Nine Livingston Parish Teachers Awarded Grants
Cash Awards to Enhance Instructional Projects
LIVINGSTON, La. – Nine Livingston Parish teachers have been awarded Deborah Rochelle Teacher Grants to fund instructional, research-based projects that provide direct instruction to local students.
The grant program, which was initiated in 1991, is managed by the Kelly Gene Cook, Sr. Charitable Foundation to benefit qualified teachers and professional staff in East Baton Rouge, Livingston, and St. Tammany parishes. The grant program is named for Rochelle, who is responsible for the grant’s origination and organization. The grants are awarded to teachers in amounts not to exceed $5,000 per award. That amount is expected to totally fund a project or complete a project for which money has already been designated.
The grants presented to the Livingston Parish teachers ranged in value from $1,982 to $4.975, and they were presented directly to the winning recipients.
The nine recipients and their projects include:
• Kristina Dunlap, North Live Oak Elementary, received $3,144 for “Integrating STEAM into Learning Centers;”
• Holly Bernard, South Fork Elementary, received $3,295 for “Reflex Math Grant;”
• Eileen Jarman, South Fork Elementary, received $4,431 for “Early Literacy Interventions;”
• Shelia Delk and Paula Gentry, Walker Elementary, received $3,161 for “First Lego League;”
• Melissa Welsch, Denham Springs Junior High, received $3,727 for “Newline Interactive Display Panel;”
• Julie Jacobsen, Denham Springs High School, received $1,962 for “Non-permanent Vertical Surfaces;”
• Sarah Starkey, Denham Springs High School, received $4.975 for “Rape Aggression Defense;” and
• Andre “Gunney” Sylvester, Walker High School, received $4,896 for “At Risk Student Mentor Program.”
“We are most appreciative of the Kelly Gene Cook, Sr. Foundation and those judging the Deborah Rochelle grant applications for supporting great projects across our district,” Superintendent Joe Murphy said.
“These grants allow our people to find new ways to teach important materials,” he said.
The foundation does not award a grant to the same person for two consecutive years. Schools may submit more than one application, and more than one application from a school may be awarded a grant. Individuals at a school are limited to receiving one grant.
Deborah Rochelle, the person for whom the grants are named, visited Livingston Parish Schools and presented checks to the individual teachers. She was joined in her visits by Katy Pacelli, executive director of the Kelly Gene Cook, Sr. Charitable Foundation.
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Andre “Gunney” Sylvester, a teacher at Walker High School, is presented with a $4,896 check by Deborah Rochelle, for whom the grant is named, and Katy Pacelli, executive director of Kelly Gene Cook, Sr., Charitable Foundation. Sylvester will use the funds to implement an “At Risk Student Mentor Program” at his school. Sylvester is also joined by several WHS students who work in the school’s Nike Pro Shop.
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Shelia Delk and Paula Gentry, teachers at Walker Elementary School, received a $3,161 grant for her “First Lego League” project. Pictured with her, from left to right, are Superintendent Joe Murphy, Deborah Rochelle (for whom the grant is named), Delk, Gentry, and Katy Pacelli, executive director of Kelly Gene Cook, Sr., Charitable Foundation.
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– Melissa Welsch, a teacher at Denham Springs Junior High, receives a $3,727 check from Deborah Rochelle to fund her “Newline Interactive Display Panel.” They are pictured with Welsch’s students, as well as DJSH Principal Justin Wax, left; Katy Pacelli, executive director of Kelly Gene Cook, Sr., Charitable Foundation, back center; and Livingston Parish School Superintendent Joe Murphy, right.
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Sarah Starkey, a teacher at Denham Springs High School, received a $4,975 grant for a “Rape Aggression Defense” project. Pictured, from the left, are Livingston Parish School Superintendent Joe Murphy, Starkey, Deborah Rochelle, for whom the grant is named; and Katy Pacelli, executive director of Kelly Gene Cook, Sr., Charitable Foundation.
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Julie Jacobsen, a teacher at Denham Springs High School was awarded a $1,962 grant for her “Non-Permanent Vertical Surfaces” project. Pictured from left to right are Superintendent Joe Murphy, Jacobson, Deborah Rochelle, for whom the grant is named; and Katy Pacelli, executive director of Kelly Gene Cook, Sr., Charitable Foundation, right.
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Eileen Jarman, a teacher at South Fork Elementary, received $4,431 for her “Early Literacy Interventions” program. She is pictured with Deborah Rochelle, left, and Katy Pacelli, executive director of Kelly Gene Cook, Sr., Charitable Foundation, right.
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Holly Bernard, a teacher at South Fork Elementary, received a $3,295 grant for her “Reflex Math Grant” project. Picture are Katy Pacelli, executive director of Kelly Gene Cook, Sr., Charitable Foundation, left, Deborah Rochelle, for whom the grant is named, center, and Bernard.
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