This page is being updated. Please check back later for updates. Thank you!
Welcome to the McElroy Grant Blog! Here, you will find updates from our grant recipients regarding their projects and highlights of the student experiences.
- McElroy Grant Update: Flexible Seating for Collaborative Learning Space, Our Lady of Guadalupe Spanish Immersion School, Archdiocese of Dubuque
May 3 2025
Flexible Seating for Collaborative Learning Space
This project focuses on creating a dynamic and adaptable space that supports the academic and social-emotional needs of every student. The traditional classroom will be transformed into a versatile, student-centered space that supports engagement, collaboration, and positive outcomes despite growing class sizes. The teacher will act as a mentor and facilitator, encouraging students to move throughout the classroom, thereby creating more opportunities for students to work with diverse groups of peers. Flexible seating and workspaces will also transform teaching in the classroom, as the teacher will be better able to meet the needs of each student on a given day. Adaptability plays an important role in classroom management and is essential for tailoring instruction to meet individual learning needs.
Amount Awarded: $1,602.18
Grade Level: 4
School: Our Lady of Guadalupe Spanish Immersion School
District: Archdiocese of Dubuque
Teacher: Erin Diekman
Project Update!
I am excited to provide an update on the impact of the flexible seating project in my classroom. Thanks to your generous support, I was able to purchase a variety of seating options, including stools, couches, floor seating, high and low tables, and lap desks. These additions have transformed my classroom into a dynamic learning environment that fosters student choice, collaboration, and engagement.
By allowing students to select where they learn best, I have seen a significant improvement in focus and a noticeable reduction in classroom disruptions. The flexibility of seating arrangements has also made collaborative learning more accessible, enabling students to work together more effectively. Additionally, the new layout has maximized the use of space, creating a more open and inviting atmosphere for learning.
This transformation would not have been possible without your support, and I am incredibly grateful for the positive impact it has had on my students. Thank you for investing in their success and in the future of education.
McElroy Grant Update: Robotics Obstacle Course Challenge, Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School, Dubuque CSD
Bev Berns
May 29 2024
Robotics Obstacle Course Challenge
Students will use the Sphero Edu application to code a Sphero Bolt robot to navigate through a pre-determined obstacle course with a variety of ramps, tunnels, and turns. Students will work in pairs to develop coding for their robot to go through an obstacle course; the obstacle course will be the same for all students. Each pair of students will be provided a Sphero Bolt robot. The project’s overall outcome is to expose students to computer science programming and engineering by simulating a real-world situation. The project will model and teach students to use the engineering design process.
- Amount Awarded: $2,000
- Grade Level: 7-8
- School: Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School
- District: Dubuque CSD
- Teachers: Ryan Spires
Project Update:
Unfortunately, the availability of the Sphero robots was limited but we were able to order and receive them before the end of the school year. The project includes a curriculum for seventh and eighth-grade students, but only the seventh-grade students participated in the spring trimester. The students in seventh grade were able to use the Sphero robots to practice coding. The students coded these robots to navigate through obstacles and knock over cups in competition against one another. A project for next year will include the addition of LEGOs and the ability to attach them to the Sphero robots to joust against one another. The students look forward to that science-curricular topic of force and acceleration. Moving forward, students are excited about the diverse potential for what can be accomplished with the Sphero robots. Students seemed very enthusiastic about the learning opportunities for next year in eighth grade.
When asked about her experience with the Sphero robots, a student said, “They (Sphero robots) were a bunch of fun! We were very lucky to have them in class. I hope next year we get to use them again.” Another student said, “It was fun to try and knock over the cups. It was kind of hard at first, but with some practice, I got the hang of it. I came in third in my group. Next year, I’m going to be the champion of the LEGO jousting!”
 |  |
McElroy Grant Update: Preschool Lending Library Project, Little Husky Learning Center, Oelwein CSD
Bev Berns
May 28 2024
Preschool Lending Library Project Update
This past school year, our preschool team created a Preschool Lending Library. Our goal was to have our students have the opportunity to check out books to take home and enjoy with their families. We wanted to create an interactive, rich, shared reading experience outside of the school environment. To develop the joy of reading and interacting with books to continue to build the foundation of early literacy skills with various reading activities. This went along with our district’s early literacy goal of having our students read 1 million minutes at home by the end of the school year.
- Amount Awarded: $1,700
- Grade Level: Preschool
- School: Little Husky Learning Center
- District: Oelwein Community School District
- Teacher: Anita Yessak, Heidi Roete, Wendy Pint-McGill
PROJECT UPDATE:
The McElroy Grant helped the preschool team purchase books to meet the developmental needs for all of our students. Our Preschool Lending Library now has a mixture of fiction and nonfiction books on various topics. We also have adaptive books, board books, repetitive books, and interactive books. The preschool team was also able to purchase a moveable book cart that we were able to make our Preschool Lending Library mobile. The library was able to go to each of the classrooms.
The Preschool Lending Library was a great success and students looked forward to Friday when they were able to check out a new book. Families enjoyed having the book sent home along with prompt cards of suggestions of activities they could do with their child while reading the book. The preschool team loved being able to get a variety of books into our student’s hands outside of the classroom and to help build the foundation of literacy.
