The Johnston County Education Foundation delivered grant checks to nine JCPS educators throughout the school district to be used for further enhancing their students' learning environment.
Founded in 1990, the Johnston County Education Foundation (JCEF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting teachers and students in Johnston County Public Schools. Since awarding its first teacher grants and student scholarships in 1991, JCEF has remained committed to enhancing education through funding, programs, and community partnerships.
Over the last three decades, JCEF has expanded its impact, awarding over $90,000 in student scholarships and thousands in teacher grants annually. The foundation also collaborates with JCPS on programs such as Teacher of the Year, Principal of the Year, and other initiatives that celebrate and support educators.
We are grateful to work with our wonderful partners at the Johnston County Education Foundation as they continue their commitment to enhancing education through funding, programs, and community partnerships.
The teachers wrote grant proposals to fund a variety of classroom materials. Below are the names of the exceptional educators who received grants based on their proposals and how they plan to use them.
Haley Sauls - Clayton High
$500
Sauls received a grant to purchase an incubator for raising chicks. Students will learn about chickens, the reproductive cycle, and the care and nutrition of poultry animals.
Suling Achoy – Clayton High
$510
The grant Achoy received is for headphones with microphones to support students using Duolingo. These will enhance listening and speaking skills and help with classroom organization.
Stephanie Beasley – Cleveland High
$175
Health science teacher Stephanie Beasley was awarded a grant for a classroom skeleton model to support her class. This will help students better understand human bones, their shapes, and joints.
Elizabeth Adams – Riverwood Middle
$496.87
Adams received a grant to purchase three class sets of Parallel Journeys. This novel will help students understand the Holocaust, its historical context, and the dangers of prejudice, discrimination, and hatred, while fostering critical thinking and responsible citizenship.
Harvey Blackman – Cleveland High
$500
Blackman was awarded a grant for a propagation project, allowing students to grow various plant cuttings using different techniques and rooting hormones while studying which methods work best in the greenhouse.
Winnie Wong – Swift Creek Elementary
$428.02
Wong received a grant for handbells and glockenspiels. These instruments will encourage teamwork, collaboration, and creativity while teaching students how to properly care for instruments at a young age.
Antonella Vecchiola – Selma Elementary
$500
With her grant, Vecchiola will purchase durable headphones and microphones to strengthen small-group rotations in reading and math. By integrating ClassKick, students will engage in differentiated tasks, improve reading fluency and problem-solving, and receive real-time feedback that tracks measurable growth and builds essential skills.
Tyler Daughtry – South Johnston High
$232.11
With Daughtry's grant money, he will purchase books and materials for the Literacy Rodeo, centered around Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The book will serve as a connection point for ESL students who are new to English, helping increase fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Students will participate in cross-curricular activities, culminating in a themed food-truck project where they apply language skills to write business plans, menus, and marketing materials, providing meaningful real-world application.
Mackenzie Gibson – North Johnston High
$500
Gibson's grant will be used to purchase an adaptive outdoor swing designed for students with physical and sensory disabilities. This swing will provide inclusive play opportunities that promote physical movement, sensory regulation, social interaction, and supportive engagement for exceptional children.