COLOMA, Mich. -- Coloma Community Schools announced six of their educators have been selected as recipients of the 2025 Gold Acorn Classroom Mini-Grants from the Berrien Community Foundation. The grants total over $1,500.

The funds are aimed at supporting teachers, enabling them to enhance their classroom environments and learning experiences. This includes classroom materials, learning tools, or special projects that directly benefit students.

Officials with BCF say this year’s recipients demonstrated exceptional creativity and dedication in their proposals to bring engaging and innovative resources into their classrooms.

"We are incredibly proud of these teachers and grateful for their dedication to creating rich learning environments for our students," said Dave Ehlers, Superintendent of CCS. "The grants allow our educators to bring their innovative ideas to life, and we are excited to see the positive impact in each classroom."

Recipients include the following:

• Valerie Krieger, Fourth Grade, Coloma Intermediate: Mrs. Krieger plans to use her grant to purchase practice supplies for the Coloma Intermediate Science Olympiad.
• Deanne-Adele Sanchez, First Grade, Coloma Elementary: Ms. Sanchez will use the "Building Bridges for Literacy" grant she received to fund phonics materials (letter tiles and word games), math manipulatives (counting bears and blocks), flexible seating options (wobble cushions and bean bags), new books for the classroom library, and STEM supplies.
• Heather Lopez, Young Fives, Coloma Elementary: Ms. Lopez plans to use her grant to fund the purchase of a chicken egg incubator and a "Red-Barn" style brooder to create an engaging, hands-on agricultural science program for students.
• Brittany Brethauer - Third Grade, Coloma Elementary: Mrs. Brethauer plans to use her grant to fund all STEM-related materials for third graders.
• Gregory Shaffer - School Counselor, Coloma High: Mr. Shaffer plans to use his grant to establish the Dignity Program, a student-centered initiative aimed at promoting health, self-respect, and equitable access to basic hygiene items for all students.
• Brittni Jackson - Fourth Grade, Coloma Intermediate: Mrs. Jackson uses a group-work strategy called “Thinking Classrooms”. This strategy has students working in groups of three at whiteboards placed around the classroom. They work together to solve problems and collaboratively think of new ways to find the answer. With the grant, Mrs. Jackson will be able to purchase enough whiteboards for her groups of three to work in vertical spaces, which is a crucial element of this strategy.