IWA teachers awarded Excellence and Innovation Grant

Incarnate Word Academy teachers, Mrs. Laura McCracken, Mrs. Suraida Nanez-James, and Mr. Robert Orta, were each awarded the $500 Teacher Excellence and Innovation Grant by the Diocese of Corpus Christi Office of Catholic Schools.
 

Mrs. Laura McCracken

Mrs. Laura McCracken, who teaches PK4 and K5, was awarded the grant for use in the Early Childhood Program. McCracken uses puppets in her class and applied for the grant so she could expand her lessons with more characters, with aspirations of creating a puppet theater. 

Science teacher Mrs. Suraida Nanez-James, in collaboration with religious studies teacher Mrs. Molly Hynes, will use the grant to enhance their lesson on "The Moral Implications of Biotechnological Advancements in Gene Editing.” Using CRISPR Gene Editing Lab Kits purchased with grant funds, students will study gene editing methodologies while applying the Catholic

Mrs. Suraida Nanez-James

teaching of human dignity to the discussion of bioethics.

Mr. Robert Orta, math teacher at the Middle Level, will use the grant to create tutorial videos for his math classes. Using Camtasia and Snagit software purchased through the grant, Orta will create math video tutorials and compile them into a YouTube library of lessons that his students will have on-demand

Mr. Robert Orta

access to at any time.