On August 3, 2026, a total of 162 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 $260,888.82 in grants. These funds will support 151 innovative projects, bringing new programs and materials into classrooms across every school in the district.
Congratulations to this year’s grant recipients:
Administration
Emily DeJohn - $1,149.98
Denkmann Elementary School
Chris Beierlein + Jennifer Smith - $976.96 - Engaging Readers, Empowering Learners: A Flexible Literacy Environment
Michele Blew - $806.00 - Look Listen Learn
Claudia Lopez - $1,000.00 - 5th Grade Podcast and Storytelling Studio
Susan Molina-Padro - $1,500.00 - Voices Across Languages
Robin Moreno - $800.00 - Thrive System
Emily Peterson - $709.00 - Fostering Organized and Engaged Scholars
Jennifer Sholl - $1,500.00 - Denkmann Lego Club: Building Made Fun
Bridget Taheny - $1,500.00 - Girls on the Run
Pat Versluis - $3,000.00 - Reflex Math
Callie Walker - $1,500.00 - Building a Functional Classroom: Flexible Seating and Essential Storage
Earl Hanson Elementary School
Alleena Blackwell - $1,800.00 - Pathways to Financial Success
Hannah Brandenburg - $1,500.00 - The Imagination Station: Fostering Connection Through Purposeful Play
Maria Frere - $1,265.93 - HeArtful Expressions: Cultivating Social-Emotional Growth Through Visual Arts
Henry Hall - $968.20 - Library Elements Using Interactive Notebooks
Karri Hantz - $1,500.00 - Building Ideas: LEGO Learning Lab
Amanda Hollingsworth - $1,500.00 - Making the Most Out of WIN Time
Andrea Jacobs - $1,499.43 - Excellence in Reading Challenge
Dionne Lohmann - $687.70 - Flexible Minds, Focused Learners: Enhancing Student Engagement Through Flexible Seating and Mindfulness
Danielle Neneman - $1,500.00 - Project Play: Fostering Community in the Classroom
Lamon Phillips - $1,500.00 - Moving Classrooms: Interactive Adventures in Education
Dorisa Ramos-Podoba - $1,100.00 - Voices Across Languages
Beth Raygor - $1,347.65 - Hyggekrog
Beth Raygor - $2,923.97 - Supplemental Learning Through Play
Elizabeth Saunders - $1,500.00 - Earl Hanson Library & Resource Room
Ryan Scannell - $3,000.00 - Bump, Set, Spike
Amy Verstraete - $1,500.00 - Bringing It Back Old School- Structural Recess Play
Edison Junior High School
Tara Gonzales - $1,500.00 - Art Connect
Cassandra Salas-Mikaio - $3,000.00 - We Are Creators!
Eugene Field Elementary School
Amy Benac - $2,447.34 - Equipping Ability: Resources for Inclusive Learning Success
Angie Brownson, Lori Gregan - $3,000.00 - Eagle Reading Quest
Cynthia Castro - $3,000.00 - Soaring Readers: A Decodable Text Initiative
Stephanie Goettsch, Sallie Heine - $3,000.00 -Pages for Progress: Novel Studies
Jessica Daves - $1,500.00 - Little Scientists in Action
Ashley Reeves - $1,500.00 - Ready, Set, Grow!
