Contributed by the Johnston County Education Foundation
This season, nine Johnston County Public Schools educators saw their innovative visions come to life as the Johnston County Education Foundation (JCEF) delivered grant checks across the district.
Founded in 1990, JCEF is a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening education in Johnston County through teacher grants, student scholarships and collaborative programs like Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year. Over the years, the foundation has awarded more than $90,000 in scholarships and continues to invest thousands annually in classroom projects that directly impact students.
This year’s grant recipients proposed a wide range of hands-on, skill-building learning experiences. Here’s how each educator plans to put their funding to work:
Haley Sauls – Clayton High
Sauls received $500 to purchase an incubator for raising chicks, helping students explore poultry care, nutrition and the reproductive cycle.
Suling Achoy – Clayton High
Achoy was awarded $510 for headphones with microphones to support Duolingo activities, strengthening students’ listening and speaking skills while improving classroom organization.
Stephanie Beasley – Cleveland High
Beasley earned a $175 grant for a classroom skeleton model, giving health science students a clearer understanding of bones, joints and anatomical structure.
Elizabeth Adams – Riverwood Middle
Adams received $496.87 to purchase three class sets of Parallel Journeys, a novel that deepens students’ understanding of the Holocaust while building critical thinking and citizenship.
Harvey Blackman – Cleveland High
Blackman’s $500 grant will support a propagation project in which students grow plant cuttings using various techniques and rooting hormones to compare results in the greenhouse.
Winnie Wong – Swift Creek Elementary
Wong received $428.02 for handbells and glockenspiels, encouraging teamwork, creativity and early musical skill development.
Antonella Vecchiola – Selma Elementary
Vecchiola will use her $500 grant to purchase durable headphones and microphones that enhance small-group learning in reading and math.
Tyler Daughtry – South Johnston High
Daughtry was awarded $232.11 for books and materials for the Literacy Rodeo based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The project helps ESL students build vocabulary and comprehension through cross-curricular activities, culminating in a themed food-truck assignment involving business plans, menus and marketing.
Mackenzie Gibson – North Johnston High
Gibson’s grant will fund an adaptive outdoor swing for students with physical and sensory disabilities, providing inclusive play that supports movement, regulation and social engagement.
JCEF’s contributions help empower educators who bring creativity and purpose into their classrooms — one grant, one idea and one student at a time.
