Public Education Foundation of Charlottesville-Albemarle makes a dozen awards to local teachers

Since 2004, the Public Education Foundation of Charlottesville-Albemarle has raised funding to help schools in both localities. Here is their aspirational statement.

“Through community involvement and support, we strive to make sure that every child, in our two public school districts, will have access to educational experiences that prepare them for success; every teacher will have the resources to educate in the most effective manner; and every administrator will be able to provide exemplary support and leadership.”

To that end, the group hands out grants to teachers who are seeking to innovate in the classroom. Today a dozen awards were announced.

“Our goal for the Teacher Innovation Grants is to inspire teachers to create and try new ideas and engage students,” said PEFCA Executive Director Penny Harrison in a release.

Awards range between a few hundred dollars and a cap of $2,000.

They are:

• Albemarle High School teacher Michelle Banaszak is working with technology called Pocketalk in the Peer Tutoring Center to replace the use of cell phones in translating between instructors and students who do not use English as a first language.
• Burnley Moran Elementary School teacher Jessica Scott has a project called BME Earth Stewards that seeks to educate students about composting through data collection.
• Jackson-Via Elementary School teacher Jessica Pedersen has a project called Equitable Access in Enrichment: Making Specials Inclusive for All. This will involve the use of adaptive equipment.
• Jackson-Via Elementary School teacher Ida Cummings has a project called Writing Together: Strengthening Home-School Connections that is a writing workshop for second-grade students and their parents.
• Monticello High School teacher Jeannette Stott received funding for a program called Making Printmaking Accessible to teach skills that have been used for hundreds of years. This will allow purchase of linocut tools, ink, and soft kut linoleum.
• Monticello High School teacher Bernice Brythorne has a project for Advanced Placement Environmental Science students called Authentic Field Research. This will involve a two-day research trip to Mountain Lake Biological Station in southwest Virginia.
• Stone Robinson Elementary School teacher Angie Foreman has a project called Calming Spaces and Happy Faces to teach the importance of remaining calm in stressful situations. This will create resources to teach people how to calm down at times when things are overwhelming.
• Foreman also is part of an initiative called Libros en Espanol to purchase more books that are in both English and Spanish.
• Foreman also is part of a project called The Need to be Seen: Neurodivergent Representation in the Library to purchase books.
• Walker Upper Elementary School teacher Amy Wissekerke received funding for a project called Classroom Economics for 6th Grade. The idea is apply math skills to real-world decision-making.
• Walker Upper Elementary School teacher Beth Bohannon builds off of the above item with Positive Pathways: Incentivizing Growth & Engagement. This adds a school store to use the Class Cash concept introduced in Wissekerke’s class.

Both Bohannon and Wissekerke also were awarded funding for a project called Together We Lead: Enhancing School Community & Engagement.

“The last year for Walker Upper Elementary School, established in 1966, will be 2025-2026, as a new school will serve the community,” reads the release.

The school once had a lot of club activities but they were all shut down five years ago with the COVID-19 pandemic and never rebounded.

“Teachers hope to restart and renew clubs across the school during the day as the students prepare for transition,” the release continues.

To learn more about the grant program and to consider applying for next year, visit the PEFCA website.

Before you go: Where do stories come from? This one came from an is derived from an email sent out by the organization that handed out the awards. I would love to do a fuller story, but this isn’t it. I do this work, though, because I want people to know that humans are always seeking ways to help other humans. The innovations here seem to be part of that, and I wanted to share. In any case, this was sent out in the March 13, 2025 edition of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter. Want to support the work? Keep paying attention for opportunities.