On August 1, 2025, a total of 142 educators across the district were awarded PRIME grants by the Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation (RIMEF).
This year marks a record-breaking milestone for the RIMEF, which awarded an impressive $260,219 in grants. These funds will support 134 innovative projects, bringing new programs and materials into classrooms across every school in the district.
Congratulations to this year’s grant recipients:
Denkmann Elementary
Department/School Grant
Jennifer Knuth - $3,000.00 Kindergarten Literacy Lab: Building Strong Readers
from the Start
Susan Molina-Padro & Kristen Banks - $3,000.00 STEM into Robotics
Janine Olson & Brigitte Taheny - $3,000.00 Girls on the Run Participation Scholarship
Angie Paprocki & Jennifer Smith - $3,000.00 Step into Reading
Emily Peterson & Claudia Lopez - $3,000.00 Science Explorers
Jennifer Sholl - $3,000.00 Denkmann Lego Club
Earl Hanson Elementary
Teacher Grant
Melissa Barton - $1,500.00 Learning Through Dramatic Play
Alleena Blackwell*- $940.00 Empowering Readers Through Flexible Spaces and Literature
Hannah Brandenburg - $1,500.00 Creating a Comfortable Classroom
Jacqulyn Cobb*** - $1,400.00 Art in the Classroom
Amanda Hollingsworth - $1,500.00 Purposeful Play
Brandy Junis - $1,300.00 Making Positive Behavior Changes
Dorisa Ramos-Podoba - $1,162.50 Access Through Experience: Realia for Multilingual Success
Stacy Rohm - $1,498.55 Colorful Minds, Calm Hearts: Supporting Emotional Growth Across Learning Styles
Jennifer Schrempf - $1,500.00 STEM Activity Cart
Bailie Vandygriff - $1,500.00 Bringing Science to Life with LEGO
Department/School Grant
Andrea Jacobs - $2,799.65 LEGO Education
Mary Marunde - $1,633.30 Growing Young Minds: Critical Thinking and Literary Inquiry for Gifted Learners
Molly McGreevey - $3,000.00 Social Emotional Materials
Danielle Neneman - $2,000.00 Explore Learning Through Field Trips
Michael Rockstroh - $3,000.00 Earl Hanson Orff Ensemble
Eugene Field Elementary
Teacher Grant
Tyler Allison - $1,200.00 Enhancing Organization
Edwina Campbell $1,010.57 Hands on Learning Activities for a Special Education Classroom
Jessica Daves - $1,499.12 Interactive Learning to Promote Collaboration in Young Learners
Ashley Reeves - $1,500.00 Kindergarten Interactive Learning to Promote
Collaboration in Young Learners
McKenzie Seymour - $1,498.05 Establishing a Functional Classroom for Kindergarten
Department/School Grant
Amy Benac - $3,000.00 Hands on Learning
Cynthia Castro - $2,914.60 Operation: Organization!
Angela Seys - $2,900.00 Refresh Our Interventions and Organizations
Frances Willard Elementary
Teacher Grant
Kelly Beale - $1,500.00 Our Pack Reads
Department/School Grant
Kimberly Gardner - $3,000.00 The Circle Keepers
Brooke Greenwood - $3,000.00 STEM It Up!
Horace Mann Early Learning Center
Teacher Grant
Patti Brooks - $1,500.00 Seed of a Story
Tanya Hepner - $1,500.00 For the Love of Literacy
Aubrey Keller - $1,500.00 All STEAMED Up for Learning
Stephanie Mader - $1,500.00 The Little Nest Project: Growing Natural Beginnings in Preschool
Michele McDonald - $1,500.00 Thinking Big in Block Center
Jennifer Mohr - $1,500.00 Building Motor Skills In and Out of the Classroom
Jeanne Mueller - $1,500.00 Making Books Come Alive
Kylie Ramsey-Moody - $1,500.00 Learning Through Play
Linnea Sparacello - $1,500.00 Music in the Preschool Classroom
Department/School Grant
Jennifer Smith & Jill Loter - $3,000.00 Sensory Regulation and Calming Tools
Longfellow Liberal Arts
Teacher Grant
Alannah Alexander*** - $1,500.00 LionARTs: Creative Arts at Longfellow
Regina Knobloch - $1,500.00 OKLA Curtain Call
Riley Pobanz - $1,498.00 Little Leopards Fun Centers
Anastasia Veloz - $1,500.00 Hands On Learning Experience
Maggi Voss - $606.13 Reading for All and E-Learning Simplified
Department/School Grant
Steven Inman - $1,400.00 We See You!
