First Place Winner: Hannah Bodine

School: Auburn High School

Grades Taught: 10th-12th Grade

Project Title: Sustainable Island Diorama

Project Description: The Sustainable Island Diorama is an 18-week, hands-on learning experience aligned with Alabama science standards. Students design and construct a model that demonstrates sustainable living practices, integrating concepts from urbanization, forestry/soil/agriculture, water, energy, and biodiversity. Through research, planning, and creative design, students balance environmental, economic, and social factors to create a functional and resilient ecosystem. This project promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and real-world application of scientific principles while encouraging environmental stewardship.

Second Place Winner: Amy Dillard

School: Cary Woods Elementary School

Grade Taught: 1st Grade

Project Title: A Cozy Start - Providing a Warm Welcome for Our Ducklings

Project Description: In our classroom, students engage in an enriching hands-on experience by hatching duck eggs. This teaches them about the life cycle of animals, responsibility, and empathy through real-life observation and care. Once the ducklings hatch, they require an environment (brooder) to thrive in that mimics the care they would receive from a mother duck. Currently, our classroom lacks a proper brooder for our ducklings. Without this, our ability to sustain this valuable learning experience is limited. This grant would provide a high-quality brooder and give students the opportunity to observe and learn from the early stages of a duck’s life up close.

First Place Winner: Bryn Dawson

School: Pre-K Program Located at Sanford Middle School

Grade Taught: Pre-K

Project Title: Classroom Items

Project Description: We use all kinds of different hands-on toys in our classroom and outside. I would be so grateful for any money donated to my preschool classroom.

Second Place Winner: Sandra Rohling

School: East Smiths Station Elementary School

Grade Taught: Kindergarten

Project Title: Mrs. Rohling's Classroom

Project Description: This grant will be used to add items to my classroom to help provide flexible seating options, update and add manipulatives, and replace needed classroom supplies through out the school year.

First Place Winner: Kyla Chambers

School: Northside Intermediate School

Grade Taught: 3rd Grade

Project Title: Growing Greatness in Third Grade

Project Description: My goal is to create an engaging, hands-on learning environment that supports student growth and achievement. I have a strong passion for teaching and ensuring that every student has the opportunity to learn based on their individual needs. With this grant, I plan to purchase flexible seating, hands-on manipulatives, STEAM kits, and enrichment materials to increase engagement, support diverse learning styles, and promote critical thinking and creativity. These resources will help create a positive and innovative classroom where students can explore, collaborate, and succeed. I truly appreciate your support and consideration!

Second Place Winner: Meghan Deagan

School: Opelika High School

Grades Taught: 10th-12th Grade

Project Title: Spanish Class Project Resources

Project Description: Whether I'm teaching Spanish 2, 3, or 4, there are so many ways to dive deeper into learning the language and culture and I am always creating new projects and assignments that allow for hands-on learning. Being awarded this grant would allow me the opportunity to purchase topic-specific resources for the many projects we do in class on culture and vocabulary as well as additional Spanish readers for varying proficiency levels. Additionally, I hope to purchase Spanish class-specific rewards and incentives to help encourage participation in classroom activities and strengthen the learning environment.