulatory and respiratory systems.

Empowered Leaders

This grant under Counseling Curriculum was awarded to Jennifer Armentrout, Jennifer Springgs, Samantha Fields, Meredith Martin, Austin White, Solomn Boatfield, Harold Allen, Dylan Martin, Todd Fornadel and Tara Cassetty and will benefit 300 students at Chandler Elementary, Marion Elementary, Olson Elementary, Preston Elementary, Rountree Elementary, Vaughan Elementary, Curtis Middle School, Ereckson Middle School and Ford Middle School.

Empowered Leaders takes place in six elementary schools and all three middle schools in Allen ISD who participate in this unique after-school leadership program which focuses on building leaders in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Students participate in field trip, leadership skills training, and serving through volunteer efforts.

ALLen Reads 2022

This grant under Library / Makerspace Curriculum was awarded to Kelly Clewell and will benefit 20,000 students across AISD and benefits every campus in Allen. 

ALLen Reads encourages the entire Allen community to read the same book or the grade-level appropriate companion book. The grant provides copies of the selected books to all campuses in Allen ISD, and the students have access to community events related to the books, such as author and illustrator speakers, writing presentations, and musical performances.

BRAINball

This grant under Physical Education Curriculum was awarded to Geoben Johnson and Katie Snider and will benefit 16,500 students across Allen ISD in grades K – 9^th.

BRAINball is an innovative and unique physical education learning system that merges physical activity and academic learning through play. In addition to the physical benefits, significant improvement will be seen in gross and fine motor skills, cooperative and cognitive learning.  Brainball has proven to produce positive changes in letter recognition,  students read better, improve mathematical skills, movement and writing skills. Research also shows positive changes in graphomotor skills, eye-hand coordination, and temporal-spatial orientation improvement when used on a consistent basis. The Brainball set includes 100 premade games/activities for K-6 that can be adapted for grades 7-9. Training will be provided to allow easy integration into district curriculum and to academic classroom teachers that want to use it for enhancing learning in their class. The brainball set is appropriate for Kindergarten through High School and can be adapted for students with special needs and learning deficits.

Real time data in Science

This grant under Science / STEAM Curriculum was awarded to Jason Baughman and will benefit 3,600 students Curtis, Ereckson and Ford Middle Schools.

This grant will support science and engineering practices in our middle school classrooms by giving students the opportunity to collect and analyze data in real-time. The sensors connect to any compatible Bluetooth device including phones, tablets, Chromebook, laptops, and computers.

I Can See Clearly Now!

This grant under Special Education Curriculum was awarded to Patricia Reyna, Sherri Idbeis, Karen McCrary and Colleen Dunphy and will benefit 45 students across Allen ISD who have a visual impairment.

Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments serve students throughout the district and provide consult and direct instruction for teachers and students with blindness or visual impairments. An iPad Pro is a tool that makes accessing learning materials possible for students that struggle with seeing on a regular iPad screen. An iPad Pro also serves as an evaluation tool for TSVI's and our Orientation and Mobility instructor in the district.

2021-2022 Classroom Grants

Soaring Into Success!  

This grant under Counseling Curriculum was awarded to Laurie Schaefer and will benefit 1250 students.

This grant will provide Ereckson Middle School with the ability to implement a year long self care program. It will allow us to equip teachers and staff with tools and strategies to create a healthier and more productive climate for student success.

Oral Learning Supports for ELA

This grant under English Language Arts (Secondary) Curriculum was awarded to Debra Herman along with Sabrina Passanante and will benefit 1200 students.

Implementing headphone devices within each classroom will accommodate student comprehension in reading and writing content. The headphone devices will support students' need for the many digital activities and listening components in the English Language Arts classroom and curriculum. Providing leather headphones will allow for ease of sanitation after each use.

3D printing with Robotics

This grant under Science/STEAM Curriculum was awarded to Graham Gadd along and will benefit 150 students.

Middle School Students using 3D printers to build robots. Students at Ereckson Middle School are using 3D printers to manufacture parts to drive their robot in the BEST competition. They are getting ready for the future of Engineering.

Ereckson BEST Robotics Team GOES PRO

This grant under Science/STEAM Curriculum was awarded to Graham Gadd along and will benefit 500 students.

BEST Robotics GOES PRO. Ereckson Robotics is using the latest Go Pro camera to enhance their robot production and team video production.

VEX Robotics Competition Event Host

This grant under Science/STEAM Curriculum was awarded to Raul Castillo and will benefit 40 students.

Although robots are all around us, they are surely not taken over! Our Robotics students are ready to show-case their knowledge and skills in this STEM field ensuring that technology is our friend. Our VEX Robotics competition will demonstrate how humans and machines can work together.