When Pasadena High School dance teachers Laurel Nelissen and Samantha Ketcherside each received a PEF teacher grant, they saw an opportunity to do something bigger together. Rather than apply their funds separately, the two teachers combined their grants to purchase dance shoes and resistance bands for students across their beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes, giving every dancer in the program the new equipment to train and perform at their best.
The investment paid off quickly. Outfitted with proper footwear, students found better stability and control in their movements, and techniques that had once been challenging were coming together with new precision and confidence. The resistance bands opened up a new dimension in their training as well, helping students build the strength and flexibility that dance demands while supporting injury prevention along the way.
The result is a PHS dance program better equipped to help every student grow. By pooling their resources and thinking about their classes as a whole, Nelissen and Ketcherside turned two individual grants into something that benefits their entire program, which is exactly the kind of impact PEF teacher grants are designed to make possible.
