Tim Villa
School: Rockyford School
Location: Rockyford, SD
Project: Expanding Archery Opportunities on Pine Ridge
Tim plans to use the Dreamstarter Teacher grant to expand his archery program and increase traditional archery opportunities for students on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He will purchase archery equipment, host archery meets and take students to train at the NFAA shooting facility. These activities will promote cultural pride and encourage Lakota values through practice and competition.
Connie Michael
School: Crow Agency Public School
Location: Billings, MT
Project: CROW Artisans
Connie is a returning Dreamstarter Teacher, and plans to continue her fifth-grade entrepreneurial program. Her class will plant, cultivate, harvest, and sell traditional foods from their school garden. Her program will teach students about business development, the importance of healthy eating, and Crow culture.
Pamela Fleury
School: Chamberlain Elementary
Location: Chamberlain, SD
Project: Classroom Cultural Presentations
Pamela will introduce her second-grade students to indigenous cultures of the area by hosting cultural presentations for her classroom throughout the year.
Crystal Doney
School: Harlem Junior and Senior High School
Location: Harlem, MT
Project: Harlem Youth Leadership Team
Crystal’s Dreamstarter Teacher grant will support the Harlem Youth Leadership Team, a group of students dedicated to creating change by working with various tribal departments (CDC Prevention, Tobacco Prevention, PHN, etc.) to combat issues affecting their community.
Isaiah Wright
School: Margaret Keating School
Location: Crescent City, CA
Project: The Game of Life
Isaiah will create an engaging life-size game to teach his students lessons about math, English language arts, and life itself. Lessons will include budgeting, interview skills, college, and more.
Ronald Schali
School: Middle College High School
Location: Ramah, NM
Project: Microprocesser based Laser Powered Dine/ Zuni Language Aid
Ronald plans to build laser powered language prototypes to support language learning (of the Diné and Zuni languages) among elementary students. Each team of students will design and develop a device utilizing a microprocessor and laser light “strings” to automatically play recordings in the Diné and Zuni languages for colors, numbers, animals and more. Through this project students will learn language, basic programming, soldering skills, basic electronics, sound recording and editing, and collaborative working skills.
Erica Gonzalez
School: South Valley High School
Location: Ukiah, CA
Project: Native Student Alliance
Erica will use this grant to fund the Native Student Alliance, an organization focused on decolonizing education at her school by inviting Native teachings into the classroom.
John Twichel
School: SAMS Middle School
Location: East Jordan, MI
Project: Underwater Robotics
John plans to engage his students in underwater robotics. His students will build machines that travel underwater and retrieve, deploy, and release items under limited time.
Shannon Britton
School: Round Valley Elementary and Middle School
Location: Covelo, CA
Project: Cooking in the Classroom
Shannon will integrate cooking into her classroom, teacher her to healthy eating habits. Students will work with recipes that use locally grown and traditional food.
Lisa McRorie
School: Malcolm High School
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Project: The Quest for Success
Lisa aims to provide differentiated instruction for the social studies curriculum at her school by utilizing hands-on, fun learning activities, such as field trips, for students to engage with the history and culture of the surrounding area.
Jedd Tougas
School: Ronan High School
Location: Ronan, MT
Project: Montana Natural History Field Trip
Jedd will use this grant to facilitate a field trip to Yellowstone National Park, furthering place-based education that integrates culture, community, and science with his high school students.
Casy Cann-Figel
School: Round Valley Elementary and Middle School
Location: Covelo, CA
Project: Practical Application of Traditional Medicine
Casy aims to integrate the practical application of traditional medicine into her classroom. With this grant, Casy and her students will focus on one plant-based alternative and the process of creating it, from harvesting the plant-medicine in a respectful way, to making a salve.
Michelle Schoenfelder
School: Chamberlain Elementary
Location: Chamberlain, SD
Project: Increasing Access to School Supplies
Michelle plans to purchase school supplies and books for the students in the community of Chamberlain, ensuring that students have all of the tools necessary to succeed academically.
Ruby Tuttle
School: Del Norte School District
Location: Crescent City, CA
Project: Cultural Activity Resource Books
Ruby hopes to create an informational book written and illustrated by the students in her community about basket weaving and the materials used to weave baskets in Northern California. Focusing on processing methods, plant identification, and how to use the materials in northern California basket weaving, this book will be printed and distributed among the fourteen schools represented by Title VII American Indian Education.
Tiffany Cacy
School: Sequoyah School
Location: Tahlequah, OK
Project: Large Motor, Large Success
Tiffany will use her grant to create a space at the Sequoyah School for students to engage with gross motor skills, which in turn will help to improve student’s attention and alertness in the classroom.
Jennifer Quintana
School: Northwest Middle School
Location: Murray, UT
Project: Strengthening Communities Through Real World Applications
At Northwest Middle School, Jennifer will expose students to elders, storytelling, native language(s) and culturally rich environments by tailoring lessons and field trips to align with indigenous history and culture.
Jessica Johnson
School: Ronan High School
Location: Ronan, MT
Project: Native Plant Garden
Jessica hopes to expand her school’s Native plant garden, utilizing this grant to increase access to education materials and supplies necessary for the garden to flourish.
Roanne Alden-Hill
School: St. Labre Indian Schools
Location: Ashland, MT
Project: Apsaalooke Language & Culture Bowl
Roanne is a returning Dreamstarter Teacher who will use her grant to host a second Apsaalooke Language & Culture Bowl, brining together students from different high schools to cultivate cultural pride and promote traditional knowledge.