Kimberly Kettering - $3,000.00 Longfellow House System
Latoya Lee - $1,100.00 Supporting Student Wellness through Emergency
Hygiene, Clothing, and Cleaning Supplies
Tara Niemeier & Mandi Stout - $2,356.00 Kindergarten Learning Comes to Life
Multi-School Grant
Eliana Aguilar - $2,000.00 Hip Hop Dance
Ridgewood Elementary
Teacher Grant
Alexis DeWilde - $1,411.75 Fact-Finders: Empowering 2nd Graders with Nonfiction Reading Tools
Department/School Grant
Elvia Goins - $3,000.00 Marvelous Memories Part 1
Multi-School Grant
Mara Goodvin - $5,000.00 Buzzing Through the Melodies
Monica Painter - $2,550.00 Buzzing to the Melody
Rock Island Academy
Teacher Grant
Sydney Erichsen - $500.00 Healthy Habits, Healthy Minds
Samantha Heath - $1,450.00 Steps of Success for First Grade
Brandy Lawrence - $1,264.63 Social and Emotional Learning
Tre’ McKinney - $1,500.00 Bringing Knowledge to Life
Jamie Ruberg** - $850.00 Little Steps Lead to Big Success
Dionna Swanigan - $1,500.00 Inclusion Materials
Kelly Vroman - $1,026.23 Projecting Light Through a Len
Lisa Williams - $1,500.00 Hands on Learning
Department/School Grant
Adam Beck - $2,000.00 Mobile Music Lab: Resource Storage and Composition Tools
Vickie Duilin - $3,000.00 ROAR for a Growth Mindset
Olivia Frantzen - $2,000.00 Celebrating Attendance
Miranda Lee - $3,000.00 Scholars at Play
Heather McCarty - $1,500.00 The Nurse’s Corner: Clean & Confident Kids
Jamie Parkins - $1,692.60 Second Grade Scientists 25/26
Molly Ricketts - $1,000.00 Field Trip to Pride of the Wapsi – Building Background Knowledge to Connect with Core
Kelly Vroman - $2,228.00 Moby Max Mania
Ebonie Wilmington - $2,633.00 Durable Ear Candy for the Classroom
Amy Zero - $3,000.00 Creativity & SEL
Rock Island Center for Math & Science
Teacher Grant
Lindsay Anderson - $585.00 My Own Copy!
Craig Brackney - $450.00 Chess Club
Amy Kennelly - $1,500.00 Tooting in the Key of Regret: The Recorder Revival Fund
Jaqueline Krone - $1,493.60 Growing the Whole Child through STEAM and Play-based Learning
Stacy Lofgren - $752.00 Building Background Knowledge through Literacy
Tera McCormick-Skinner - $300.00 Indoor Recess Games
Kelly Tyler - $1,458.00 Learning Beyond Words: Resources for Right-Brained and Emergent Learners
Chad Wickar - $1,500.00 Engaged and Excited III
Susana Williams - $200.00 Becoming Writing Experts
Department/School Grant
Sarah Andrus - $1,928.77 Enhancing Classroom Engagement
Rita Entsminger - $2,291.47 5th Grade: Getting Organized and On the Path to Success
Amy Moffitt - $2,895.81 Bolt and Dash
Julie Ruff - $1,713.34 6th Grade: Organized and Building Habits for the Future
Ashley Slater - $3,000.00 March Book Madness
Thomas Jefferson Elementary
Teacher Grant
JaLynne Gimm - $1,000.00 Constructing Curiosity
Jane Kettering-Bryant - $1,387.17 Handling Energy and Harnessing the Power of Groups
Kaitlyn O’Brien - $1,500.00 LEAP! 2
Department/School Grant
Attendance Committee - $2,000.00 Attendance Rocks
Ryan Early - $3,000.00 Goal!!! TJ Scores Again!
