The Bixby Educational Endowment Foundation (BEEF) was honored to award more than $128,000 in Teacher Grants for the 2024-25 school year, supporting Bixby educators in bringing creative and impactful ideas to life in their classrooms. These grants are designed to foster innovation and promote excellence in education across all grade levels and subject areas within Bixby schools. Thanks to the continued generosity of local businesses and community members, BEEF has awarded over $3 million in teacher grants and scholarships since its founding and is excited to continue its tradition of advancing education by awarding new teacher grants and scholarships to BPS seniors during the upcoming school year.
Athletics
Connor Myers (7th-12th Athletics) - Athlete Strength and Conditioning Technology Initiative
Bixby High School
Janet Smith (Earth Science) - Bixby Earth and Environmental Science
Julie Jankowski (Art) - Ceramic Classroom Organization Bliss
Michelle Bowdle (Special Ed) - Special Spartan Gardening Program Development
Tiger West (STEAM) - STEAM Drone, drone equipment & supplies
9th Grade Center
Jasmine Nevills, Jamie Rangel, Michael Cox (Spanish) - Headphones for iPads, Spanish Program
Tiffany Desaulniers, Terri Sloan & Annie Coffey (Math) - Logitech Crayons Compatible w/Student iPads for Math Classrooms
Jesse Sutmiller (Library) - Makerspace as Enrichment for 9GC library
Middle School
Alex Rowin, Zach Hopkins (eSports) - Game On: eSports for Education
Christopher Davis (Media) - Middle School A/V Media MacBook
Simon MacFarlane (Digital Music Production) - MIDI Controllers for digital music production
Toni Ross (Drama) Wireless Microphones & materials for BMS
Geoffrey Anikienko (Band) - All Aboard- Middle School Conducting Stations. (Privately Funded by the Ramsey family)
West Intermediate
Brittany Robison (PE) - 9 Squares Court (Privately Funded by Jim Brown)
Tabitha Still - Initiating Change Through Games and Literacy
Kaitlyn Westfall (4th grade Reading) - Reading for Small Groups
Molli Worthington (Art) - Funding for Exploration of Fiber, Collage and Printmaking Arts
Natalie O'Guin - STEM & Robotics
Sherry Frable (TAG) - Cardboard Creations (Privately Funded Kim King)
Sarah Carr (Music) - Xylophone Replacement (Privately Funded by the Ramsey Family)
West Elementary
Emily Petersen, Hailee Benson, Tobi Campbell, Courtney Inbody, Justine Milburn, Katie Salyers, Kaylin Williams & Valerie Wagner (1st grade) - Building Brighter Minds: Engaging Literacy & Math Centers for Lasting Success
Becky Dukes (Art) - Materials for Collaborative Art Exploration
Cristina Heald, Jade Bass, Lisa White & Rhonda McCracken (Pre-K Science) - Curiosity Unleashed: Pre-K Science Adventures for Young Learners
Megan Kesterson (Music) - Elementary Drumming Project
Brooklyn Carothers (Kindergarten) - Small Group Manipulatives
Wendy Coupe (Kindergarten) - Small Group Manipulatives
Katie Salyers, Hailee Benson, Tobi Campbell, Courtney Inbody, Justine Milburn, Emily Petersen, Kaylin Williams & Valerie Wagner (1st grade) - Read & Listen: Revolutionizing Literacy with Yoto
Neely Scully, Shelly Sumler, Rachel Chestnut Staci Hebert, Wendye Coupe, Kelli Zeigler, Kara Sloat & Brooklyn Carothers (Kindergarten) - Purposeful Play in Kindergarten
Hailee Benson (1st Grade) - Bright Minds, Powered Learning: Igniting Literacy w/Light and Tech (Privately funded by Kim King)
North Intermediate
Kelly Zilmer (Media Center)- Book Tasting
Christina Wertz (5th Grade Social Studies) - Bringing History to Life: Virtual Reality for 5th Grade Explorers
Kelly Zilmer (Media Center) - Level Up!
North Elementary
Rachel Cavin, Sharla Dibiase, Lacy Novoa, Leean Leu, Stephanie Parker, Brooke Kasbaum (1st Grade) - Write, Re-Write, Repeat
Shannon Burns, Tiffany Cockrell, Laura Joice, Lindsey McCune, Abby Nolen & Vanessa Swindell (Kindergarten) - Laying Foundations for Strong Readers
Sara Mitchell, Andrea Freeman, Stacie Lindsey, Stefoni Mica, Megan Caywood, Jayna Williams, Charlene Robertson & Libby Sparkman (3rd Grade & BNE GT) - Spartan Student Selective Seating
East Intermediate
Rachel Dodson (Music) - Magical Music Making: Keyboard Edition
East Elementary
Daniel Zehder (PE) - A Day at the Greens
Whitney Orr (2nd Grade) - Unlocking the Code of Reading
Jennifer Jones (1st Grade) - The Phonics Revolution: Hands-On Learning w/Rocking Reading Kits
& the Science of Reading
Darcy Kickey, OTR/L (PK-3) - Sensory Lab for Learning
Pam Stevenson (Music) - Orff Alive: Tools for Composition, Creativity and Community (Privately funded by the Ramsey Family)
Central Intermediate
Heather Willhite (6th Grade ELA) - Books for Novel Study- The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe -
Kara Minton (Art) - Creative Weaving Loom
Kimberly Kirk - Independent Learning Opportunities
Lesley Goodnight - CI Motor Lab
Central Elementary
Jamie Copenhaver (PE) - Active Learning w/Literacy
Andrea Jantz (EL) - Building a Strong English Foundation
Rebecca Jones (Music) - Growing Musical Independence Through Instrument & Movement Centers
Madison Engles ( 3rd Grade/Self Contained) Inclusion Through Our Voice
Charity Covey & Amy Hall (3rd Grade) - Nothing Will Break Our Stride In Learning, Because We Keep on Moving!
Cindy Maguire - Buddy Bench (Privately Funded by Kaylin Coody)
Whether it’s funding a STEM project, purchasing new classroom resources, or helping implement a specialized literacy program, BEEF Teacher Grants directly support the success and engagement of Bixby students.
If you would like to support Bixby schools, teachers, and students through future grants, please consider donating to BEEF's annual Century Club campaign. Mabrey Bank matches Century Club donations up to $20,000 every year - a goal BEEF has reached for the last 40 years. Century Club donations may be made online at https://tinyurl.com/bixbyBEEF, or for information on how to mail a donation, please visit https://www.bixbyps.org/page/beef-foundation.
To learn more about this year's honorees and how grants are used in the classroom throughout the school year, follow us (and share!) on Facebook and Instagram.