2023 Fall Spark Grants

Pickleball has helped many people with disabilities stay active and improve their overall health and well-being. The low-impact nature of the sport, along with its cardiovascular benefits, improved balance and coordination, social interaction, and adaptive equipment, make it an ideal sport for people of all abilities.

Transition Plus / Special Education - Tom Kvale

Hopkins American Sign Language students and Paisley Park have a unique opportunity to partner and host an ASL guided tour at Prince’s Paisley Park home and studio. This project was inspired by a request from Paisley Park to create a deaf tour experience.

Hopkins High School/American Sign Language (9 -12) - Terryann Nash

This Hopkins High project aims to enhance students’ Chinese language learning experience by providing immersive cultural experiences. Activities might include building Chinese gardens and making Peking Opera masks or playing games and puzzles. Additionally, they will organize cultural exchange events to further enrich the students’ understanding. This will help connect language learning with knowledge of Chinese culture.

Hopkins High School, World Language/Chinese (9-12) - Meng Tisdell

Table treadmills will be purchased for a sixth grade Design and Minnesota Studies classroom to give students the ability to move quietly during class. Besides encouraging movement for those who don’t have physical education every day, these table treadmills offer another option for students who need further stimulation or who enjoy being active, to help regulate them so they are ready to learn.

North Middle School - Mykenna Yesnes

To foster open mindedness, cultural sensitivity, empathy and tolerance, middle school students will do hands-on projects connecting Chinese culture and language. To learn more about Chinese customs, traditions, history, and values, they will make traditional crafts and create festival decorations.

Hopkins North and West Middle Schools, Chinese Language - Qian Xu

With the purchase of chair fidgets that look like a giant, durable rubber band that goes around the legs of student chairs, students will be able to engage in silent, non-distracting movement. This is a simple tool to help students with special needs or attention challenges like ADHD.

Tanglen Elementary, 2nd Grade - Natalie Ringold

A diverse and inclusive lending library of children’s books and parent resources will be created to help children and parents learn about behaviors, feelings, and daily routines.

Hopkins Harley Early Learning Center. Early Intervention (birth-2 years) - Jenny Lechner, Jackie Hunke, Ellen O’Gara, Meg Nalezny

This innovative initiative is aimed at promoting functional fitness for self-regulation and engagement for K-12 students at Hopkins VirtualEDU and the Pavilion Program.

Hopkins VirtualEDU and the Pavilion Program - Carol Tracy

Glen Lake 5th graders will help bring children’s literature into the community with 12 new Little Free Libraries aimed at kids. Students will be involved in the whole process, starting with studying neighborhood maps to find suitable locations for these little libraries. Students will then help brand, market, design, build, install and fill each of the libraries.

Glen Lake Elementary, 5th Grade - Scott Stillman, Hannah Swaden, Robb Trenda

Many students with special education needs require headphones as part of their IEPs, to have text read aloud to them or to cancel out noise. This grant will fill that gap and give those students access to an important tool for their learning.

North Middle School - Sierra Jackson

With this grant, Tanglen Elementary Principal Jim Hebeisen will lead a project to create new mascot costumes for the Hopkins school district, and he wants to create both a lion and a lioness costume, to be inclusive. The current costume is very old and needs updating. With this grant, a recent Hopkins Transition Plus graduate will be hired to seek student input on the vision and design for the costume. She has a business called Fedora Fursuits and has exceptional skills. The mascots will be used at Hopkins sporting and community events, parades and more.

Tanglen, however ALL schools will benefit from the grant —Jim Hebeisen

This grant will fund a “mobile ‘zine studio” where students can self-publish magazines based on personal interests, experiences and school curriculum. These ‘zines will then be distributed at school and made available at the school library.

Eisenhower Elementary School, K-5 Art Department - Cole Hoyer-Winfield

This grant continues to support the Hopkins High School Jazz program’s partnership with the MacPhail Center for Music and the high school’s Jazz 1 and Jazz 2 bands. The goal is to keep building interest and participation in the jazz bands.

Hopkins High School jazz band - Nora Tycast

This grant will expose North Middle School’s Learning Choices Changes (LCC) students to various community activities and new experiences that may be out of their comfort zone. Outings may include horseback riding, museum trips, and adventures at iFly.

North Middle School - Steph Rossow

The courtyard at Meadowbrook Elementary will be reimagined to create a place where K-5th grade students can play outdoors and engage in learning. For Kids & Company students, this project will provide another space for daily projects, gardening, outdoor play and more.

Meadowbrook Kids & Company - Jessica Beyer

The Hopkins Middle Schools’ two First Tech Challenge (FTC) Coding and Robotics Teams need equipment such as computers, robot parts (like arms and wheels) and gear boxes. Through FTC, students learn about Java-based software coding, and the building, assembling, and operation of robots created to solve a particular season’s problem or challenge.

Hopkins Middle Schools - Jason Herzog and Jennifer Pierce

This project will foster emotional and social well-being by creating a peace pathway in a garden with spaces for wellness stations that will encourage mindfulness, a place for deep breathing exercises, stretching, natural sensory practices and stress reduction. The garden will include positive messages, quotes, and affirmations displayed on stones, signs, and plaques strategically placed throughout the space.

VirtualEDU - Carol Tracy

Students in the Compass special education program at Hopkins High School learn practical skills for independent living and employment. These students require highly specialized and individualized instruction. Compass students run a Royal Coffee Cart for teachers and staff. Based on their skill sets, student roles include taking orders, creating order labels, preparing drinks and delivery.

Hopkins High School, 9-12, Special Services–Compass/LTL1 - Judy Griffin, Lori Komoto, Ally McMillian

This grant funds the addition of sandboxes at the Tanglen school playground. Many of Tanglen’s students enjoy digging, building, engineering, and dramatic/imaginative play. The addition of a sandbox and tools and dramatic play items will provide students with opportunities to play together in a creative manner.

Tanglen Elementary - Sara Vanhove

Inspired by escape rooms, a science teacher will build challenging Science Breakout Boxes that will be tailored to suit any unit’s curriculum and encourage students to think outside the box to open the box! The idea is to challenge and motivate students by getting them to work differently on problems to physically solve a tangible puzzle.

Hopkins High School - Derric Johnson

Meadowbrook’s second graders will use a STEM “brain bin” to provide a “soft start” to their day. This will provide a personalized experience at school, so students can choose a calm, quiet activity that they like.

Meadowbrook Elementary, 2nd Grade - Macey Schuler, Sara Roberts, Catlin Morral