2025-2026 Grant Awards.
Innovation Grants
Innovation Grants award up to $5,000 to support innovation and excellence across our district. Innovation Grants engage students in deeper learning, pilot new educational approaches and support educators to collaborate across disciplines, grade levels and schools. Initiatives are multi-faceted and take place over the course of the year. Funding is comprehensive and can include professional development, collaborative planning time for professional learning communities, guest speakers and outside facilitators, classroom materials, technology, and more.
Title: Roosevelt Library Makerspace
Educator(s): Molly Brothers, Digital Literacy & Library Media Teacher
School: Roosevelt Elementary School
Description: This grant allows Roosevelt Elementary to reimagine its library as a modern media and makerspace hub, introducing new hands-on learning stations with tools like a 3D printer, Lego robotics, multimedia production equipment, and a makerspace cart for early grades. These additions support the integration of STEM, coding, engineering design, and digital storytelling into the digital literacy and library media curriculum. Students will engage in project-based learning experiences where they research, create, and collaborate, while practicing responsible digital citizenship and developing real-world technology skills.
Title: Hacking School Discipline with Restorative Justice Practices
Educator(s): Catherine Horkan, Hoover Social Worker; Joan Abban, K Teacher
School: Hoover Elementary School
Description: This grant builds off earlier pilot efforts at Hoover to share common goals and methods around student behavior utilizing restorative justice practices of Jeffrey Benson's "Hacking School Discipline Together." The project will include professional development, training, and facilitated group work among educators.
Title: Breakout Box Implementation
Educator(s): Molly Brothers, Digital Literacy & Library Media Teacher
School: Roosevelt Elementary School
Description: This grant embeds creative, problem solving experiences into the digital literacy and library media curriculum, while also providing new opportunities to partner with classroom teachers on cross-curricular, real-world challenges that strengthen communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.
Title: Sophomore Civics Capstone Design
Educator(s): Robin Loewald, Arielle Gillette, Amy Mirasolo, Molly Brothers, English Teachers
School: Melrose High School
Description: This project will develp a new 10th Grade Civics Capstone, providing opportunity to utilize reading, writing, research, presentation, and engagement skills for issues of students' choice, allowing them to use these skills for real world situations, while also learning and practicing civic engagement and creating connections to their larger communities.
Title: Digital Music and Composition Class Creation
Educator(s): Benjamin Vermilyea, grades 4-12 Band Director
School: Melrose High School
Description: This grant funds the purchase of up to date music technologies needed to support a class called "Digital Music, Composition, and Theory," where students can dive into the world of electronic music production and composition, using instrument controllers and online software to create and manipulate their own sounds and create digital music.
Title: Enhancing "The Autism Helper" materials at MPS
Educator(s): Tami Charlick, Jillian McElhinney, Special Education Teachers
School: PreK through High School
Description: This project enhances the district's investment in The Autism Helper curriculum by creating materials and visual supports, ensuring that students in the program at different levels have access to the same materials which will help with continuity as students progress through the schools toward post-grad.
Title: Universal Design for Learning: Relaunch and Reset
Educator(s): Michael Tracy, Principal; Jennifer O’Brien, Susan Herook, and Jeanne Orlofski, Teacher Leaders
School: Winthrop Elementary School
Description: The Winthrop Elementary School will engage in a structured, team-based effort to meaningfully and sustainably instill Universal Design for Learning concepts.
Title: Reimagining Shakespeare in the World of AI
Educator(s): Leslie Means, Sarah Haney, English Teachers
School: Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Description: This MVMMS grant combines an experiental learning unit featuring the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company with teacher PD and curriculum development regarding the impact of AI on teaching and learning. Utilizing the Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare unit, participating teachers will develop a different approach to assessing knowledge that will still give students necessary skills, but also reflects the realities of new technology and different strategies to excite and engage students in learning and working with these canonical texts.
Title: Classroom Letter Tiles for Explicit Phonics Instruction
Educator(s): Milissa Churchill, Principal
School: Horace Mann Elementary School
Description: This grant supports Horace Mann's K-2 implementation of UFLI Foundations, an evidenced based literacy program that provides systematic, research-based phonics instruction that strengthens students' reading skills, including phonemic awareness, decoding, and oral reading fluency.
Title: Piloting AI Tools & Strategies at MHS
Educator(s): Joshua Cristiano, English Teacher; Christy Magoon, High School Librarian
School: Melrose High School
Description: This MHS project offers a structured pilot for 10 teachers to to pilot an AI tool for teaching to build a better understanding of how the latest LLMs can and will affect how students learn and how teachers teach. The pilot will explore if AI can effectively build more personalized learning opportunities, which embolden students to truly take ownership of their work. This grant also offer an opportunity for students to develop their AI literacy in a safe and supportive environment.
Title: Internet Safety 101 for Students, Teachers, and Families
Educator(s): Jessica Patti, Principal
School: Melrose High School
Description: A special combined Innovation Grant and Parent University initiative, this grant provides an opportunity for students, teachers, and caregivers to learn practical lessons about navigating the internet safely. With an honest look at the good and bad the internet has to offer, students and their families will be empowered to make better decisions in the real world situations they are facing daily.
