Educator Resources

Grants & Scholarships

Through the years, the Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico has proudly provided scholarships and grants to teachers, supporting their innovative ideas and lessons. Grants have provided support to create new and innovative science experiments, help students to explore music from other countries, and broaden the learning experience.   

The grants and scholarships are possible through the generosity of our Golden Apple partners and donors. As grants and scholarships become available, Golden Apple will post links on this page and our social media.  Subscribe to our e-mail list to be one of the first to be notified when grants opportunities open.

Bueno Books for Classrooms Grant

Congratulations to the recipients of the Bueno Books for Classroom  Grants. Golden Apple is excited to help support literacy in New Mexico schools. Check back in the fall to see how these amazing projects helped students explore the wonderful world of reading.

Moses Allen

Moses Allen

7th-8th grade teacher, Cien Aguas Lending Library, Albuquerque

Our small K-8 bilingual school does not have a library. Each teacher tries to provide books in their classroom to lend, but resources are always scarce. I’ve spent my entire classroom budget for two years to try to stock my classroom lending library. I’ve tried to make the funding last as long as possible by using the public library book sales to find books. However, the books are usually in very noticeably used conditions and many of the popular books do not last long as the paperbacks often lose pages or covers when jostled around in backpacks.

I would love the opportunity to create a classroom library that my grade level team could utilize in order to provide literacy resources for my students. Beyond just stocking books, I’d like to curate a collection of reading material that will best serve my middle school students by providing literature that supports our school mission by showing value for multilingual and multicultural backgrounds. Access to reading material that is culturally relevant and connects to the interests of our students is imperative.

Johnray Dennis

JohnRay Dennis

3rd-4th grade teacher, San Antonio Elementary Build Your Own Library, San Antonio

Build Your Library is a way to get great literature into the hands and homes of our students. Our goal is to give each and every one of our students a new book each month during the school year. By the time a kindergarten student leaves our school at the end of their fifth-grade year, they will have received close to 60 books for their at-home library. Our goal is for them to take these books home and share them with their family. We encourage them to read the book with their parents, grandparents, and siblings. Hopefully, the books will be passed down to younger brothers and sisters for them to enjoy and develop a lifelong love for reading.

We don’t just give books to the students; we invite the parents in and share with them the importance of reading and model how to read with their child. With each book that is given, the students will also receive a bookmark giving tips on where to read, when to read, how to read, as well as strategies to boost comprehension and fluency, and how to tackle challenging words. We are very excited to have the support of Bueno Foods and the Golden Apple Foundation. Your generous donation will provide a book for each of our eighty-five plus students, from kindergarten to fifth grade, one brand new book for the next three months.

Brittany Brinker

Brittany Brinker

Teacher, Public Academy for Performing Arts, Albuquerque

We study history because we care about other people and their stories. To learn about others, we need to work collaboratively, read critically, write coherently, and discuss constantly. These books will provide our 6-8th grade students a combination of “windows” and “doors”: our young New Mexicans will get their hands on stories of people who look, think and live as they do, but they will have access to the stories of people who look, think and live differently. Before the COVID-19 lockdown and remote learning, many school classrooms (like mine) shifted to digital collections. However, remote learning taught us that not all students have equal access to the internet. Lack of internet access should not limit a student’s ability to learn and grow! Thank you to Bueno Foods and the Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico for providing the funds to purchase print books for our class library. Now, all students will have an equal opportunity to learn about other people and their stories.

Sheridan Preuss

Sheridan Preuss

Kindergarten, Nina Otero Community School, Using decodable textbooks, Santa Fe

This award is graciously appreciated on behalf of myself, my colleagues and all future students who will benefit from this grant. Our students come from a diverse and rich multi-cultural background (many of whom have special needs). We hope to purchase decodable textbooks that mirror our students and their families’ diversities.

Amy Richardson

Amy Richardson

Librarian, Dolores Gonzalez Elementary, Spanish fiction and non-fiction books, Albuquerque

Dolores Gonzales will purchase $1,000 worth of Spanish fiction and non-fiction books for our school library to be used by staff and students.

