Marilyn Zweng First Year Teacher Grant
2026 Grant Recipients
At Least 50% Mathematics Teachers ($500)
Joel Akers
8th Grade Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calc, and Tech. Math
East Union High School, Afton
I am the most excited for the relationships that I will be able to create in my first year of teaching. Throughout all of my practicum and student teaching experiences I enjoyed getting to know my students and their stories the most. This allowed me to know what my students needed from me in the classroom and what things encourage and motivate them.
I am going to be living 20 miles away from where I will be teaching and so this money will go a long ways toward living and transportation expenses that will go into my first year of teaching. I also be buying new decorations and supplies for my classroom that this grant would help support.
Nicholas Asjes
Grades 5 - 8
St. Patrick School, Perry
As I dive into teaching I am most excited to meet the students and their families. Forming healthy, respectful relationships is an incredibly important part of childhood development. I want to be a pillar of dependability, accountability, and respect, and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of establishing those values in my first year.
As I begin my first year I feel that the classroom environment is key to both my own mental organization and the student’s comfort and learning. The main goal with my funds would be to acquire art and visual aids that make my classroom cozy and informative. Because English may not be the language that comes most easily to most of my students, visual tools and hands-on materials are incredibly important to scaffold their learning and cement support for their growing understanding. These tools and aids would be the primary use for my grant funds, should I be selected.
Brook Hagans
Grade 7 & Pre-Algebra
Van Buren Community Schools - Harmony Center, Farmington
As a first-year teacher, I am excited to create a positive and engaging learning environment where students feel supported, encouraged, and confident in their abilities. My goal is to help students build not only their mathematical understanding but also their belief that they can succeed through perseverance and practice. I strive to use hands-on activities, meaningful real-world connections, and differentiated instruction to meet the diverse needs of every learner.
Receiving this grant would provide valuable support as I begin my first year as a Title Math teacher. Because I work with students who need additional intervention and individualized instruction, having access to high-quality instructional materials and hands-on learning tools is essential. Grant funds would allow me to purchase manipulatives, math games, visual aids, storage and organization supplies, and other resources that make abstract mathematical concepts more engaging and easier for students to understand.
The funding would also help me create a welcoming, well-organized learning environment where students feel comfortable taking risks, asking questions, and building confidence in their mathematical abilities. Many of my students benefit from interactive and differentiated materials that can be adapted to meet their individual learning needs, and this grant would help ensure those resources are readily available.
Rachael Michel
Middle & High School Math
Hamburg Community Schools
I have had my sub license for 5 years, and am teaching under my intern license. I am excited to learn more of my daily routine and keeping lesson plans flowing. We are a charter school so keeping students busy for 90 minutes will be challenging.
I would like to purchase white boards, markers, and calculators. We are a very low income school district. I would like to purchase a class set that I have for all students to be able to utilize.
Alexa Turnage
Grades 6-9
Central Middle School, Waterloo
I am so excited to have my first classroom and foster my own culture in my classroom through building classroom relationships and creating norms and expectations for my students. I have had opportunities to teach a class multiple times, but all of these have been stepping into classrooms where the routines and procedures are already established, so I know that this is going to be a huge learning curve for me and I’m so excited to learn what does and doesn’t work for myself and my students. I am also excited to plan lessons for my students - again, when I step into a classroom that isn’t mine, I don’t want to disrupt the peace too much, so being able to shape a lesson in the format that works best for myself and my students, incorporating lots of problem-centered learning and group work is something I’m very excited to have the opportunity to do.
If selected to receive these funds, I will utilize the money in a variety of ways. I work in a school where 85% of students are economically disadvantaged, so I would love to use part of this grant to provide my students with quality school supplies like pencils, erasers, colored pencils, white board markers, etc. I’d also love to use this money to decorate my classroom, as I don’t get paid until after the school year starts and I’m not sure how much of a budget I’ll have for things like that. It’s important to me that I provide my students with a variety of tools to help them learn including low-distraction fidgets like worry stones, and mathematical manipulatives that may help them visualize concepts, and receiving this grant would make this much more possible.
Kimberly Walljasper
Geometry & Probability and Statistics
North High School, Davenport
I am looking forward to seeing students grow throughout the year. I am looking forward to watching students have lightbulb moments. I am looking forward to celebrating those lightbulb moments while helping students recognize that their progress in their mathematical understanding is a result of their effort and persistence. Beyond academic growth, I look forward to getting to know my students and building relationships that make them feel comfortable, supported, and valued in my classroom. I am looking forward to learning a lot myself as a first-year teacher. I am excited to implement the ideas that I learned about in my courses at UNI.
The funds from this grant will be used to buy classroom necessities. When I visited my classroom, it was very bare. I did not realize until that moment how much of a teacher’s classroom is teacher-funded. This grant would help me begin my teaching career with the tools needed to build a positive, inclusive classroom where all students feel capable of succeeding. Some specific examples of items I would purchase with this grant include systems for classroom organization such as turn-in bins. I would buy extra student supplies such as pencils, highlighters, erasers, colored pencils, notebooks, etc. I would buy any manipulatives I feel would be beneficial to my courses, such as 3D models of cones, spheres, cylinders, etc. Lastly, I would spend any leftover money on classroom decorations or for expanding my teacher wardrobe.
Less than 50% Mathematics Teachers ($300)
Claire Haag
Kindergarten
Mid-Prairie East Elementary, Kalona
I am most looking forward to meeting all my students and building relationships. I think, as an educator, the best part is getting to learn all the amazing things about students and their interest which help in all aspects of the classroom. Students have so many experiences that are so easily incorporated into the classroom that make an elementary room so fun to be in.