Abbigale Yodts - $3,000.00 - Soaring Through Stories
Frances Willard Elementary School
Brynn Pauwels - $750.00 - Big Benefits in Small Spaces
Grace Mottet - $3,000.00 - Guided Play - Kindergarten
Horace Mann Early Learning Center
Bailey Brockhouse - $1,120.00 - Trauma-Informed Interventions In An Inclusive Setting
Patti Brooks - $1,500.00 - Creating Bright Minds Through Learning and Play
Aubrey Butler - $1,021.00 - Library Area
JaLynne Gimm - $1,500.00 - Sensory Pathways to Learning
Kathleen Hernandez - $3,000.00 - Playgrounds for All: Giving Every Child a Voice
Aubrey Keller - $1,500.00 - Playing To Learn & Learning To Play
Denise Lekwa - $1,500.00 - Inclusive Innovation: Supporting the Whole Child Through Interactive Learning
Stephanie Mader - $1,500.00 - Little Hearts, Busy Hands, Bright Minds
Michelle McDonald - $1,500.00 - Rhythm and Rhyme
Jeanne Mueller - $1,500.00 - Inside Out: Learning Without Walls
Susie Pittard - $1,500.00 - Learning Through Literacy
Tonia Poterack - $3,000.00 - Building Relationships and Bridging Gaps by Limiting Screen Time
Andrea Quinn - $1,500.00 - Beyond the Blackboard: Aligning Technology with the Head Start Framework for Diverse Learners
Jennifer Robinson - $1,500.00 - Page Turners
Jennifer Smith - $1,500.00 - Supporting Inclusion Excellence
Quinnlan Tuominen - $1,412.00 - My Marvelous, Musical Mind
Renee Vidmar - $1,500.00 - Music & Movement
Longfellow Liberal Arts
Dania Bebber - $3,000.00 - Strengthening Bilteracy through Structured Reading Intervention: Implementing S.I.L. in a Transitional Bilingual Education Program
Liz Kantner - $400.00 - Communicate, Collaborate, and Critical Think!
Joyce Mantanguihan, Kyrstin Swanson - $2,263.30 - Digital Learners of Tomorrow
Tara Niemeier, Mandy Stout - $3,000.00 - Hands on Learning in Kindergarten
Gabby Paul - $1,500.00 - ML Culturally Relevant and Relatable Text
Anastasia Veloz - $1,500.00 - Hands On Learning Experience
Rebekah Zimmerman - $1,500.00 - "STEM" Out of the Box
Ridgewood Elementary School
Olivia Bowman - $1,500.00 - Picture Books for Young Minds
Elizabeth Hughes - $800.00 - Increase Time on Task
Rosaland Lee - $3,000.00 - Ridgewood Family Night Outdoor Cinema Initiative
Monica Painter - $1,491.80 - Finding New Friends Through New Partner Play
Jeff Schmulbach - $1,446.00 - Gamifying Elementary Fitness
Rock Island Academy
Daryn Brants - $800.00 - 1st Grade - The Journey to Becoming Published Authors
Emma Forest - $1,456.00 - Screen Free Centers
Samantha Heath - $1,500.00 - Little Leopards Leaps of Success in First Grade
Tanya Hepner - $1,500.00 - Math Extravaganza
Laura Irish - $1,828.93 - 6th Grade Leadership Academy
Becky Lapp - $3,000.00 - Intervention Lending Library
Brandy Lawrence - $905.66 - Beyond the Screen
Sarah McCoy - $1,500.00 - Creativity Counts: Hands-On Math & Phonics Through Art and Manipulatives
Sarah McCoy - $3,000.00 - Learning Through Movement: Inclusive Play-Based Supports for Multilingual Learners in Kindergarten and First Grade
Tre’ McKinney - $1,500.00
Purity Njagi - $1,000.00 - Building Bridges Through Culture and Learning in a TBE Swahili Classroom
Jamie Parkins, Amanda Schaubroeck, Tre’ McKinney, Lisa Williams - $2,280.00
Tara Parr - $670.00 - Second Grade Scientists 26/27
Jamie Ruberg - $1,500.00 - Screen Free and Learning
Ebonie Wilmington - $1,066.41 - Power Down Playgrounds
Amy Zero - $1,270.03 - PBIS House of Leopards
Rock Island Center for Math and Science
Sarah Andrus, Lindsey Anderson, Mike Carton - $2,615.37
Danielle Blackwood - $3,000.00 - Books Always Win! School-Wide March Book Madness
Kylee DeDecker - $483.00 - Calming Reading Environment
Katie Entsminger - $467.33 - Logic Games with Alternative Seating
Amy Kennelly - $1,299.50 - Bars, Beats, and Bandages
Amy Moffitt - $2,691.36 - Build It! Code It! Ride It!
