Winners Announced for Internet2 Community Anchor Program’s Distance Learning Scholarship

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WASHINGTON, D.C., January 29, 2021 – Internet2 today announced the winners of the Community Anchor Program (CAP) Distance Learning Scholarship program to give K-12 teachers free, one-on-one distance learning programs for their class through the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC). A total of 38 recipients teaching grades K-12 across Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, New York, Ohio and Oklahoma are being awarded CILC scholarships that will directly benefit more than 1,600 students.

“We are thrilled to be able to help teachers provide their students with a unique interactive classroom experience for their students during the pandemic, regardless of whether their students are attending school in-person or online,” said Internet2 Community Anchor Program Director Stephanie Stenberg. “Research and education networks provide schools a robust internet connection for education and an unparalleled level of service, and we are proud to serve them. Congratulations to all the scholarship recipients!”

The scholarship program was open to K-12 teachers from a school that connects to the national Internet2 network through their state or regional research and education network. Teachers could choose from any of the over 1,900 professionally-delivered programs offered through CILC, all of which have been evaluated by teachers and can be sorted by topic or by recommendation.

Live, interactive learning experiences

Kirstina Frazier teaches first to third-grade students at Andover Elementary, a small, rural school in Connecticut that is a member of the Connecticut Education Network. Frazier selected the Exploring the Continents with Story and Song program to allow students the opportunity to gain an appreciation and understanding of the world around them. “I want my students to gain a greater appreciation for the people and cultures from around the world through traditional storytelling and instruments,” said Frazier.

For Michelle Hundt, a fifth-grade teacher at Wharton Elementary in Illinois, and whose school is a member of the Illinois Century Network, the What’s the Matter? program offered the perfect opportunity to supplement what students have been learning about the subject this year. “My students are currently studying how particles undergo phase changes due to temperature and heat changes. I am looking for some really neat ways to get them excited about this topic, and this seems like a great learning opportunity for them,” said Hundt.

For Taggart Fox from New Carlisle Elementary School in Ohio, whose school is a member of OARnet, offering the Kids Rock On – Chipping Away at the Rock Cycle! program for third-grade students is an opportunity to introduce geology with the hope that the role of geologists would spark interest and begin to develop the roots of future career path options. “The rock cycle and rock classification are pertinent to our standards. Weathering is a tough concept to grasp because of its dependence on lengths of time, and I am hopeful this course will show some real-life examples that the students can identify with,” said Fox.

Distance learning scholarship winners

The 38 scholarship recipients connect to the Internet2 network via one of the following seven state or regional research and education networks: Connecticut Education Network, Iowa Communications Network, Illinois Century Network, KanREN in Kansas, NYSERNet in New York, OARnet in Ohio, and OneNet in Oklahoma.

Scholarship winners are listed below, along with the state or regional research and education network that connects their school to the Internet2 network.

