The Rutherford County Schools Foundation has awarded its inaugural classroom grants to educators.
A total of 50 grants were awarded to 29 schools and 71% percent of the eligible submissions will be fully funded, according to an announcement from the foundation. Of the grants awarded, 28 went to elementary schools, while middle and high schools each had 11 projects represented.
Educators were invited to apply for the grants in September and were scored by retired teachers. Grants range from $250 to $1,500 and recipients will be formally awarded in early 2027.
“Each award represents an educator who saw an opportunity to do something more – and took the initiative to make it possible. The foundation is honored to encourage that spirit of innovation and to affirm the extraordinary difference teachers make every day,” the foundation said in its announcement.
Funded projects touch nearly every part of the school experience, including book clubs, gardens, biomedical science and culinary arts. Nearly 20 emphasize literacy and language arts; 11 focus on science, technology, engineering and STEM learning; four support special education and student needs; two emphasize the arts, music, or design; and while nine others bring together interdisciplinary learning, life skills, career exploration or other classroom innovations. Though these are primary focus groupings, many projects cross into other subjects.
A complete list the winning educators and projects are as follows:
Jayla Cole | Imagine It, Design It, Create It. A 3-D Design and Maker Space | Roy Waldron Elementary |
Emily Mayberry | Tales with Tonies | Lascassas Elementary |
Lichelle Leonard | Protect the Past: How Can We Save Fossils from Earth's Forces? | Smyrna Elementary |
Molly Sanchez | Yo Soy, I Am-- Helping Hispanic Students See Themselves in Literature | Rock Springs Elementary |
Delynn Shiarla | Building Independence Through Life Skills Task Boxes | La Vergne Lake Elementary |
Mark Gibson | Beyond the Classroom: Real-World Apprenticeship Lab | Smyrna Primary |
Alyssa Franks | Phonics to Fluency: Building a UFLI-Aligned Decodable Library | Stewarts Creek Elementary |
Jaron Pruitt | Creating Positive Change: 3-D Design and Innovation in RISE | Siegel Middle School |
Hanna Sloan | Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief for Sixth Grade ELA | Central Magnet |
Jamie Shields | Wolverine Works: Student-Run Print and Promotion Lab | LaVergne High School |
Kirstie Hensley & Nicholas Bone | A Mental Reset Without Stepping Away from Learning | Stewarts Creek Elementary |
Kevin Forster | Vertical Whiteboards for Making Student Thinking Visible | Stewarts Creek High |
Victoria Morse | Visible Math | Siegel Middle School |
Kristee Desposito | Making Math Come Alive | Siegel Middle School |
Brandi Carter | Read, Lesson, Discover:Rebuilding a Classroom Library for Every Reader | Blackman Elementary |
Mallory Viscardi | Life Skills Lab in NASA GLOBE Weather Station | Rockvale Middle |
Kaci Runion | Collision Into Learning: An Energy Transfer Investigation | Stewarts Creek Elementary |
Melissa Johnston & Andrea Jordan | Little Trailblazers Lab | Stewarts Creek Elementary |
Heidi Redmon | Little Hands, Big Language Development: Alphabet Sensory Tubs | Stewarts Creek Elementary |
Zach Martin | From Drop to Data: The Mars Descent Challenge | Blackman Middle |
Clara Kaplan | MakerSpace Mania: Focus on the "A" in a STEAM Choice Challenge | Christiana Middle |
Cheryl Yager | Cooking in the Classroom | Smyrna High School |
Rayann Loftis | Bringing Books to Life: 3-D Printing in the Library | Smyrna Elementary |
Leigh Lambert | LEGO Club: Computer Science and AI Kit | Rocky Fork Elementary |
Michelle Courtney-Leno | Empowering Every Voice | Rocky Fork Elementary |
John Lee | Genetic Analysis of Familial Hypercholesterolemia | Central Magnet |
Lori Garza | Build It, Write it: Helping ESL Students Build Stronger Sentences | Rockvale Elementary |
Kelly Messerly | Words Worth Sharing: A Poetry Reading and Writing Project | Smyrna West |
Holly Maynard | Butterfly Garden | Christiana Elementary |
Mike Messerly | Annual Career Fair | Smyrna High School |
Christi Pantall & Tanya Lane | Little Hands, Growing Minds: The Great Phonics Adventure | Barfield Elementary |
Shannon Hallavant
| Marble Run Graphs | Oakland Middle |
Brittany Helton | Little Hands, Big Phonics: A Multisensory Experience | Wilson Elementary |
Nicole Davis | The Brain | Central Magnet |
Katelyn Ross | A House for Every Bird: Meeting Nature's Needs Through Engineering | Stewartsboro Elementary |
Katie Harris | Math in Motion: Engineering with Snap Circuits | Rockvale Elementary |
Eve Harrison | Go Directly to Hands-On EKGs, Please | Central Magnet |
Margaret Oliver | Vertical Learning | Siegel Middle |
Tiana Mathavong | The Power of Novel Studies: Building Stamina, Critical Thinking and a Love of Learning | Poplar Hill Elementary |
Alyssa Pitts | Book Bring Us Together: Growing a Book Club Library | Kittrell Elementary |
Holly Cochrane | Block Pixel Printmaking | Poplar Hill Elementary |
Sydni Randolph | 8th Grade Science--Lights, Fingerprints | Christiana Middle |
Sarah Medley | Criminal Justice: Investigative and Courtroom Simulation Lab | Riverdale High
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Rachel Sanderson | Growing Minds: One Plant at a Time | Walter Hill Elementary |
Turner Hutchens & Paul Alumbaugh | SMS Courtyard Garden Improvement Project | Smyrna Middle School |
Ashley Pennington | Bird Buddies, Bringing Language to Life through Nature Sounds | Walter Hill Elementary |
Ashley Pennington
| Beary Fluent: Building English Skills with Buddy Bears | Walter Hill Elelmentary |
Lois Walker | Meet the Authors | Smyrna High |
Lurie Pittman | Supporting Life-Saving Skills Through Biomedical Science | Central Magnet |