hard deadlines

Teacher of the Year Kim Cunningham with PPEF president Helen Furriel (l) and treasurer Donna Manning. Photo by Paul Gallagher.

At the Portsmouth teacher orientation this morning, the Portsmouth Public Education Foundation (PPEF) announced their 2010-2011 PPEF Educational Excellence Grant Recipients and their 3rd Teacher of the Year Award recipient, Kim Cunningham of Portsmouth High School.

This year's Teacher of the Year award was sponsored by NewportFed, and nominations were accepted throughout the month of May from the Portsmouth community. Cunningham, in addition to the award, received a $1,000 unrestricted grant from PPEF at the presentation this morning.

Thirteen Educational Excellence grants were awarded totaling $8,743 to teachers in Melville Elementary School, Portsmouth Middle School, and Portsmouth High School:

Elaina Amaral (PHS): Whales – Up Close and Personal;
Kimberly Hancock (PHS): Real World Reading;
Leanne Gordon Perry (PHS): Anatomical Modeling;
Diane Roth (Melville): Center Stage + Math;
Kathleen Beebe (PHS): Enhancing Science Labs;
Sandy Oxx (PHS): Using E-Readers in the Classroom;
Rose Escobar (PHS): Tribute to My Hero;
Donna Powell, Sue Roklan, Valerie Seveney, Bryn Weymouth (Melville): Lights Camera Action – Building Reading Fluency;
Alison Ernest (PMS): Listen to This;
Richard Price (PMS): Listen and See the Music of America;
Carol Strakosh (PMS): Poetry in Performance;
Sharon Raposo (PMS): Building the Skills of Autistic Children
Kimberly Hancock, Marilyn Thompson, Michelle Beaulieu (PHS): Reading SOS, Strategies for Older Children.

In addition to PPEF fundraising, the foundation received community support to help fund these grants. A generous donation came from the Dr. Robert A. Davidson Charitable Fund from proceeds earned in a public concert the held this past January. A Civic Support Grant sponsored by Sen. Charles Levesque and another grant by the Barton J. Carroll Foundation also helped fund this year's grant awards. A new memorial grant, the William "Jay" Humphrey Jr. Memorial Grant, was also created in memory of former PPEF President, Jay Humphrey, who passed away this year.

Grant recipients from the last school year will also get to showcase their projects in the upcoming Fall Social on October 21, 2010, which will be held at Green Valley Country Club in Portsmouth. This event is open to the general public and hosts a silent auction to raise additional funds for future grants.

PPEF would also like to welcome three new board members to PPEF: Eileen LaCazette, Ellen Toner, and Bruce Jones. They bring tremendous talent to our organization and we look forward to a strong future with their contributions.

PPEF is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to improve, promote, sponsor, and enhance the educational experiences of public school students. PPEF awards grants directly to teachers for events, activities and projects that are not financed by the school or town budget. Since 2001, the foundation has awarded 131 grants totaling over $68,589.00. Learn more at the PPEF web site

Full disclosure: I am a PPEF board member. Yes, this is from a press release.