NWA Sol Hirsch Education Fund Grants

National Weather Association (NWA)
SOL HIRSCH EDUCATION FUND GRANTS

Sol Hirsch Education Fund Grants are awarded annually to teachers/educators of grades K-12 to help improve the education of their students, school and/or community in the science of meteorology. The Grant is intended to allow teachers to:

  • Purchase scientific materials and / or equipment for the classroom, school or community.
  • Begin new school and / or community science outreach and education programs.
  • Enhance and / or expand existing meteorology / science education programs.
  • Attend accredited courses, workshops and /or conferences related to meteorology that will significantly enhance their teaching activities.

The NWA awards up to seven (7) $750 grants each School Year. The application process is completed totally on-line and is open from February through June 1st. Grants are awarded in late summer.

Grants are funded by the many NWA members who contribute to this fund in honor of Sol Hirsch who retired in 1992 after being the NWA Executive Director for 11 years.

The 2012-2013 School Year Grant Application will open in February 2012.

In general, those teachers /educators selected to receive the grant are those who's applications:

  • Are deemed to have the greatest need.
  • Will have the most significant and widest impact.
  • Have the most detailed information on how the grant money will be spent.
  • Are most likely to succeed with their proposal.
Congratulations to the teachers (listed below) winning the seven Sol Hirsch NWA Education Fund Grants for 2011! These were formally announced at the Annual Awards Luncheon during the 36th NWA Annual Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama on 19 October 2011:

  • Rebalynn Coil and Linda Hughes, Bartow Elementary Academy STEM Magnet School, Bartow, FL

  • Teresa Duvall and Lisa Smith, Brevard Middle School, Brevard, NC

  • Evan Franchini, Memorial Middle School, Fair Lawn, NJ

  • Sara Kuhar, Lauren Watson, Julia Calderon, Jan Crowe, Carlos Hernandez and Eric Bailey, Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences (SSA+S), Sarasota, FL

  • Christopher Kunkel and Leigh-Ann Mitchel, Hoboken Charter School, Hoboken, NJ

  • Lorraine Mann, Janina Ivester Brown and Adriana Guadarrama, Prescott Elementary School, Oakland, CA

  • Krystina Wisniewski, Passaic County Elks Cerebral Palsy High School, Clifton, NJ

Since 1993, the NWA has awarded 102 K-12 Education Grants totaling over $54,000, thanks to the generosity of Sol Hirsch and the many NWA members who donate to this worthwhile program. This map shows the locations of the 2010 award winners in blue and the 2011 winners in pink.


View The 2010 and 2011 National Weather Association Sol Hirsch Education Fund Grants on a larger map

Past Winners of the NWA Sol Hirsch Education Fund Grants 


2010 -
  • Tina Foster - Cedar Ridge Jr. High School, Newark, AR
  • Kathleen Poe - Fletcher Middle School (Part of Beaches Academy of Sciences with Fletcher High School, Neptune Beach and Mayport Middle School, Atlantic Beach), Jacksonville Beach, FL Click here to read more about this Grant
  • Cindy Sheetz - N. Vermillion Jr. / Sr. High School, Cayuga, IN
  • Richard McCoy - Laquey R-V School District, Laquey, MO
  • Craig Beals (with Ed. Directors from the Montana Learning Center) - Billings Senior High School, Billings, MT
  • Emily Thomas - Ridgewood Elementary School, Winterville, NC
  • Melissa Connor, PS/IS 276, New York, NY

2009 -
    • Mike Brown, Peter Woodbury School, Bedford, NH
    • Brendan Casey, Joan MacQueen Middle School, Alpine, CA
    • Debra Gochros, Kawaikini NCPCS, Lihue, HI
    • Margarita Gonzalez, John E. Ford Pre K-8 School, Jacksonville, FL
    • Kelly Green, Hamilton Accelerated Elementary School, Hamilton, MO
    • Danielle Hutchins, Life Adventure Center of the Bluegrass, Versailles, KY
    • Steven M. Jacobs, Dundee Middle School, Dundee, MI
    • Michael Lampert, West Salem High School, Salem, OR
    • Austen Onek, Pink Palace Museum, Memphis, TN
    • Jessie Soder, Gustavus School, Gustavus, AK

    In 2009, Education Committee Co-Chair Eleanor Vallier-Talbot traveled to Bedford, New Hampshire, to personally award the grant check to Mike Brown and the educator team at the Peter Woodbury School.

    Eleanor Vallier-Talbot delivers the Sol Hirsh Education Grant at the Peter Woodbury School - Oct 2009 Grand Opening of the Project at Peter Woodbury School 



2008 — Cliff Hudson, Williamston High School, Williamston, NC
                Mary Jean Johnston, Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center, Punxsutawney, PA
                Bev McKillip, Elkhorn Valley School, Tilden, NE
                Ronette Oller, Fort Middle School, Columbus, GA
                Susan Parker, Buckland Elementary School, Gates, NC
                Teresa Root, St. Mary of the Lake School, White Bear Lake, MN
                Timothy Sheehan, Sangamon County Juvenile Center, Community Transition Program, Springfield, IL
                Clara Shoe, Foster Elementary School, Tampa, FL
                Lisa Sims, Zellwood Elementary School, Zellwood, FL
                Leslie Stafford, Manual Junior Preparatory School, Peoria, IL

