The Public Education Business Coalition (PEBC) awarded more than $65,000 in grants to 29 DPS teachers to take professional development trips to “recharge their batteries” by participating in experiences that make them better people and better teachers. The broad concept involves choosing activities that will provide personal and professional learning experiences and that will enhance one’s teaching and student learning.

The recipients of the grants are:

Alec Corio, eighth-grade language arts teacher at Lake Middle school. He will travel to India this summer to experience and study the caste system. He received $4,970.

Jennifer Swinehart, seventh-grade literacy/social studies teacher at Bruce Randolph Middle School. She will spend a month traveling and studying history and cultural in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. She received $3,800.

Mary Fisher, Lance Rushton and Allyson Stone, sixth- through twelfth-grade, special education reading and writing and social studies teachers (respectively), from PS1 Charter School. They will travel to Trujillo, Honduras to establish an international community partnership between PS1 Charter School and the local social welfare agency. They received $5,000.

Ann Esser, ninth- through twelfth-grade English teacher at Contemporary Learning Academy High School. She will travel to Madrid, Spain to fully immerse herself in the language and culture to further her effort to become fluent in Spanish. She received $3,676.

Mike Clem, ninth- through twelfth-grade social studies and geography teacher at Abraham Lincoln High School. He will take a nine-day trip to Costa Rica where he will attend a professional development program for educators based on conservation, mapping and the geographic information systems (GIS). He received $3,197.

Kelly Breymeier, ninth- through twelfth-grade Spanish teacher at North High School. She will begin the first part of her Spanish language graduate degree program in Queretaro, Mexico. She received $5,000.

Zachary McDowell, sixth-grade literacy teacher at Lake Middle School. He will travel to Ireland where he will create a photography journal, narrative memoir and travel writings in an effort to promote discovery learning to his literacy students. He received $4,130.

Ed Glassman, sixth- through twelfth-grade video cinema arts teacher at Denver School of the Arts. He will travel to San Antonio, Texas to attend the “Moviemaking for Students Workshop.” He received $2,130.

Nathan Grover, sixth- through eighth-grade science teacher at Cole Middle School. He will travel to the Galapagos Islands for a 10-day immersion on tropical island biology, natural history and the evolutionary significance of the area. He received $3,895.

Dennis Smith, secondary English Language Acquisition (ELA) social studies teacher at South High School. He will take an intensive Spanish immersion class in Mazatlan, Mexico allowing him to familiarize himself with the language, culture and environment that many of his students are from. He received $1,180.

· Sarah Kemme, elementary grades, early childhood education, fifth-grade, special education literacy and math teacher at Barnum Elementary School. She will spend her summer at the Universidad Internacional: Center for Bilingual Multicultural Studies in Cuernavaca, Mexico where she will attend the Intensive Spanish Bilingual Teachers Program that offers intensive Spanish instruction, classroom site visits and cultural experiences. She received $3,320.

Kenneth Wright, third-grade English Language Acquisition (ELA) Spanish teacher at John Amesse Elementary School. He will spend 12 days in Iceland on a trip sponsored by the Geological Society of America where he will attend a mix of on-site lectures and field trips that focus on the geology of the region and the environmental context of the people and biological communities there. He received $5,000.

Marie Myfanawy and Alyssandra Hossler, kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers at McGlone Elementary School. They will travel across the southern United States to absorb African-American history and culture by visiting 11 predominantly and historically Black colleges and universities and take photographs, video footage, conduct interviews and gather memorabilia throughout the course of their trip to present to their entire student body, 50 percent of which is African-American. They received $4,968.

Bruce Erickson, Melissa Mendoza and Laurie Chotena, ninth- through twelfth-grade English Language Acquisition language arts teachers at South High School. This team of high school teachers will travel to Juarez, Chihuahua and Zacatecas, Mexico, as well as some other rural areas where they will be able to learn more about the Mexican educational system and raise their awareness and sensitivity to the culture, history, language, economics and current issues of this border region and northern Mexico. They received $4,773.

Julie Variot and Susan Weber, first-grade literacy, reading, writing and math teachers at Castro Elementary School. The pair will attend the 5th International Reading Recovery Institute in Auckland, New Zealand this summer. They will visit model classrooms and attend lectures to enhance their understanding of and ability to integrate Reading Recovery strategies into their own classrooms. They received $4,365.

Michelle Gardner, third-grade teacher at John H. Amesse Elementary School. She will fly to Alaska this summer for a 15-day course of study and discovery. She will focus on geological and biological sites of interest, recording interviews, taking pictures and guided tours, and volunteering at the Alaska Sea Life Center. She received $4,365.

Deborah Posateri, Amy Bowman, Marla Nichols and Mike Sanchez, ninth- through twelfth-grade Spanish and social studies teachers at West High School. This team of teachers will travel to Mexico. They will first interview an immigrant and then travel with him to his hometown, stay with his family, immerse themselves in the culture and language and return to develop a unit for the Facing History Project, focusing on community and identity. They received $5,000.

For more information, contact the Public Information Office at 720-423-3414.