KyLee Fischer
Grade 5
Humboldt Middle School, Humboldt

I absolutely love making connections with students and seeing their love for learning grow. There are so many students who need love and listening and it is my greatest accomplishment when kids will open up to me with their struggles and feel comfortable telling me the good and bad going on in their lives. I have worked in this district in the past and it is such a supportive environment with a great administration. 

I love bringing hands on learning to the classroom and this grant will help me to be able to supply different things for my classroom to help all different types of learners in my classroom.

Paige Hanson

Grade 7

George Washington Middle School, Dubuque

In my first year of teaching, I am most looking forward to the growth and connections that I will make throughout the year. As a first-year teacher, I have a lot to learn and figure out and I am looking forward to learning and trying new things. I am excited to share my love for math with my students and help them discover their abilities and skills. As the start of the school year is approaching, I am excited to meet my students and get to know each of them and learn what kind of mathematicians they are. I love getting to know the kids and I learn and adapt how I teach based on what I know benefits them. I am looking forward to the celebratory moments, but I am also looking forward to moments of learning and reflection.

The funds from this grant will help me stock my classroom with supplies and tools that my students need to be successful. I will be able to afford materials that I may not have gotten without these funds. I am grateful for the opportunity of this grant.

Riley Kay

Grade 7 & Pre-Algebra

Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Dubuque

This year, I am most looking forward to implementing vertical learning in math class. Last year, during student teaching, I attended a professional development day about the book Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedahl, in which we talked about the importance of vertical learning. I'm excited to introduce my students to something a little different in comparison to what they might have seen in years past, which I hope might help spark a new love for math in them.

The funds from this grant will help me get more materials for vertical learning in my room. I would love to purchase magnetic manipulatives for my students to use at the whiteboards so that we can do more activities vertically, rather than at tables. Also, working at a school that serves a low-income area, some of my students don't come to school with all the materials to be successful in math class, so I would also like to purchase basic school supplies and class sets of tools that I can share with my students in need.

Anastasia Muell
Geometry
West High School, Waterloo

I'm most looking forward to learning from my students and my coworkers. As a teacher I feel like I'm naturally a lifelong learner, as I believe everyone should be. I'm excited to begin making connections with other people in the building and my students, and I can't wait to see how I change over the next year. I'm also looking forward to the support I'll receive from the other geometry teachers, which I've already seen from student teaching here last semester. They make me excited to be here and to work with them.

I'll be putting this money into making my classroom a comforting environment with plenty of materials to not only help support students academically but also with the everyday problems that come with being a teenager.

Brianna Sander
Grades 6-9 
Boyer Valley Middle and High Schools, Dunlap

In my first year of teaching, I look forward to bringing joy to math for my students, just as it brought me joy. While I understand that not everyone enjoys math, I hope most of my students enjoy my math class. I hope to gamify parts of the curriculum to build engagement and motivation as well as let them have some fun at the same time. I also hope to bring my background in Learning Technologies to find ways of using technology in the classroom.

I plan to use these funds to buy posters and decorations in my classroom. As well as to look into math manipulatives and technology to better my classroom for my students.

Alison Sherman
Grades 6-7
Waukon Middle School, Waukon

In my first year of teaching, I am most looking forward to the connections that I will make with my students. I believe that these relationships will set the foundation for the year. Additionally, these connections will allow me to make the math more applicable to their lives – and in turn will be more interesting for them and me. I want my students to know and feel that I care about them beyond their math scores. Math is not an easy subject and most of my students probably won’t make a career out of it. However, what matters most to me is that I am helping them grow into the hard-working, caring, and courageous people that they are meant to be.

These funds would help me create a safe, fun, and engaging environment that allows students to learn and express themselves creatively.

Jennifer Trucano
Grade 8 Pre-Algebra

Evans Middle School, Ottumwa

I think the thing that I most look forward to is making the connections with students and being a part of their math learning process. More directly, I look forward to seeing the 'light' come on for them the way it did when I understood it. I also hope to instill in them at least an enjoyment of math.

There are so many things that a first year teacher needs for their classroom. Our community has a variety of socioeconomic levels, and many students can't afford to purchase supplies for school. Not only will it help me to purchase bulletin board materials but also additional supplies that will be needed for the education of students in class.

Stormi Washburn
Grade 3
Holy Trinity Elementary, West Point

I am looking forward I think most to getting to know my first class of students and to be able to see the growth through the year they will make. 

The funds will go toward things for my classroom that I will need in setting up a classroom environment that all my students feel safe in and provide optimal learning abilities.

Trevor Welp
Grade 7
North Middle School

I am looking forward to teaching and making an impact in student lives. Students are faced with so many challenges and I want to be able to make a difference. Help them develop a mindset of growth and make sure they understand that struggling and growth are important to social and emotional learning. When it doesn’t go right don’t give up, try again. I want to teach them that understanding math concepts helps develop their critical thinking skills which helps prepare them for the future. I want them to be successful in middle school and help build confidence in their abilities to tackle not only math but also future challenges and show them how math plays a role in all of it.

Corry Pickering
Grade 5
Winterset Middle School

This school I am looking forward to working in a school that cares about their students. A big thing here at Winterset is memorable moments. I selfishly want they kids to always have memorable moments in my class. Whether that is from a small group collaboration or a fun activity we do all together. I wanted to teach at Winterset not just because it is my hometown but because at this school they out a focus on caring about kids by using CKH. CKH is a program called Capturing Kids Hearts. It is all about building relationships with the students and that is all me. One of my biggest strengths in the classroom has always been about how I genuinely care for the students and I'm excited to be in a school that supports that.

Trevo