Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1487796
seventh graders feel welcome at the beginning of the year. If some- one is sitting alone, WEB students walk over and talk or eat lunch with them. "We are working to make sure students feel heard, seen and taken care of. We are trying to make it a great place where everyone feels connected." The Culture Team has pushed to include social-emotional learn- ing to improve students' mental health. During advisory meetings in homeroom, held the first day of every week for 29 minutes, many teachers now focus on this. "Before, during homeroom, teachers would do things like silent reading. But now many of us are using the time to offer SEL cur- riculum that the team has rolled out," LeMay says. "We started anti-bullying lessons that delve into how we all come from different backgrounds. We talk about empathy. We hold class circle meetings where students let their guard down a bit to talk about what they are going through either at school or at home. We talk about how everyone is going through something – and because of that we should be kind to each other, and we can help each other instead of pretending everything is fine." LeMay says that while "there is definitely a more positive vibe" at Tenaya these days, "we're not perfect. It's still middle school and there are still fights and kids picking on each other. But overall, the climate is much better and people are nicer to each other. Teachers are more united and have each other 's backs. Students come back to visit when they are in high school because they miss Tenaya." LeMay never had formal dance lessons; he learned from watching MT V, back in the day when the station showed music videos. LeMay's schoolyard moves in the TikTok that went viral. S E V E R A L O F T H E innovators on the previous pages received grants from CTA's Institute for Teaching (IFT ) to kickstart or extend and expand their work. If you've got an idea to help your students and school community and could use funds to move forward, consider applying for an IFT grant. IFT is dedicated to supporting teacher-driven initiatives and helps all students and schools by awarding grants directly to CTA members and local chapters. To date, CTA members have funded 501 grant projects totaling more than $5.8 million, empowering educators to transform their class- rooms and their school communities. The next open grant application submission period is happening now — the deadline for grants that will be imple- mented in the 2023-24 school year is March 31, 2023. All CTA members are eligible to apply for an Educator grant (up to $5,000) or an Impact grant (up to $20,000). Go to cta.org/IFT for information, including past grant summaries and recipients and a video featuring Cecily Bin- gener, one of the innovators included in this issue (page 20). In addition, an IFT grant program presentation, "Grants Cultivate Creativity With Strength-Based Learning Environ- ments," will be offered at three 2023 CTA conferences: Issues Conference, Jan. 13-15; Good Teaching Conference-North, Feb. 3-5; and Good Teaching Conference-South, March 3-5. Conference details are at cta.org/conferences. Got a Passion Project? IFT grants can help fund your great ideas for the classroom or school "I am an extrovert who is willing to get out there and be silly with the kids. The dance video was a happy accident. But I'm glad it happened, because it brought some positive attention to our school, where good things are happening." 31 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3