Group of 4 women smiling while holding a sign with the words APS Supply My Class Winner.

APS Empowers Dysart Teachers with Classroom Supplies

This year, 16 teachers from across the district were the lucky recipients of the 2026 APS Supply My Class grant. The Arizona based utility company started the program nine years ago to help local educators teaching in Title I, K-12 schools get the supplies they need to support their students’ success.

Applications for the program were open over the summer. Qualified applicants were entered into a random drawing that was held before the start of the school year. This year, 500 teachers from the APS service area were each awarded a $500 virtual gift card with which to stock up their classrooms.

The names of the 16 winners from the Dysart Unified School District were kept under wraps until APS representatives paid a surprise visit to their classrooms to present the award with the help of the school’s administration.

Fifth-grade teacher Brooke McNeil from Canyon Ridge School expressed her sincere gratitude to APS. “I am so grateful to receive this grant! It means so much to me, and my classroom. I will be able to update and replenish many items in my classroom that are loved by students. I plan to use the grant funds to purchase STEM materials for my classroom, to be used to make connections from the text we are reading to our real world, as well as materials that will help my students develop our classroom community. I will use the funds to purchase items that will be a long term investment that students can use for many years. This grant will benefit my students by giving them the opportunity to explore our reading and writing content and standards in innovative and hands - on ways. By using the funds to purchase items that make reading and writing more interesting and accessible, I hope to foster a lifelong love of learning for them.”

Music Teacher Nicole Truitt from West Point Elementary School states, "I am so grateful to APS for supporting our schools with these grants. Having additional funds allows us to purchase items that truly enhance our music curriculum. I am currently looking into adding djembe drums and other percussion instruments to our classroom. These new instruments will give more students hands-on opportunities to play, collaborate, and experience the joy of making music together."

All the teachers are excited to put their gift cards to good use. Their shopping lists include everything from basic school supplies and manipulatives to flexible seating and student incentives. One thing they all have in common, however, is that they all plan to use every last penny to purchase supplies that will directly benefit their students.

This year’s winners encourage their fellow educators to apply for the grant next summer. With no essay requirement, all it takes is a five-minute application that could win them $500.

2026 APS Supply My Class Winners

Brooke McNeil - Canyon Ridge

Angie Kemp - Cimarron Springs Middle School

Christina Williams - Marley Park Elementary School

Ashley Askins - Marley Park Elementary School

Alyssa Carabio - Marley Park Elementary School

Jodi Zechter - Mountain View

Hailey Provo - Mountain View

Jordan Midkiff - Rancho Gabriela

Elizabeth Simmons - Rancho Gabriela

Bryan Jackson - Riverview Elementary School

Rebecca Selman, Shadow Ridge