The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands - using money from the Anderson Family Fund for Education - has awarded $20,000 in grants to public school teachers for the 2009-2010 school year.

This is the eighth year the grants have been given to local teachers. The awards this year go to teachers and professionals within 14 public schools on St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John.

Each grant ranges from $400 to $1,000. The funding is used for after-school programs and in-class projects created by teachers to enhance learning opportunities for their students.

Since 2002, the Anderson Family Fund for Education at the Community Foundation of the V.I. has awarded more than $165,000 in teacher grants territorywide.

Two schools emerged as top winners in the committee's review, CFVI President Dee Baecher-Brown said in a written statement.

On St. Croix, Arthur Richards Elementary School received a total of $3,000 in grants to three teachers working to enrich the students' experiences of their culture through music, song and field trips to local historical sites.

On St. Thomas, three teachers at Ulla Muller Elementary School received awards totaling $3,000 to expand their students' cognitive skills through playing chess, by providing books for older students to read with kindergartners and to provide books for students to take home to read and share with their families.

Baecher-Brown said an evaluation committee reviewed 47 proposals received from an impressive pool of applicants. Priority was given to the proposals where students would be directly involved in the project, where creative strategies and activities are used to promote student learning. She said it was also important that projects were selected where there would be a measurable outcome.

The annual teacher grant program is funded by John Anderson Sr., chairman of Topa Equities in Los Angeles and the St. Thomas-based Topa Properties insurance company.

"It is our pleasure to assist Virgin Islands' public school teachers and students for the eighth year by awarding these Anderson Family Teacher Grants," Anderson said in a prepared statement. "The creativity and thoughtfulness of the teachers' proposals and the difference which the grants make for their students makes the giving even more rewarding for us."

The Anderson Family Fund for Education is one of more than 90 named funds at CFVI providing scholarships, grants and supporting programs in the Virgin Islands. For more information, call 774-6031, or visit www.cfvi.net.

2009-2010 Anderson teacher grant recipients

- Arthur Brown, Arthur A. Richards Junior High School, $1,000 for a lunchtime program where students will learn the island's rich musical history and under direction create original songs and performances.

- C. Kelitha Joseph, Arthur A. Richards Junior High School, $1,000 for a lunchtime program to teach drumming techniques as well as singing with an emphasis on team building, respect, focusing, listening, problem solving and other social skills.

- Jessica Parker, Arthur A. Richards Junior High School, $1,000 for a series of field trips to cultivate an appreciation of local arts in students.

- Edwin Russell, Juanita Gardine Elementary School, $985 to teach guitar to students and help them create a guitar band.

- Sue Diverio, Project Link High School program, $1,000 for students enrolled in the Project Link program to learn public speaking techniques. The students in return will share their message about staying in school with junior high and high schools.

- Margaret Flynn, Addelita Cancryn Junior High School, $480, for a photojournalism class.

- Niels Gooding, Addelita Cancryn Junior High School, $1,000 to develop a performance quality scratch band to accompany the existing quadrille and maypole group.

- Phoebe Schwartz Davis, Bertha C. Boschulte Junior High School, $1,000 to expand an existing mural in a project that encompasses reading, writing, math, social studies, science and physical education.

- Maybelle Fale, Charlotte Amalie High School, $665, for on-the-job training for students with special needs to equip them with the social skills and other qualities needed by a potential employer.

- Edney Freeman, Charlotte Amalie High School, $1,000 for an after school program that encourages science technology engineering and math through hands-on activities that incorporate other areas including business and art.

- Joanne Saunders, Evelyn E. Marcelli Elementary School, $600 for a lunchtime recess club that develops and showcases the kids creativity and artistic talents.

- Neomie Toussaint-Williams, Gladys Abraham Elementary School, $1,000 for students in grades 4 through 6 to be taught the art of drumming in polyrythmic African style using authentic drums from Ghana, West Africa.

- Amy Roberts, Ivanna Eudora Kean High School, $1,000 to re-establish the school's online newspaper to serve as a community bulletin board, showcase talents, arts, creative writing and a space for students and staff to express their opinion.

- Michael Skrbich, Ivanna Eudora Kean High, $750 for students to create and maintain a website to showcase the work of the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School Inclusion classes.

- Tiana Wilson, Jane E. Tuitt Elementary School, $1,000 to expand the art department within the school to expose students to different type of arts, creating designs using modern art equipment and fostering a love for art beyond the classroom doors.

- Yvonne Potter and Beverly Bukle, Joseph Gomez Elementary School, $400 for a program for third-graders to read nonfiction scholastic newspapers to help build vocabulary, math, reading comprehension and critical thinking skills on a weekly basis.

- Beverly Todman, Yvonne Potter and Beverly Bukle, Joseph Gomez Elementary School, $870 for a program to enhance the importance of reading, grammar usage, math and science skills for third-graders within the realms of the curriculum through the use of CDs in those subject areas.

- Rick Kaplon, Physical Therapy for the St. Thomas-St. John School District, $500 for kids in Physical Therapy or Special Olympics will design a picture about their experience to incorporate into a large mural composed and put on canvas by the kids.

- Eugenia Cruse, Ulla F. Muller Elementary School, $1,000 for a buddy reading program where students in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades will read with partners in Kindergarten or 1st grade. Students will be taught how to select age appropriate books, read aloud and to be supportive of younger readers.

- Phyllis Almestica, Eugenia Cruse, Leniese Mercer and Allegra Callwood, Ulla F. Muller Elementary School, $1,000 for a program to motivate kindergarten to 6th-graders to read and improve attitudes towards reading by distributing a variety of high quality, inexpensive books at no cost to students or families. Students will develop literary taste and learn from their book choices.

- Adam Kloper, Ulla F. Muller Elementary School, $1,000 for the school's chess club to expand the club so it appeals to more students through use of a giant chess board, books to create a chess library and clocks so students learn to play according to tournament rules.

- Michael Skrbich, Ivanna Eudora Kean High, $750 for V.I. Inclusive Radio where students will maintain and broadcast live, along with prescheduled events and music.

- Edna Recana, Eulalie Rivera Elementary School, $1,000 for a program to provide a reading intervention to the students with low reading skills using different techniques such as story telling. The funds will produce a student's lounge and carpet for the story-telling area of the library.