Adelina Martinez

Adelina Martinez

Bilingual Education, Camino Real Middle School Youth Cultural Awareness through Literature, Las Cruces

The books I selected are from specific authors because I believe diversity is extremely important to expose our young people today. To read a book from someone else’s point of view and see a different perspective is educational, in its simplest form. Books will be read out loud in class. Students will have an opportunity to write reflections, summaries, compare characters, and describe the settings in a journal. And above all, classroom discussions of the main idea(s), characters, and address story line questions. Allocating time blocks each week to read will re-enforce their own reading habits, improve their Language Arts skills, and build their communication skills. Students learn by example and incorporating books that are outside their regular content textbooks, will only encourage positive reading habits, for the future. My wish is to influence our youth, one classroom at a time. To plant a seed of interest for reading, so in turn they can be creative. This is a form of giving back to my community. Another why I can pay it forward to support the students that I serve.

Sarah Ammons

Sarah Ammons

7th Grade, Language Arts/AVID Teacher Hatch Valley Middle School Reading Choice and Engagement, Hatch

Many thanks to Bueno Foods and the Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico for not only supplying a classroom library but for giving my students the opportunity to choose their own reading adventures and setting them on the path of being lifelong readers.

Intel Let’s Do Science Grant Reciepients 

Congratulations to the recipients of the Intel Let’s Do Science Grants. Golden Apple is excited to help support STEAM education in New Mexico schools. Check back in the fall to see how these amazing projects helped students explore the wonderful world of science.

Jessica Lucero

Jessica Lucero

Third Grade, Rita M. Marquez Elementary School, Anton Chico, NM

Students who live in this rural community will observe the natural phenomenon of weather, classify animals by attributes, learn about adaptations, life cycles, food chains, habitats, and behaviors, and understand how in our solar system celestial objects rotate and revolve.

Miriam Martinez

Miriam Martinez

Dual Language Teacher, 3rd Grade, Emerson Elementary School, Albuquerque, NM

Nothing says STEM better than Lego! Students will have their own set of manipulatives to practice their mathematical concepts, create their own versions of worlds explored through their readings, and lastly construct and create as they exercise the most important muscle they possess – their brains. 

Melinda Shepard

Melinda Shepard

Fourth Grade Teacher, Lowell Elementary School, Albuquerque, NM

Unicorns utilizing STEM materials. Students will extend their ELA lesson and do hands-on STEM work by creating a house for a pig that the wolf cannot blow down, designing a chair that even goldilocks cannot break, or creating a bridge to keep the three billy goats safe from the troll.

 Chris Speck

Chris Speck

Science Teacher, Garfield STEM School, Albuquerque, NM

The project will provide the tools to be able to have student driven biochemistry labs. Students will create driving questions on biological processes we are learning in class. They will then use these tools to collect data and draw conclusions.

Anna Mayberry

Anna Mayberry

Kindergarten Teacher, Puesta del Sol Elementary, Rio Rancho, NM

With Miss Frizzle in charge, the grant will add lessons that are fun and engaging. Using the lessons and activities presented during Golden Apple’s Let’s Do Science series, students will watch the weather, explore animal habitats, and explore outer space. 

Brooke Beggio

Brooke Beggio

Gifted/Enrichment Teacher, Osuna Elementary, Edgewood, NM

If They Can Build It, They Will Come: Students will connect their learning across multiple learning areas through project-based learning. Through the use of open-ended questioning and challenges, they will have choice of activities requiring them to utilize science, technology, engineering, art, and math to come up with solutions. 

Barbara Ericson

Barbara Ericson

Teacher of Gifted, Fairacres Elementary School, Las Cruces, NM

Students will design and conduct a plethora of experiments to understand what plants need to grow and flourish. Experiments will include: hydroponics and aquaponics • watering plants with various types of water • constructing a plant maze • learning about the life cycle of a bean • watching roots grow/growing bulbs • learning how pollution affects plants • experimenting with germination • learning if plants can grow without sunlight and air • experimenting with plant growth and music • learning about the importance of pollination and bees.

Michael Smith

Michael Smith

Fourth Grade Teacher, Puesta del Sol Elementary, Rio Rancho, NM

Puesta Del Sol STEAM Lab has been designed to promote student interest in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. The grant will provide materials for stations that allow students, of varying age groups, to explore phenomenon with engaging hands-on activities.

Thank You to our Corporate & Grant Sponsors

These sponsors generously provide funding for special awards and for teacher grants and scholarships. 

New Mexico Mutual Logo
Goodgame Foundation
Lang Family Foundation
Ralph K. Strong Endowment Logo
Dions Logo
Bueno Foods 70Th Anniversary Logo
Wells Fargo Logo
Intel Logo
Martin J. And Pat Koldyke
Duffy And Jean Ann Swan Logo
Bank Of Albuquerque Logo
Redw Cpa Logo