June 9, 2025

Kooyer Wins National Grant for Summer Fellowship

Kooyer named to 25 Fund For Teachers Fellowship

Joy Kooyer (3rd Grade at West Elementary) has been awarded $5000 for self-designed professional development!

Fund for Teachers, one of the nation's leading organizations supporting preK-12 educators, has announced its 2025 grant recipients, including Mrs. Kooyer. After a rigorous review process, her proposal was selected and she was awarded a grant to visit the setting of "Number the Stars" - her favorite book for 3rd Grade readers.

Kooyer is one of 357 pk-12 teachers from across the United States awarded a total of $1.625 million to pursue self-designed learning expeditions across 79 countries in six continents this summer. 

The grant will allow Kooyer to visit Denmark this summer and become immersed in the Scandinavian settings of the novel "Number the Stars."  She will create a project-based learning experience that considers parallels between the World War II era of the book and injustices happening today.

"I am incredibly honored to have been chosen as a Funds for Teachers grant recipient.  Years ago, I met Lois Lowry at a book signing in Holland. Her 1990 Newbery Award winning book, Number The Stars, has been so impactful to me and many of my students.  I typically read this book to my students every May as a mentor text, while they study Social Issue books. They learn to identify social issues and read with a new lens and different perspectives. I am excited to follow the path of Annemarie, the main character, as she makes her way up the coast of Denmark and finally into Sweden, and I look forward to returning to the classroom to share this experience." - Joy Kooyer

Fund for Teachers recognizes that teachers are the key learners in their classrooms. As such, FFT grants give educators the freedom to determine what and where they need to learn to ultimately enhance students’ academic and emotional growth. 

Teachers play the pivotal role in shaping students' academic success and, in many cases, their social and emotional well-being in an increasingly unpredictable world. Fund for Teachers believes that their unwavering commitment to America's students deserves our full support, empowering educators to pursue the growth opportunities they deem most impactful for their students' futures.” -Karen Eckhoff, FFT Executive Director

For more information about Fund for Teachers’ grant opportunities and their impact on educators, students, and school communities, visit their website.

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