Kelly Tyler - $1,450.00 - Learning Beyond Words: From Access to Mastery
Ashley Slater - $3,000.00 - Read Books, Make Memories
Shaya Smith - $2,009.75 - Beyond the Page - Multimedia Success for 4th Grade
Chad Wickard - $1,340.00 - Structured Sensory and Organizational Supports for Student Success
Rock Island High School
Mark Bollaert - $1,332.00 - Building Strength, Stability, and School Spirit: Integrating Medicine Balls into Physical Education
Jose Burgos - $1,106.00 - Voices Unbound: Breaking Language Barriers for Multilingual Learners and their Parents
Brianna Casaratto - $1,150.00 - Flexible Seating for Special Education High School. Classroom and Reading Nook
Caitlin Clough - $1,500.00 - NextGen Science Spaces
Katie Dennis - $711.66 - Project-Based Learning Storage Solution
Keith Dunker - $1,486.00 - Lab Supplies and Materials
William Gustafson - $1,500.00 - Professional Artists Workshops
Meaghan Jackson - $400.00 - Charge It Up
Kelly Jacoby-Edgerton - $1,500.00 - Connecting Paths with Edge
Madison Johnson - $1,500.00 - Building Social-Emotional & Executive Functioning Skills for Student Success
Ben Kirgan - $1,491.65 - Science Lab Level Up
Jason Kitterman - $1,490.00 - Grip It and Stick It
Jason Kitterman - $3,000.00
Morgan Maring, Christina Dyer - $3,000.00 - Enhancing Transition Services Through Virtual Work-Based Learning
Meaghan Miers - $691.00
Janna Miller-DeDecker - $1,500.00 - Rocky Pride Starts Inside/ The Tassel is Worth the Hassle/ Preparing for our Future
Daniel Nelson - $1,400.00 - Inclusive Badminton Equipment for Enhanced Physical Education: Building Skills for All
Magdaline Nzioka - $1,000.00 - Math Language Lab: Interactive Learning for ML Students ***
Jennifer Trimble - $1,471.42 - From Empty Shelves to Endless Discovery
Derek Ross - $1,500.00
Maria Schrup-Hanrahan - $3,000.00 - The RIHS ML Department Strategic Priority Alignment Grant
Laurie Vroman - $1,500.00 - Pocket Lab: Measuring Air Quality in Our Community
Jillian Wales - $1,498.28 - Relief Printmaking: Exploring Repetition, Contrast, and Visual Communication
Wade Weber - $1,500.00 - RESET & REPLENISH
Ivy Wilmington - $1,500.00 - Regulate to Learn: Building a Supportive Behavioral Learning Environment
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School
Kim Leyendecker - $550.00 - Chess Please!
Amy Marshall - $1,500.00 - Lights, Camera, Action: Empowering Student Voice Through BCBK News
Brittany Mensen - $1,275.00 - Cultivating Confident Readers
Lindsay Munson - $1,500.00 - Comfort Creats Confident, Curious Learners
Dean Van Vooran - $1,500.00 - LEAP! 3
Bailie Vandygriff - $1,455.47 - Connecting Curriculum Through Hands-On Dramatic Play
Thurgood Marshall Learning Center
Chris Britton - $1,480.00 - Digital Music Production Suite - Digital Media Expressions
Amanda Crecelius - $1,500.00 - Marshal Marketing
Nicole Hubbs - $1,500.00 - Little Hands, Bright Minds, Smartboard Project
Lillian Taylor - $1,500.00 - Brain Smart Technology Exploration
Myckenzie Raymond - $3,000.00 - Empowering Movement, Inspiring Growth
Steve VanDeWalle - $2,997.44 - Empowering Learning Through Entrepreneurship
Washington Junior High School
Katherine Nelson - $1,000.00 - The State of the Plate
Multi-School Grant
Giovanna Davila - Thomas Jefferson - $3,000.00 - Fine Arts Day 2026
Mara Goodvin - Ridgewood - $3,000.00 - My Drum Must Keep the Beat
Regina Knobloch - Longfellow - $3,000.00 - CKLA Curtain Call Domains
Mary Marunde - Earl Hanson - $4,000.00 - Mobile Innovation Labs: Expanding Advanced Thinking and STEM Enrichment Across K-6
Mary Mendelin - RIHS - $5,000.00 - Lamar Giles Author Visit
Wade Weber - RIHS - $5,000.00 - THREE FOR ALL
Sharon Williams - Administration - $5,000.00 - Imagine Your Future: RIMSD College and Career Fair