Koch Classroom Grant
KOCH Recipients
KOCH CLASSROOM GRANT S25,000
Grace Graber - $3,000 North High
Guy Sturdevant - $3,000 Northwest High
Logan Browning - $3,000 Marshall Middle
Matthew French - $3,000 Christa McAuliffe
Melissa Seiwert - $3,000 South High
Olivia Lyles - $3,000 Curtis Middle
Ying Jiang - $3,000 Pleasant Valley Elementary
Tatiana Larsen - $3,000 Gordon Parks Academy
Chani Perret - $3,000 East High
KOCH CLASSROOM GRANT 2026 RECIPIENTS
Lori Patton – Christa McAuliffe Academy Harvest of Hope – $2,598
Jason West – Coleman Middle School Innovative Storage Solution – $2,496
Kayla Conely – Wichita East High Hooked on Books: Building a Culture of Reading – $1,200
· April Pameticky – Wichita East High Digital Investigation & Multi-Modal Project – $1,189
· Marcos Gonzalez – Wichita Heights High Heights Unplugged – $2,216
· Candice Croomes – Linwood Elementary STEM in Motion: The Linwood Coding Project – $1,784
· Candice Croomes – Linwood Elementary STEM in · Zerrin Oelze – McLean Elementary Building Student Success One Brick at a Time – $3,000
· Shari Hatfield – Northeast High Improving Data Literacy through Arduino Programming of Vernier Sensors – $1,894
· Jonathan Kist – Robinson Middle School Robotics Improvements – $3,000
Timothy Eberl – South High School Expanding STEM Student Opportunities Through Makerspace – $3,000
· Heather Lawrence – West High School Future-Read. y Readers: Advancing Literacy Through Graphic Storytelling – $1,113
The Koch Classroom Grant supports Wichita Public Schools educators by funding innovative, hands‑on STEM and entrepreneurship projects that directly enhance student learning. These grants are provided through partnership with Koch and are designed to help teachers implement creative, future‑focused classroom initiatives that strengthen problem‑solving, engineering, technology, and real‑world application skills. Koch specifically prioritizes STEM‑aligned opportunities that expand innovation across the district, enabling educators to think outside the box and offer students engaging, high‑impact learning experiences.
Eleven Wichita Public Schools educators were surprised in December 2025 with the announcement that they received Koch Classroom Grants to support innovative STEM and learning projects across the district!
District administrators, members of the Grants Department and representatives from Koch visited each school to celebrate these staff members and their classroom projects.
A total of $23,490 in Koch Classroom Grants was awarded this fall.
These grants support certified school-based staff in providing hands-on, innovative Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM), literacy or business entrepreneurship opportunities for students.
2023-2026 Koch Grant Summary
Have Questions? Contact Us
Holly Wilson
Grant Administrator
hwilson@usd259.net
316-973-4461
TaDonne Neal
Grant Technician
tneal2@usd259.net
316-973-4537
Bridgette Warren Budget Technician bwarren@usd259.net 316-973-4727
Sonia Welch Administrative Assistant swelch1@usd259.net 316-973-4754