Boost Grants
Boost grants award up to $500 for individual educators to implement a new project, elevate an existing experience, or try something new in their classroom.
Title: Interactive Activity Math Centers for Elementary Learners
Educator(s): Meghan Lewis, Kasey Reynolds, Alison Federici, Teachers
School: Roosevelt Elementary School
Description: This grant will provide interactive math centers for 4th graders, utilizing manipulatives to provide options for differentiation to support students who are struggling, those at grade level, and to push students who need more enrichment.
Title: Middle School Archery for All
Educator(s): Steven Mirasolo, Paul Capaldo, Lauren Doherty, Kim Nardone, PE Teachers
School: Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Description: This grant will provide supplies to expand access to very popular archery unit at MVMMS to make it accessible to more students.
Title: UFLI Foundations Implementation for Young Readers
Educator(s): Jeanne Orlofski, Grade 2 Teacher
School: Winthrop Elementary School
Description: This project provides materials to support implementation of UFLI Foundations, an evidenced based literacy program that improves student reading outcomes by providing systematic, research-based phonics instruction that strengthens students' reading skills, including phonemic awareness, decoding, and oral reading fluency. By providing staff with the letter tiles and boards needed to complete lessons, this grant enables the program to be implemented as is intended without adding extra preparation work for teachers.
Title: Bornhoff Finger Patterns for Strings
Educator(s): Eric Duback, grades 4-12 String/Orchestra Teacher
School: Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School & Melrose High School
Description: This enhances a new orchestra curriculum at the Middle School called "Finger Patterns", and at the High School called "Patterns in Positions" allowing the participants to combine a focus on feeling the notes in the fingers with an additional sense (sight), simultaneously benefitting their music notation reading ability while making the curriculum accessible to a broader set of students.
Title: Declarative Language Book Study
Educator(s): Shannon Girard, Special Education Teacher; Eric Dubovick, Social Worker
School: Franklin Early Childhood Center
Description: This grant supports a Declarative Statements Book Study for Franklin educators to learn various ways to help regulate and deescalate neurodivergent learners. It offers an opportunity to reframe how educators communicate and help kids process information in a better way. The group will learn about imperial statements verses declarative statements. By having a book study, the staff will have a chance to read, discuss and collaborate with each other to gain knowledge and learn best practices.
Title: "Pathways to Possibility" Post-High School Support
Educator(s): Christy Magoon, High School Librarian; Amy Mirasolo, Jennifer O'Sullivan, English Teachers
School: Melrose High School
Description: This grant will allow MHS to implement the 'Pathways to Possibility' program, a new initiative specifically designed to broaden MHS seniors' understanding of diverse post-high school opportunities beyond the traditional four-year university path, laying the foundation for a dedicated, curated resource hub accessible to all students.
Title: Graphic Novels are Game!
Educator(s): Christy Magoon, High School Librarian; MHS English Teachers
School: Melrose High School
Description: This project will provide a curated collection of high-quality graphic novels spanning various genres, reading levels, and subject matter relevant to the high school curriculum and student interests. This collection will provide an alternative and accessible entry point to literature for a wide range of students, including reluctant readers and visual learners.
Title: Storytime Innovation: Enhancing Early Literacy with Tonieboxes
Educator(s): Kristen Sasso, Special Education; Andrea LaCau, Principal
School: Franklin Early Childhood Center
Description: This pilots the use of Tonieboxes to promote literacy, language development and imaginative play. By integrating them into daily instruction and independent learning centers, the pilot aims to support diverse learning styles, encourage a love of stories and provide equitable access to engaging educational content for all students, especially English Language Learners and Special Education students.
Title: ESL Personalized Microlearning Stations
Educator(s): Roza Eynula, ESL Teacher
School: Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Description: This grant allows an English as a Second Language classroom to feature personalized microlearning stations, rigorous with academic content but which allow the student more flexibility to learn at their own pace. Each station will target different language domains, ex. writing, speaking, reading, comprehension, phonics (for newcomer students), and listening.
Professional Development Grants
Professional Development Grants award up to $1,000 to educators to deepen knowledge in their field, develop new skills, or explore opportunities that will enhance teaching and learning in the classroom. Grant recipients also have a commitment to share professional learning with other educators in their building or practice/content area across the district.
Title: Transform Difficult Behavior: Building Success & Greatness in Each Child
Educator(s): Erin Dubovick, Social Worker; Andrea LaCau, Principal
School: Franklin Early Childhood Center
Description: This grant will fund a Professional Development opportunity at the Franklin School focused on the Nurtured Heart Approach™ (NHA), a relationship and success based set of strategies to teach children positive behaviors, self-regulation, and critical life skills within the context of everyday routines and activities. The PD will help educators develop new strategies and skills to be used in their classrooms around classroom management.
Title: PT & OT Professional Development Pilot
Educator(s): Adrienne Wood, Occupational Therapist; Rebecca Schromm, Physical Therapist
School: All Schools
Description: This grant will pilot providing professional development resources tailored to the unique needs of two PT & OT professionals within MPS to identify potential mechanisms for sustainably providing relevant PD.