Bright Minds is excited to announce that we have awarded 22 Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) educators over $30,000 in grants for classroom and instructional projects aimed at enhancing student achievement, engagement, and wellbeing during the 2026-2027 school year. The projects will be delivered in over 20 schools and are expected to impact approximately 4,800 students. 

These grants are offered in recognition of HCPSS educators as incredible resources to identify innovative instructional approaches that address unique community or classroom needs and enhance student learning. Bright Minds Classroom Innovation Project grants seek to support student success, enrich teaching practices, strengthen school communities, and pilot important classroom and school projects. This year’s grants are made possible by generous funding received by Bright Minds from The Kahlert Foundation and Sheehy Toyota of Laurel.

The 2026 grant recipients and their projects are:

• Jessica Palad, Bellows Spring Elementary School, Kindergarten Literacy Enhancement
• Jeeeun Seymour, Bonnie Branch Middle School, The ALS Greenhouse: Growing Skills and Small Business
• Dallas Rosenthal, Cedar Lane School, LETTUCE Talk About Hydroponics!
• David Riddler, Centennial High School, Building Future-ready & Globally-Competent Students Through Crisis Simulations & Cross-School Collaboration
• Kelly Baker, Dayton Oaks Elementary School, Nature-Based SEL
• Joanna Pauley, Deep Run Elementary School, Scan to Understand- WorldPenScan Go Reading Pen
• Dan Blue, Dunloggin Middle School, Monarch Mission: Monarch Butterfly Restoration Project
• Paul Klink, Ellicott Mills Middle School, Safe Prototyping Lab: Expanding Hands-On Engineering with Cardboard Fabrication Tools
• Kelly Storr, Glenwood Middle School, Seeds of Change: Students Cultivating Science, Sustainability, and Community
• Kerri Shepet, Gorman Crossing Elementary School, Listening to Reading with Wonderbook
• Robin Few, Gorman Crossing Elementary School, Enhancing Access and Participation in the GCES OT Motor Room
• Nena Hupp, Hanover Hills Elementary School, AI Literacy & Mathematical Reasoning Lab: Providing
• Easier Opportunities for Everyone to Access Advanced STEM Learning
• Ayla Safren, Hanover Hills Elementary School, Planting Words, Growing Voices
• Lori Rudolph, HCPSS Vision Services, Meet Me in the Middle – Making the Most of the Middle School Years (Empowering Students with Visual Impairments in Independent Living Skills Through Experiential Learning)
• Molly Milani, Tara Terry & Meredith Gregoire-Cope, Marriotts Ridge High School, The Unified Kitchen Project: Adaptive Tools for Life Skill Independence
• Nina Diehl, Murray Hill Middle School, Creating Together: Building Community and Self-Confidence Through Art
• Kristin Anderson-Little, Oakland Mills High School, Stronger Together: Early Peer Intervention for Student Mental Health Success
• Simone Smith & Megan Milholland, Passages Program, Passages
• Suzanne Hughes, Reservoir High School, Heat Mapping the Reservoir High School Campus
• Caroline Evans & Lisa Goldberg, Running Brook Elementary School, 4 Houses 1 Family
• Kathleen Borden, Running Brook Elementary School, Let’s Get Reading!
• Sheila Jones-Wagner & Rochelle Chauncey, Thomas Viaduct Middle School, Crown Collective: Mentorship at the Viaduct

Grant recipients were recognized at a Howard County Board of Education meeting on September 24, 2026.

About Bright Minds staff and teacher grants:
Since 2009, Bright Minds has provided over $306,000 to staff and teacher grants in support of classroom innovation projects. These projects have focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); diversity and inclusion; business and entrepreneurship; civic awareness; fine arts; and other topics. Learn more about our staff and teacher grants program.

Contributions to the staff and teacher grant program can be made HERE.

About Bright Minds
Bright Minds Foundation works to ensure that each student has access to the education, resources, and opportunities they need to succeed at school and in life. We bring together community support for programs and initiatives that increase education access, equity, and innovation. Bright Minds programs respond to urgent and ongoing needs of students in four key areas: literacy and school readiness; digital inclusion and access to learning; education innovation and teacher support; and college access. Learn more about Bright Minds.