In 2023, Americans Helping Americans® launched the Americans Helping Teachers program to provide up to $20,000 annually in grants to educators, including teachers, librarians, counselors, and administrators, working in five PK-12 schools in Appalachia. These grants support unmet needs in classrooms and schools.
Since the 2023–2024 academic year, educators have received grants of up to $4,000 to support a wide range of initiatives. These have included creating life skills opportunities for Comprehensive Development Classroom students, developing outdoor learning environments such as classrooms and a Zen garden, purchasing dissection equipment and preserved animal specimens for science instruction, equipping chemistry labs, setting up “reset” areas where elementary-aged students can retreat and regulate in calm, comforting spaces, and even introducing a therapy dog to enhance student mental health.
For the 2025–2026 academic year, we are pleased to announce the following five grant recipients:
Tammy Spoon
Expanding Safe Space
Bean Station Elementary, Bean Station, Tennessee
Bean Station is a Title I school where approximately 80 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Due to Grainger County’s approval for participation in the Community Eligibility Provision, all students at Bean Station School receive breakfast and lunch at no charge. The majority of students come from low-income families, with many being raised by grandparents, great-grandparents, or other relatives.
Tammy, a previous Americans Helping Teachers grant recipient and school counselor, will use her grant to expand her “Happy Minds, Happy Kids” project. This includes adding sensory tools and trauma-informed curriculum to the school’s safe space.
The funding will also support a “Mindfulness Month,” during which students will engage in mindfulness activities and learn tools to remain calm and focused. Additionally, a Parent Night will be hosted to provide families with helpful information on trauma and self-regulation.
Sandy Rose
Updating Library Books
Central Elementary, McArthur, Ohio
Central Elementary is a rural school located in the heart of Vinton County, Ohio. The community is a small, one-red-light town set within a picturesque Appalachian landscape. Access to basic necessities is a daily challenge for many residents. This limited access often leads to instability within families. Due to the scarcity of employment opportunities in the area, many families face financial hardship, emotional strain, and a pervasive sense of uncertainty. In the classrooms, the educators regularly witness the real-life stories that reflect these statistics.
Sandy, a school librarian, is using her grant to purchase relevant nonfiction books “that will excite the interest of learning for all of our students from preschool through 5th grade.” She aims to spark curiosity in subjects such as science, technology, history, humor, and cooking, and to foster a lifelong love of learning.
The updated titles will “elevate our nonfiction book collection from a median age of 30 years old to current and relevant data,” Sandy explains.
Kelly Waddell
Museums and Historical Field Trips
Central Elementary, McArthur, Ohio
Central Elementary provides 100 percent free lunches to all students. A large proportion of the student population comes from single-parent households, and some students live in foster care. According to the Director and the latest available data, the Vinton Metropolitan Housing Authority manages and occupies 171 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers within the city limits of McArthur. The city also contains 58 Section 8 apartments and 80 approved low-income housing units across four affordable housing complexes.
Kelly, a second-grade teacher, is using her grant for the project Past to Present – Making History Real. This includes organizing field trips to museums and historical sites.
“My second-grade students will gain firsthand knowledge of historical places and learn to identify artifacts in their natural environments,” says Kelly. Students will document their experiences in field trip notebooks and scrapbooks, and videos will be shared with families and added to the school library.
Jessica Moon
Out-of-State Field Trips
Northern Potter High, Ulysses, Pennsylvania
Northern Potter School District is a small district located in rural Potter County, Pennsylvania. It serves approximately 500 students from grades K4 through 12, with an average graduating class of 25–35 students. As a Title I school, 54 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. A grant would assist the class of 2029 in attending a team-building event at a high ropes course. The class of 2029 includes 43 students who are known for being gregarious, loyal to one another, and vocal in advocating for their peers. They are innovative, motivated, and frequently grasp concepts beyond their current curriculum.
Jessica’s project, Expanding Our Horizons, aims to expose students to new environments and cultures through out-of-state field trips.
“I want to show them that life exists outside of our little bubble,” she says. “There are places to see, experiences to have, and people to meet beyond Potter County.” The planned trip includes visits to a more populated area and participation in high ropes courses, which offer benefits such as improved physical fitness, confidence, and self-esteem.
Rebecca Smallwood
Center of Science and Industry Field Trip
West Elementary, McArthur, Ohio
West Elementary is situated in Southeast Ohio, within Vinton County. It is one of three elementary schools serving a very rural community. According to the Vinton County Local School District treasurer’s office, the free and reduced lunch rate exceeds 50 percent. A significant number of students live with relatives or are placed in out-of-home care, with this figure ranging from 12 to 17 percent based on school data. Many students reside in housing conditions considered substandard by most health departments, often lacking running water, heat, and plumbing. The county’s school system is the largest employer for college graduates. Other major employers in the area include several lumber mills, a dynamite plant, and two banks. The community has just one small grocery store and a single red light.
Rebecca, a family support worker, will use her grant to take students to the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio. COSI provides engaging hands-on learning experiences in science, technology, and industry.
“They will explore exhibits through hands-on learning that is part of the COSI experience,” says Rebecca. The grant will cover admission for approximately 270 students and 30 adult chaperones, as well as bus transportation.
