MS teachers receive thousands of dollars to provide hands-on education opportunities

On Friday, twelve accomplished Mississippi teachers received Leo W. Seal Innovative Teacher Grants to help pay for their original teaching projects that will provide more hands-on learning opportunities to students.

The Leo Seal Grants provide up to $2,000 for teachers to implement a new teaching idea into schools in the eight Mississippi counties Hancock Whitney, which funds the grant, serves—Forrest, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Lamar, Madison, and Pearl River.

The 2024 recipients of the grant gathered for a luncheon at the Great Southern Club where Paul Maxwell, one of Hancock Whitney’s Vice Presidents, led a ceremony honoring the recipients for their achievements and dedication to teaching.

Lacey Vitale, a teacher at Hancock High School and one of the award recipients, told the Sun Herald that the process to apply for the grant was long, but that the money she was awarded will help to replace tools her students were using to study watersheds that were 10-15 years old.

She said the grant, “helped my kids get the opportunity to get resources that weren’t available to us otherwise.”

Below is a list of all the winners and a description of their grant funded projects:

Tracy Applewhite Broome, of Hope Academy—Florence Gardens. Her project “4th Grade Diddley Bow Project” will help fourth-grade students experience the culture of the Delta Blues by “creating their own Diddley bows, performing at school, hearing insights from a regional blues musician, and traveling to the Mississippi Blues Trail.”

Wendy DeAnn Holland, of Anniston Avenue Elementary School. Her project “2nd Grade Interactive Learning at AAE” will provide seven lessons to, “help second-graders discover and adapt learning styles through hands-on projects such as contraction and text feature ‘surgery’; archeological ‘digs’ to put together compound words; solving math ‘mysteries’; and studying and participating in an election process.”

Kaley Hudson, of Biloxi Junior High School. Her project “Visualize Your Career in a Virtual Reality” will provide virtual reality headsets and computer simulations to guide seventh and eighth grade students through, “cybernetic explorations that help them connect current education to future career choices in Mississippi industries, develop Individual Success Plans for high school, and enhance technology skills.”

Georganne Kinney, of Hancock Middle School. Her project “Hawks Brew” will allow for an in-school coffee cart operated by special needs students to, “empower individual independence, teach important business management skills, prepare young people for future employment, and promotes understanding, empathy, compassion, and inclusivity among all students.”

Vanessa A. McKee, of Ocean Springs Upper Elementary School. Her project “Science in Action: Engineering Rube Goldberg Machines” will allow for fourth through sixth-grade students to learn “physics, engineering, and simple machine concepts by experimenting with and building Rube Goldberg machines, which engage students in solving problems with creative, out-of-the-box thinking and applying classroom teaching to complete projects.”

Shelby Miller, of Singing River Academy. Her project “Sparking Interest in STEM Careers” will create five different STEM related activities help fifth- and sixth-grade students, “take deep-dives into a variety of career arenas, employing practical exercises and industry research about women and minorities in career fields, salary scales, why careers matter, and educational requirements for career success.”

Heather Montgomery, of Cherokee Elementary School. Her project, “Unlocking Success in Escape Room Design” will create, “interactive, immersive gamified experiences that incorporate pop culture with traditional curriculum as second- through fourth-graders generate innovative storyline ideas and set escape room puzzles for peers to solve, which helps strengthen their own critical thinking, communication, and creative capabilities.”

Debbie Anglada Powell, of Popps Ferry Elementary School. Her project, “All Around Biloxi” will allow second-grade students to “engage in collective writing, resulting in a chronicle of interesting information, facts, and features presenting Biloxi’s rich, diverse story and use their content to plan, design, and build a museum exhibit that broadens appreciation for shared learning and community.”

Stephanie Stanley, of Lyman Elementary School. Her project, “Lyman Leaders--Future Entrepreneurs” will take second- through sixth-grade gifted students through, “real world simulations to teach the opportunities and challenges of becoming an entrepreneur — including business planning, financing, marketing, and advertising — to capitalize on their innovative ideas and teach creative thinking, communication, and life success skills.”

Cindy Desire Steven-Pheal, of Oak Grove Middle School. Her project, “Building Bridges” will teach students about, “bridge history and construction as well as civil engineering careers. Sixth-grade gifted education students will compete using CAD software to design, build, and test scale-model bridges and present their portfolios at district competition based on criteria for national contests open only to older students.”

Jillian Strong, of Hancock High School. Her project, “Gamification of Biology in Secondary Education: A New School Method to Enhance Old School Learning” will allow for students in grades 10-12 to, “accelerate their understanding of multiple basic biology topics and fundamental science concepts using sets of highly rated educational board and card games directly related to state standards.”

Lacey Vitalec, of Hancock High School. Her project, “Watch Out for Watersheds” will allow for sophomore, junior, and senior aquatic science and zoology students to, “see first-hand the relevance and vital importance of watersheds to environmental health and productivity through periodic chemical analysis, macro vertebrate collection, and data reporting from visits to Bayou La Terre and Rotten Bayou.”