Amy Marshall - $3,000.00 Reading for Real: Expanding Minds Through Non-Fiction
Multi-School Grant
Giovanna Davila - $5,000.00 Fine Arts Day 2025
Edison Junior High School
Teacher Grant
Tara Gonzalez - $1,500.00 Shine Bright Clean Crew
Lauren Hall - $1,500.00 Social Studies Interactive Notebooks
Danyelle Hatter - $614.38 Game On for Math Mastery!
Christopher Versluis - $700.00 Hands on History
Department/School Grant
Cassandra Salas-Mikaio*** - $3,000.00 Soaring Artists 2.0
Multi-School Grant
Matthew Manweiler - $4,974.40 Building Healthy Hands and Strong Musicianship Through Targeted Teaching Aids
Washington Junior High School
Teacher Grant
Clarice Brown - $1,500.00 Matter and Energy Plant Supplies
Holly Moreland - $1,500.00 Flexible Seating
Department/School Grant
Dawn Deaner - $3,000.00 Supporting SEL Through PBIS
Emilie Heald*** - $1,150.00 Color My World
Rock Island High School
Teacher Grant
Caitlin Clough - $1,500.00 Bridging Minds & Matter
William Gustafson*** - $1,500.00 Professional Artists Workshops
Josephine Johnson - $1,500.00 Diverse Instructional and Classroom Setting Supports For RIHS EL Learners
Christopher LaRoche - $1,500.00 “Don’t Be Salty! It is Just an Acid-Base Reaction”
Meghan Miers - $1,306.23 School Supplies
Robert Mwaga - $1,500.00 From Spoken to Written
Norma Ramirez - $800.00 Creating a Classroom of Reading Culture
Stacy Rel - $1,499.49 Classroom Reading Project and Seating
David Schriefer*** - $1,500.00 It’s Easel as 1, 2, 3
Courtney Stone - $1,157.85 Explorations in Dissection
Kyle Taylor - $1,433.74 VISA: Visual Intervention for Student Achievement
Maria Trigueros - $600.00 Technology for EL’s in the 21st Century: Timekettle Real-time Translator Earbuds
Jennifer Trimble - $1,479.64 “Little pig, little pig let me in! I’m gonna stick you with my dissecting pin!”
Christi Varnes - $1,500.00 Raise Up Rising Rocks
Andrew Vogel - $1,500.00 Interactive Science
Laurie Vroman - $1,100.00 Watershed Watch: Monitoring and Modeling Source Pollution in Watersheds
Department/School Grant
Lorelei Andedo - $3,000.00 Promoting School Pride & PTG (Persistence to Graduate)
Lonnie Behnke - $1,500.00 World Language Food Lab
Emily Bohling - $3,000.00 Graphing Calculators for Kids
Katie Dennis - $2,598.75 Scaling Up Science: The Importance of Accurate Balances in Lab
Jason Kitterman - $2,000.00 3D Filament & Tools
Jana Miller-DeDecker - $3,000.00 Next Step - Careers
Maria Schrup Hanrahan - $3,000.00 The RIHS EL Department Shoring Up Assessments
Michael Tollenaer - $3,000.00 2026 Spring Musical
Wade Weber - $3,000.00 Where Do I Belong
Multi-School Grant
Kathy Lelonek - $3,000.00 Rocky Resource Room
Thurgood Marshall Learning Center
Teacher Grant
Johnna Gamble - $1,500.00 First Aid & CPR/Reproduction Training Equipment
Rock Island-Milan School District
Multi-School Grant
Chris Beierlein, Dionne Lohman, Jen Woolsey - $5,000.00 Growing Positive Partnerships and Professional Learning
Bettina McWilliams - $5,000.00 Reading Revolution 25-26 Visiting Author Series
** Barbara Fackel PRIME Grant Recipient
*** Rock Island Art Guild PRIME Grant Recipient