#	Teacher Name	School Name	City & State	Grade(s)	Connecting Research & Education Network
1	Debra Allard	Integrated Day Charter School	Norwich, CT	6th grade	Connecticut Education Network
2	Kristy Cook	Strong Elementary School	Plantsville, CT	5th grade	Connecticut Education Network
3	Lori Crocker-Lincoln	Eastford Elementary School	Eastford, CT	2nd and 3rd grade	Connecticut Education Network
4	Melanie Drinkwater	Canton Middle School	Collinsville, CT	7th grade	Connecticut Education Network
5	Lynn Erickson	Stafford Elementary School	Stafford Springs, CT	2nd grade	Connecticut Education Network
6	Kirstina Frazier	Andover Elementary School	Andover, CT	1st-3rd grade	Connecticut Education Network
7	Kimberly Hollenbach	Birch Grove Primary	Tolland, CT	Kindergarten	Connecticut Education Network
8	Marissa Krayeski	Chaplin Elementary School	Chaplin, CT	5th and 6th grade	Connecticut Education Network
9	Louise Morrison	Thompson Middle School	Grosvenordale, CT	6th grade	Connecticut Education Network
10	Sarah Moynihan	Birch Grove Primary School	Tolland, CT	Kindergarten	Connecticut Education Network
11	Julie Prescott	Chippens Hill Middle School	Bristol, CT	8th grade	Connecticut Education Network
12	Ashleeann Traner	South Side School	Bristol, CT	Kindergarten	Connecticut Education Network
13	Ashleeann Traner	South Side School	Bristol, CT	Kindergarten- 5th grade	Connecticut Education Network
14	Nancy Wasserman	John F Kennedy Middle School	Plantsville, CT	8th grade	Connecticut Education Network
15	Lisa Seaba	Jefferson Elementary	Muscatine, IA	Kindergarten	Iowa Communications Network
16	Laurel Adams	Palestine High School	Palestine, IL	6-12th grade	Illinois Century Network
17	Alexis Billick	Franklin Jr/Sr. High School	Franklin, IL	9th grade	Illinois Century Network
18	Vanessa Courts	Alain Locke Charter School	Chicago, IL	Kindergarten	Illinois Century Network
19	Morgan Dillman	Geff Grade School	Geff, IL	1st grade	Illinois Century Network
20	Margaret Figura	CICS West Belden — Distinctive Schools	Chicago, IL	4th grade	Illinois Century Network
21	Susan Hagan	Meridian Elementary School	Blue Mound, IL	4-5th grade	Illinois Century Network
22	Susanne Hokkanen	Heritage Middle School	Summit, IL	6, 7, and 8th grade	Illinois Century Network
23	Michelle Hundt	Wharton Elementary	Summit, IL	5th grade	Illinois Century Network
24	Michele Irlacher	Riverdahl Elementary	Rockford, IL	1st grade	Illinois Century Network
25	Ashley Mays	CICS Bucktown — Distinctive Schools	Chicago, IL	2nd grade	Illinois Century Network
26	Kelly Pollack	Chicago International Charter School: West Belden	Chicago, IL	3rd grade	Illinois Century Network
27	Melisa Shepard	Webster Elementary	Collinsville, IL	2nd grade	Illinois Century Network
28	Jeanine Shumaker	Riverdahl Elementary	Rockford, IL	1st grade	Illinois Century Network
29	Angie Tapley	Rich Township High School FAC Campus	Richton Park, IL	11th grade	Illinois Century Network
30	Jim Cera	Riverside High School	Wathena, KS	9-12th grade	KanREN
31	Annette Bahun	Eden Central School District	Eden, NY	6th grade	NYSERNet
32	Kelly Grimaldi!	Eden Elementary School	Eden, NY	3rd grade	NYSERNet
33	Rebecca Bowman	West Muskingum Elementary	Zanesville, OH	1st grade	OARnet
34	Taggart Fox	New Carlisle Elementary School	New Carlisle, OH	3rd grade	OARnet
35	Michelle Smith	Eastern Elementary	Lexington, OH	6th grade	OARnet
36	Ronna Dunigan	Leflore Public Schools	Le Flore, OK	1-2nd grade	OneNet
37	Melissa Newport	White Rock Public School	McLoud, OK	2nd grade	OneNet
38	Tiffany Robinson	LeFlore Public School	Le Flore, OK	1st grade	OneNet
39	Mallory Tully	White Rock Public School	McLoud, OK	PK-8th grade Music, 5th-8th grade Science	OneNet

About Internet2

Internet2® is a non-profit, member-driven advanced technology community founded by the nation’s leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 serves 320 U.S. universities, 59 government agencies, 45 regional and state education networks and through them supports more than 100,000 community anchor institutions, over 1,000 InCommon participants, and 58 leading corporations working with our community, and 70 national research and education network partners that represent more than 100 countries.

Internet2 delivers a diverse portfolio of technology solutions that leverages, integrates, and amplifies the strengths of its members and helps support their educational, research and community service missions. Internet2’s core infrastructure components include the nation’s largest and fastest research and education network that was built to deliver advanced,customized services that are accessed and secured by the community-developed trust and identity framework.

Internet2 offices are located in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Denver, Colo.; Washington, D.C.; and West Hartford, Conn. For more information, visit www.internet2.edu or follow @Internet2 on Twitter.

Media Contact:
Sara Aly
Communications Manager, Internet2
saly@internet2.edu