9 MS Coast teachers awarded Leo Seal grants for innovative student projects
Nine Coast teachers were recognized for their excellence in teaching Friday and were awarded grants of up to $2,000 to fund classroom projects by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and Hancock Whitney bank.
The awards were distributed at a ceremony at the Great Southern Club in downtown Gulfport.
This is the 26th year the Leo W. Seal Innovative Teacher Grants, named after Hancock Whitney’s former leaders Leo Seal Sr. and Leo Seal Jr., have been awarded.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this was the first time since 2019 the awards were presented in person.
Karen Boutwell, a Pearl River Central Middle School teacher and one of this year’s awardees, said this is her second time receiving a Leo Seal award.
“They make a teacher feel just amazing,” Boutwell told the Sun Herald. “They really respect the profession, the teachers and what we’re doing for students.”
The awards “give us the opportunity to get the funds needed to do extra things that you normally couldn’t do in a regular classroom,” Boutwell said.
And the impact is felt by Mississippi students. “It gives them opportunities that they otherwise would not have,” said Boutwell.
Teachers from Forrest, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Lamar, Madison and Pearl River Counties were eligible for the grants.
Here are this year’s winners — and the projects their students will get to participate in
The 2022 awardees included a sampling of teachers across South Mississippi’s school districts. The funded projects ranged from a farm-to-table cooking show to a conflict resolution program to help kids avoid playground fights.
Sarah Jane Badeaux, a teacher at Pass Christian Middle School, will bring virtual reality into the classroom using Oculus Quest headsets.
The students of Traci Barrientos at Ocean Springs’ Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia Springs will have access to a mindfulness program, the first of its kind in Mississippi, which will help dyslexic students and teachers manage stress.
Karen Jean Boutwell of Pearl River Central Middle School will take students in her Tier 3 tutoring program on field trips.
St. Patrick Catholic High School’s Renee M. Dellenger will teach a computer simulation course on personal finance and business skills, including budgeting and investment.
Banita Ford of St. Martin High School will use a “sublimation process” to help students develop entrepreneurial skills.
Sarah Virginia Israel, a teacher at Arlington Elementary School in Pascagoula, will teach a conflict resolution program in use across the U.S. to help students resolve playground disputes peacefully.
Pass Christian High School teacher Tammy G. McKenna’s students will study the question, “How do we farm smarter?” and research technological solutions to agricultural problems.
Jordan Roy of St. Stanislaus College in Bay St. Louis will use an online programming tool to help students strengthen their math skills.
The students of Erica Yong van Norden at Delisle Elementary School in Pass Christian will create a farm-to-table cooking show using ingredients from the school garden and learn about sustainable farming.