I will use funds to purchase math manipulatives to help engage hands on learning in the classroom, like play-doh and shape visuals. I would also love to purchase large anchor chart paper to work on math talks with students to develop our math vocabulary and dive deeper into our conversations about math.
Kendal Helmuth
2nd Grade
Mid Prairie School District
In my first year of teaching I am looking forward to building relationships with all of my students, creating an engaging and welcoming learning environment, and helping each student to believe in themselves and what they can do.
The funds from this grant will help me tremendously as I am preparing my classroom to be a welcoming learning environment. Being a first year teacher, I am trying to figure out what are the necessities needed to aid in my students learning and these items can become pricey.
Jenna Huisman
Grade 1
Sioux Center Christian School, Sioux Center
Something I am really looking forward to in my first year of teaching is getting to know each of my students well. I am excited to find out what motivates and excites them, what each of their gifts are, and to get to know their personalities.
I am looking forward to creating a classroom where learning can be fun as well as meaningful. I am looking forward to talking with my students and instilling confidence in them through encouragement and celebrating their hard work. With this grant, I would love to purchase some learning materials for my students, such as math manipulative/counters and games. I would also use the money for organization units (bins, paper filing rack, stackable storage, etc.) so my classroom can be clean and organized. This will ensure the teaching materials are easy to access for both myself and my students.
Nevaeh James
Kindergarten
Unity Elementary School, Sioux City
For my first year of teaching, I am most looking forward to settling in to a routine in my classroom. It takes weeks to teach routines and expectations. It also takes time to begin teaching curriculum, assess students, and determine the instruction they need to be successful. While I am very excited for the beginning of the year, I am looking forward to when I have established those relationships with my students and we can dive into learning our content.
As a first-year teacher, a lot of my personal funds have been used to create a classroom that I feel will foster a welcome learning environment. An important part of this process, for me, is to provide learning materials that students can use in various ways to learn through hands-on experiences. This grant would make it possible for me to provide my students with those materials and learning experiences. As a first-year teacher, we are not given our first paycheck until the end of September, so these funds would make a big difference.
Emma Phillips
6th Grade
Fremont Elementary, Fremont
In my first year of teaching I am looking forward to building relationships with my students and helping them grow, academically and as human beings. I only have twelve students, so I have the incredible opportunity to spend a lot of one on one time with each student. My favorite part of teaching is having conversations with students to get to know who they are and what they value. I have learned so many things about teaching during my time in college and practicum experiences, and I can’t wait to put them into action in my own classroom. I enjoy teaching all subjects, so I am very excited that I found a 6th grade position that allows me to instruct all subjects. I am a little nervous about teaching science, because 6th grade science falls under middle school standards. However, I am also excited because I will get to go more in depth on each scientific phenomenon with my students.
I need academic posters to hang up in my classroom. I am not provided with any from the district, so I will need to buy premade academic posters or pay to have the posters from my curriculum printed. I would also like to purchase flexible seating, such as a table, wobble stools, and comfy chairs for my students to sit at while they work. I have bookshelves in my library, but I would like to add some chairs or a small couch for students to sit on as they read. I would like to purchase materials to create STEAM bins for students to use during our soft start in the mornings.
Kennedy Preston
1st Grade
Winterset Elementary School, Winterset
What I am most looking forward to in my first year of teaching is finally having a classroom of my own and getting to know my students. After spending several years in college preparing to become a teacher, it will be exciting to finally put what I have learned into practice.I am especially looking forward to seeing my students grow throughout the year. I want to be there for the moments when something finally clicks, when a student gains confidence, or when they accomplish something they have been working hard on. Those are the moments that make teaching so rewarding to me. I am also excited to build relationships with my students and create a classroom where they feel safe, respected, and comfortable being themselves. I know my first year will be a learning experience for me as well, and I am looking forward to learning from my students, coworkers, and the experiences that come with being a first-year teacher. Most of all, I am excited to start this career and make a positive impact on the students I teach.
Funds from this grant would be extremely helpful as I begin my first year of teaching. Starting a classroom comes with many expenses, and having financial support would allow me to purchase materials and resources that will help create a welcoming and engaging learning environment for my students. I would use the funds for classroom supplies, educational materials, books, hands-on activities, and other resources that can make learning more enjoyable and accessible for my students. As a first-year teacher, I know I will be building my classroom from the ground up, so having extra funding would take some of the financial pressure off while allowing me to provide my students with the materials they need. This grant would also give me the opportunity to purchase resources that I may not otherwise be able to afford on a first-year teacher's budget. I want my classroom to be a place where students are excited to learn and have the tools they need to be successful. I would be very grateful for this support as I begin my teaching career and work toward creating the best classroom possible for my students.
Teagan Schaefer
2nd Grade
West Elementary, Wellman
In my first year of teaching I am most looking forward to getting to know my students. As we all know, students are at the center of our job. They are the brightest parts of our day. I am excited to create relationships with students that make them feel loved, seen, and capable. As a first year teacher, the job can feel daunting. But, I feel that if we lean on each other as educators and create that bond with our students too, we will find success. Along with my students, I am also looking forward to working with my peers. Just in the few days I have been a part of the district, it is very obvious that our team is a family.
The community and culture of West Elementary is extremely inviting, welcoming, and powerful. Funds from this grant will help me during my first year teaching as certain materials and resources are limited as a young, new teacher. These funds will allow my students to receive more access to a multitude of resources, which will create great success in my classroom. I hope to provide my students with the best learning experience possible and this grant would help me and my students greatly.
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