Cascade teachers honored with grants for hands-on learning

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2025 NCEF Teacher Grant Award List

LEAVENWORTH — Teachers in the Cascade School District have received nine classroom innovation grants from the North Central Education Foundation (NCEF), joining hundreds of educators across the region selected for this year’s Teacher Classroom Grant awards. Funded through community donations, the annual program supports projects that enrich learning, especially in schools where educators rely on creativity to meet classroom needs.

A total of 253 teachers received grants in 2025, with 364 applying. The foundation says the demand reflects the ongoing drive among teachers to design experiences that go beyond standard curriculum and give students practical, meaningful ways to learn.

In Cascade schools, this year’s grant recipients represent a broad range of learning experiences rooted in the identity of the valley itself, like music, outdoor education, literacy, creativity and project-based STEM work.

Cascade’s 2025 NCEF grant recipients include:

• Shanda Holm, for Revolutionary War through Role Play Game without guns
  • Jason Kramer, for Field Trips
  • Mike Miller, for 6th Grade Spring Camp (collaborative award)
  • Cindy Johnson, for Collaborative Second Grade Book (collaborative award)
  • Mike Camp, for Reading A-Z Subscription/Differentiated Reading Group Support Materials (collaborative award)
  • Amber Zimmerman, for ‘Glow Up’ Music and Art Performance 2.0 (collaborative award)
  • Darryl Wall, for Cascade HS/IRMS Choir Music Library (collaborative award)
  • Kathleen O’Bryan Boling, for STEAM
  • Shelly Forster, for Salmon for Icicle River Middle School Problem-Based Learning (PBL) (collaborative award)

Taken together, these projects show how teachers connect learning to the community around them. Salmon for Icicle River Middle School PBL uses local ecology as curriculum, tying science instruction to the rivers students recognize. The 6th Grade Spring Camp builds outdoor learning into tradition, teaching teamwork, environmental awareness, and independence.

The arts are represented in both performance and literacy. Cascade HS/IRMS Choir Music Library expands resources for local music programs, while ‘Glow Up’ Music and Art Performance 2.0 provides arts-focused experiences that help students express themselves beyond the classroom. At younger grade levels, Collaborative Second Grade Book invites students to become co-authors, emphasizing writing as a shared creative process.

Other projects focus on literacy tools and real-world applications. Reading A-Z Subscription/Differentiated Reading Group Support Materials enables teachers to tailor reading support to individual needs, while Revolutionary War through Role Play Game without guns gives students a deeper understanding of history through simulation — without combat reenactment. Field Trips expands experiential learning, and STEAM supports interdisciplinary science, art, and design.

The NCEF program says its goal is not only to fund creative ideas, but also to encourage sharing. Many funded projects have the potential to grow or be adapted by other classrooms, making the grants a starting point rather than a one-time benefit.

For Cascade teachers, that means expanding the very definition of learning to include the valley itself — its rivers, forests, music, creativity and outdoor culture. Whether students are building, performing, writing or learning outdoors, these teachers are offering lessons that reflect the community they live in.

Readers can view the full list of recipients by clicking here.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media