Empowering Educators Grants

2022-2023 Recipients

Megan Altebrando, CE McCall Middle School, Montoursville, for energy exploration stations to supplement classroom science education.  

Heather Aulisio, Tobyhanna Elementary Center, Pocono Pines, for a hydroponics tower to help teach fifth graders about science and agriculture.  

Heather Bartholomew, West Berwick Elementary School, Berwick, for hands-on learning kits for an after-school coding club. 

Karyn Bashore, Rutherford Elementary and Paxtang Elementary, Harrisburg, for a project that brings STEAM concepts to life during students’ weekly library instruction. 

John Berta, Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences, Drums, for the materials needed for students to create a computer-controlled RGB pixel light show synced to music.   

Sarah Boughner, Shamokin Intermediate School, Coal Township, for a collaborative computing project to help close the equity gap in computer science education, specifically with students with disabilities.   

John Brander, Valley View Senior High School, Archbald, for materials needed to upgrade the school’s engineering department and STEM curriculum.  

Kristen Brazon-Petrick, Central Columbia Elementary School, Bloomsburg, to create a STEM makerspace and STEM challenge days to engage students in kindergarten through fourth grade.  

William K. Cammann, Pfaff Elementary School, Quakertown, for the materials needed to incorporate STEM activities into the curriculum for all of the school’s fourth-grade students.  

Jacqueline Clymer, Strayer Middle School, Quakertown, for materials students need to complete STEM projects in hands-on math exploration courses.  

Robert Cowder, Shamokin Area High School, Coal Township, for a project that will teach students about renewable energy systems such as solar, hydro, wind or geothermal.  

Shanna Crisman, Central Columbia Middle School, Bloomsburg, for STEM kits that will allow fifth-grade students to learn with hands-on activities.  

Richard DeSocio, Palmerton Junior High School, Palmerton, to create a makerspace to expose students to hands-on STEM activities.  

Nikki Dissinger, Highland Elementary, Camp Hill, to provide students the opportunity to explore, imagine, refine and persevere through STEAM using the Sphero Bolt robot.   

Vivian Feliciani, Eyer Middle School, Macungie, to provide updated materials for the school’s STEM lab. 

Stefani Fink, George Wolf Elementary School, Bath, for supplies that allow students to learn science skills through hands-on experiments.   

Gretchen Finney, Wayne Highlands Middle School, Honesdale, for a project that integrates STEM concepts into the family and consumer sciences classroom using applied science, technology and math through context such as nutrition, food science, apparel, textiles and interior design.   

Angela Fowler, East Juniata Elementary School, Richfield, for equipment that will teach students about coding and robotics.  

Valerie Fry, Selinsgrove Area High School, Selinsgrove, to introduce freshmen agricultural students to the STEM principals essential to the agriculture industry.  

Donna Grecian, William Allen High School, Allentown, for an afterschool engineering exploration program.  

Jennifer Gross, Trexler Middle School, Allentown, for a project that will lead students in the development of an urban farming lab.  

J. Hunter Hart, Juniata Elementary School, Mifflintown, for a bird feeder cam that will allow students to learn about and monitor wildlife at the school.  

Jennifer L. Johnson, Lincoln Elementary School, Bethlehem, to create a STEM Cart for all students in K-2 and provide resources that bring science, technology, engineering and mathematics to life.  

Deborah Kerby, Pocono Mountain East High School, Swiftwater, for equipment to provide computer science students with a hands-on coding experience.  

Elizabeth Kirman, Lower Dauphin Middle School, Hummelstown, for the development of a STEM exploratory class for all seventh graders in the district. 

Mark Kreisher, Muncy Jr. Sr. High School, Muncy, for an afterschool bot building project that allows students to become immersed in robotic design and technology and apply their skills in CAD, 3D printing, LASER cutting, CNC machining and troubleshooting in a competitive, teamwork event.  