2007 — Chris Campbell, Simsboro School, Simsboro, Louisiana
                Terri Cloyde, Madill Elementary School, Madill, Oklahoma
                Scott MP Hawbaker, Depew Middle School, Depew, New York
                Linda R. Hogan, Lake Ridge Middle School, Gary, Indiana
                Deb Hurst, Mills Elementary School, Austin, Texas
                Dana K. Kelly, Highlands Grove Elementary, Lakeland, Florida
                Veronica Krautheim,  Multimedia & Visual Arts School, Crawford Educational Complex, San Diego, California
                Betsy Moore, Goodridge Elementary School, Hebron, Kentucky
                J. Christine Paulsell, Jefferson East Curriculum Center, Covington, Louisiana
                Cindy Wilson-Hyde, Gulliver Academy, Coral Gables, Florida

2006 — Karen Ashton, Dr. John Long Middle School, Wesley Chapel, Florida.
                Vickie Blankenship, East McDowell Junior High School, Marion, North Carolina.
                Regina Brinker, Christensen Middle School, Livermore, California.
                Robert L. Dospoy, Harmony Elementary School, Westover, Pennsylvania.
                Sherry Goldman,Floranada Elementary School, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
                Joyce Hembree, Mark Twain Elementary School, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
                Kathleen Jerome, STAR Academy, Lillington, North Carolina.
                Kathy K. Lineberger, Marvin Ward Elementary School, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
                Ros Won, Marymount School of New York, New York City.
                Way Yuhl, Flagstaff Children's Museum, Flagstaff, Arizona.

2005 — Marla Baldwin, Gillis Elementary School, Lake Charles, Louisiana.
                Gene Bush, Clay Hill Elementary School, Jacksonville, Florida.
                Karen DeBartolo, Saint Mark's Christian School, Middleburgh, New York.
                Erik Wood Fogel, Bronx Preparatory Charter School, Bronx, New York.
                Linda Militello, P.S. 84 Erie County Health Care Center, Buffalo, New York.
                Mary Ann Nakamoto,Churchill Elementary School, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
                Caprice Potter, Gateway School, Santa Cruz, California.
                Catherine Ryan, Alvin High School, Alvin, Texas.
                Robert J. Stewart, Jr., Prince William County Juvenile Detention Center, Manassas, Virginia.

2004 — David W. Chapman, Okemos High School, Okemos, Michigan.
                Melanie DuBose, Valley Community Charter School, North Hills, California.
                Garland Jay Hart, Campbell Academy Challenge Cluster, Atlanta, Georgia.
                Peter Leinau, Jack L. Boyd Outdoor School, Fish Camp, California.
                Windy Linden, Reed Elementary School, Tiburon, California.
                Wendy McNeil, Dorothy B. Johnson Elementary School, Wilmington, North Carolina.
                Jennifer C. Williams, Isidore Newman School, New Orleans, Louisiana.

2003 — Cherie Edwards, Meadowlark Elementary School, Chinook, Montana.
                 Deborah J. Hargrove, LaVerna Evans Elementary School, O'Fallon, Illinois.
                 Kathy K. Lineberger, Marvin Ward Elementary School, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
                 Denise Scioli, Alternative Learning Center (Austin Independent School District), Austin, Texas.
                 John Schaefers, Ingomar Middle School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

2002 — Mary W. Altus, Brennan Elementary School, Columbia, South Carolina.
                Barbara A. Doughty, Saint Mary Elementary School, Norwalk, Ohio.
                James F. Dowling, Reading Muhlenberg Area Vocational School, Reading, Pennsylvania.
                Shannon Kleweno, Cedar Creek Elementary School, Olathe, Kansas.
                Rebecca J. Petrey, Kairos Academy, Newark, Ohio.

2001 — Chris Hockert, Clifton Hills Elementary School, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
                 Bernice Lowery, Langston Magnet School, Hot Springs, Arkansas.
                 Karen A. Vitek, Nassau Spackenkill School, Poughkeepsie, New York.

2000 — Susan J. Flores and Lynn Sillitoe, New Dominion Alternative School, Manassas, Virginia.
                 Marilyn M. Johnson, Umatilla-Morrow Education Service District, Pendleton, Oregon.
                 Catherine Sachse, Hudson Valley Circle of Learning, Rock Tavern, New York.

1999 — Jill Evans of the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium in Fort Myers, Florida.
                 Peggy Morgan of Walnut Grove Elementary School in Ferguson, Missouri.
                 Arlene Scull of North Elementary School in Youngstown, Ohio.

1998 — Angela Marsan, Central Elementary School in Clewiston, Florida.
                Mary Beth Bauer, Ingram Tom Moore High School, Ingram, Texas.

1997 — Catherine Cavanaugh, Whitaker Center for Math, Science and Technology in Naples, Florida.
                Robyn Behen, Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Jefferson City, Missouri.
                Uri Harel, Hartland Elementary School in Hartland, Vermont. 

1996 — Leslie Demmert, Belleville, Illinois School District #118.
                Lisa Marie Gonzales, Thomas R. Pollicita Middle School in Daly City, California. 

1995 — Carrie Ann Lucas, Hopwood Junior High School in Chalan Piao, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
                Winnifred G. Bolinsky, Foglesville Elementary School in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
                Christina Wilder, Paul Revere Elementary School in San Francisco, California. 

1994 — Barbara Feller, Program Director of Science Station, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
                Jean M. Parker, Sacred Heart School in Boise, Idaho. 

1993 — Linda J. Wygoda, Sam Houston High School in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

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Updated: 12 Oct, 2011