Skip To Main Content

Cottleville Firefighters buy books, school supplies for 20 FHSD classrooms

Cottleville Firefighters buy books, school supplies for 20 FHSD classrooms

Twenty teachers from across the Francis Howell School District were excited to find out  they were selected by Cottleville Firefighters Outreach (CFO) to receive all of the items on their Amazon wish lists.

CFO invited teachers to share their Amazon wish lists earlier this year and nearly 90 St. Charles County teachers applied. The Wish List Program started in the spring of 2021 as a way to give back to the community. Since the program began, CFO has spent $30,000 granting 64 Amazon wish lists.

“Cottleville Firefighters Outreach is proud to continue to support the local community, especially our educators who go above and beyond daily to support their students,” said CFO Spokesperson Kelly Allen. “We are hopeful this program continues to provide materials needed to ensure every school year is impactful and memorable.”

Mrs. Jamie Peasel, a special education teacher at Daniel Boone Elementary, said she is thrilled for her students to gain access to classroom items to make learning more fun. The class was excited to play with their new educational games. 

One of the District’s English as a second language (ESL) teachers that works with elementary-aged students is building a multilingual library collection for her classroom. Stacey Kastner hopes to one day make the book collection available to the entire District.

“These new books give all students the opportunity to explore stories in more than one language. It has been my dream to build a library that helps every kid connect to their favorite stories. I am so grateful to the Cottleville Firefighters for their generous donation,” said Kastner.

While the program is open to teachers from Francis Howell, St. Joseph Cottleville and Messiah Lutheran,the majority of applicants and awardees (88%) have been from FHSD.

This round there were 88 applicants. Ultimately 20 teachers from FHSD were selected. 

The full list of FHSD winners includes:
Anna Armstrong, Central Elementary - 1st grade
Ashley Jameson, Francis Howell North High School - Art 

Becky Bee, Warren Elementary - Kindergarten
Breigh Weiss, Warren Elementary - Reading K-5th
Christina Courter, Hollenbeck Middle School - 6-8th grade FACS
Emily Henry, Central Elementary School - 3rd Grade
Erica Gittemeier, Francis Howell North High School – Vocational Math
Jackie Warren, Hackmann Early Childhood – Preschool / Special Education
Jamie Peasel, Daniel Boone Elementary - Special Education
Jenna Graham, John Weldon Elementary - Special Education/Speech & Language
Justin Schmidt, Hollenbeck Middle School - 7th Grade Ancient World Civ.
Laura Paden, Becky-David Elementary - 1st Grade
Lauren Manganelli, Bryan Middle School – 6 – 8th English and Reading
Nancy Holden-Nims, Hollenbeck Middle School - Speech/Drama 6 – 8th ELA 7th Grade
Sarah Katsion, Fairmount Elementary - 4th Grade
Sarah Lipka, Meadows Parkway Early Childhood - Preschool / Special Education
Sommer Burkemper, Becky-David - Reading K-5th
Stacey Kastner, Francis Howell School District - ESL
Tara Richards, Francis Howell Middle School - 6th Grade Geography
Taylor Berutti, Central Elementary - Kindergarten