Victoria Kreysar, Allen Middle School, Camp Hill, for a watershed conservation project in which students raise trout from eggs to full-grown fish to get hands-on experience with a variety of subjects such as ecology, science, mathematics, social studies and language and fine arts.

Ricardo Luciano, Sheridan Elementary School, Allentown, for a project to engage African American students with STEM subjects at the elementary school level.  

Machele Lynch, St. Patrick  School, Carlisle, to help expand the school’s garden into a sustainable gardening system, incorporating various lessons for each grade.  

Jessica Mack, Blue Mountain Elementary East, Orwigsburg, for a project that explores the life cycle of a butterfly.  

Kirk Marshall, Bloomsburg Area High School, Bloomsburg, to provide students with positive, hands-on robotic experiences through a competitive robotics team.  

Samantha Masco, Carbondale Area Junior/Senior High School, Carbondale, for an afterschool STEM program to introduce middle school students to career and vocational pathways for life after high school. 

Suzanne Milkowich, Jim Thorpe Area High School, Jim Thorpe, for a project that introduces students to the engineering design process. 

Jestine Myers, Millville Area Junior/Senior High School, Millville, for a project that allows students to experience electronics and manufacturing through hands-on, real-world experiences in order to inspire them to consider careers in the manufacturing and engineering industries.  

Angie Naugle, Fairview Elementary School, New Cumberland, for a cross-curricular field trip that inspires students to think like an engineer and foster a problem-solving mindset.   

Kim Nemitz, West Scranton Intermediate School, Scranton, for lab supplies that will enable students to continue hands-on STEM activities.  

Kimberly Nenscel, Parkside Elementary School, Palmerton, for supplies to create a lending lab of STEM activity kits and materials for students throughout the school to use.  

Karen Price, Union Terrace Elem School, Allentown, to establish an afterschool program for students to explore and learn about 21st Century skills in a project-based, STEAM environment.  

Christina Reiner, Upper Dauphin Middle School, Lykens, to support the school’s participation in a creative, problem-solving competition that allows students to work cooperatively to solve a long-term problem using STEAM-related skills and “outside the box” thinking.   

Susan Rivera, Neidig Elementary, Quakertown, for materials needed to create a STEAM-focused exploration course.  

Ross Ruschman, Monroe Career & Technical Institute, Bartonsville, to expand the use of drones, robotics, and electronics in the field of environmental science.  

Kaye Schwenk, Schuylkill Haven Area High School, Schuylkill Haven, for a watershed conservation project that encourages students to be more aware of their role in sustaining and conserving the natural world around them.  

Dustin Sheffer, Fairview Elementary School, New Cumberland, for STEM activity kits that will engage students in collaboration, problem solving, experimentation, innovation, discovery and communication, encouraging technology use, adaptation and knowledge application. 

Kristin Stahl, Newberry Elementary School, Red Mill Elementary School, Washington Heights Elementary School, Lemoyne, to provide the opportunity for students to work in small groups to utilize, create and code Sphero robots to perform different STEM tasks. 

Karen A. Stamm, Christian Home Educators’ Fellowship of the Susquehanna Valley, New Columbia, for mini bots classroom kits to provide a hands-on learning experience with equipment using coding and robotics. 

Jennifer Susko, Riverside Elementary East, Moosic, for a project that uses the concept of heraldry to allow students to create a symbolic representation of their lives, combining art, design and coding.  

Nadeen Swab, Central Columbia Middle School, Bloomsburg, for materials needed to allow every seventh-grade student to build a tabletop trebuchet, a hands-on lesson in the science of motion. 

Cathy Tombasco, Drums Elementary Middle School, Drums, for a project that teaches elementary students the basics of computational thinking. 

Tiffany Underkoffler, Williams Valley School District, Tower City, for STEM activity kits for use in an elementary school STEM classroom.  

Amanda Zullo, Hazleton Area High School, Hazle Township, to promote STEM career opportunities to students participating in the school’s newly formed extracurricular math club.