McElroy Grant Update: Printed Magazine for High School Journalism Course, Wahlert High School, Holy Family Catholic Schools
Bev Berns
May 26 2024
Printed Magazine for High School Journalism Course
Graphic Arts, Digital Photography, Desktop Publishing (yearbook), and Digital Media Marketing classes will expand their project-based learning through relevant, hands-on, community-based projects that enrich the school and community environment using a professional poster printer. The projects completed will be requested by school personnel and organizations, as well as the local chamber of commerce, businesses, and nonprofit groups, which gives the students real-world experiences and a sense of ownership and engages them in higher-order thinking by having to apply learning to create things to meet the needs of a “client”. Possible projects could include event posters for both the school and the community, marketing posters to promote yearbook sales, large-scale photographs and artwork to display, creation of
photography backdrops, business cards, brochures, event tickets, and posters to promote a positive school
environment. Students will strengthen their interpersonal skills and explore career paths by working with the local community on projects.
- Amount Awarded: $1,580.18
- Grade Level: 9-12
- School: Wahlert High School
- School District: Holy Family Catholic Schools
- Teacher: Sandy Gaul
Project Update!
McElroy Grant Update: Soaring with drones, Washington Middle School, Dubuque CSD
Bev Berns
May 26 2024
Soaring with Drones
By acquiring ten CoDrones, programmable drones with seven sensors, students will fly them with the smart controller and program them using block-based coding. To begin, they will develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination using the smart controller to fly the drone through an indoor course created with the Aerial Drone Competition Field Basics Kit, which includes arches, keyhole gates, landing pads, cubes, and a blackout curtain. Through this type of navigation, students develop depth perception and learn the conceptual physics of how aircraft work. Once students are familiar with the drones, they will use the Blockly application on their school-issued laptops to code them to fly through the same indoor course. Groups will compete in flying and coding their drones for speed and accuracy. The project’s overall outcome is to further develop students’ knowledge of block-based programming and engineering as it connects to the rapidly growing drone industry and aviation. This hands-on project will also develop students’ communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills as students will work in pairs.
- Amount Awarded: $2,000
- Grade Level: 8
- School: Washington Middle School
- District: Dubuque CSD
- Teacher: Andy Hoefer
Project Update!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gvVB74III-pqEvriaO30YOF_PwjhMPH6/preview
McElroy Grant Update: Community Helpers and Community Connection, Central Preschool, Central Elkader CSD
Bev Berns
May 24 2024
Community Helpers and Community Connection
Our project supports experiences where children explore and introduce careers, especially those found in our community through dramatic play centers. Our first goal is for students to better understand the community they belong to and to increase community involvement and parent involvement within our program. Our second goal is for students to first learn about community business through community connections and then use that knowledge in play opportunities. Students will have a better idea of the roles needed during each center and better understand what the people do when they are in these roles.
- Amount Awarded: $1,408.00
- Grade Level: Preschool
- School: Central Preschool
- District: Central-Elkader
- Teachers: Nicole Gray, Keya Welch
Project Update!
We were thrilled to incorporate our community into our dramatic play centers in preschool and junior kindergarten this year. The children were able to visit local community businesses that connected to the dramatic play center to gain background knowledge that transferred to their play. We were able to purchase materials for a doctor’s office, pizza parlor, grocery store, veterinarian, salon/barber shop, and a farmers market. Every two/three weeks, the dramatic play center is changed to introduce students to opportunities within our community and include real-world experiences by visiting some businesses.
While students may visit the community businesses, it was noticed that students’ knowledge regarding the jobs and services within the business was lacking. Students had the opportunity to visit the vet in town and see both small and large animals being taken care of, the salon to learn about the many tools and services at the salon, the grocery store to learn about the different parts of the store, a local farm, and the post office to see where mail goes. During the visit, new language and vocabulary were introduced, and roles were shared with the hope that students could include their learning back to the play situation in school with creativity and imagination.
The students enjoyed having many opportunities throughout the year for dramatic play, and it gave them the chance to explore multiple themes that are found within our community. This year, thanks to the grant, we were able to purchase multiple stands that added detail along with the props to play out the characters and their roles. The children loved getting out of the classroom to experience these real-world places, and the community enjoyed seeing the kids and creating community/school relationships.
McElroy Grant Update: Printing Beyond the Walls, Ed-Co Jr/Sr. HS, Edgewood-Colesburg CSD
Bev Berns
May 21 2024
Printing Beyond the Walls
- Amount Awarded: $2,000
- Grade Level: 9-12
- School: Edgewood Colesburg Junior/Senior High School
- District: Edgewood-Colesburg CSD
- Teacher: Melissa Meyer and Elise Bergan
Project Update!
Printing Beyond the Walls is an ongoing project between the Edgewood-Colesburg
Jr/High School and the communities of Edgewood and Colesburg. This project focuses on using artistic skills along with a poster printer to create pieces to share information going on in the school and community. The main projects that occurred during the spring 2024 semester were designing and printing of a play poster, a Friends of Arts Fundraiser poster, and a poster to advertise Edgewood’s annual Pro Rodeo Days. The printing of these posters allowed students talents to be used for real world purposes. Beyond the designing and printing that occurred with the help of students, we also were able to help out Central Community Schools in printing posters for their story walk project. The printer was used to print photographs that the digital photography students took, which allowed them to have keepsakes that were of high quality verse printing on our school copier.
This poster printer will be housed in the new art classroom, which is being called the Ed-Co Innovation Studio. Students will have access to a computer that is connected to the printer so that they can have easier access to using the printer. We will be continuing to work with the Edgewood Chamber and local businesses as well as organizations and staff within the school to design and print marketing materials to promote our community and school. A big task that will be taken on in the 2024-2025 school year is helping design and create the tickets for the Edgewood Pro Rodeo days for the Edgewood Chamber. Through the future projects, students will continue to advance their knowledge of graphic design, marketing, Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva, and printers through hands on projects. The students will learn about how to calculate the cost of printing so that our classroom can be reimbursed when creating publications for the chamber of commerce, business, or requests outside of the school.
