GRANTS IN ACTION: 2026 GLEN ROBBINS AWARD

Kingston Middle School’s Crafty Cavs take the library’s new sewing makerspace on a shakedown run.

When Lynn Atherton looked at four dusty Husqvarna Viking sewing machines sitting idle in a Kingston Middle School storage room, she saw something most people would have missed: a program waiting to happen.

Those machines were remnants of a Family and Consumer Sciences program that KMS could no longer support. Rather than let them gather more dust, Atherton—the KMS librarian—applied for an NKSF grant to bring them back to life. The grant covered local servicing through Quality Sewing and Vacuum in Silverdale, along with a full complement of tools and supplies: fabric shears, bobbins, thread, cutting mats, irons, and more. Two mobile carts allow the makerspace to travel beyond the library to other classrooms and clubs on request.

For this work, Lynn has been named the 2026 recipient of the Glen Robbins Innovation in Education Award, given each year to recognize an educator who has implemented a creative, cutting-edge program that connects learning to real-life situations. The award reflects Glen Robbins' own legacy as a North Kitsap educator and community collaborator who believed that schools thrive when they build bridges beyond their walls. Atherton's decision to partner with a local business to service these machines is one small but meaningful example of that same spirit.

The first students to learn from and test out the machines are members of the Crafty Cavs, an after-school club that had already been exploring needlepoint and crochet before the sewing machines arrived. When NKSF's executive director stopped by to deliver Lynn's framed award certificate during a Crafty Cavs meetup, the students were deep in a hands-on exercise: using the machines' own manuals to identify each part, then labeling them directly on the machines with small pieces of paper. Sixth-grade robotics teacher Natasha Shodd was there too, helping students along. It was unhurried, methodical, and exactly the kind of learning the makerspace was designed to support.

Lynn is candid about the learning curve. Setting up an entirely new program without a Family and Consumer Sciences background meant every step took longer than expected. But she frames that as a feature rather than a flaw. The Crafty Cavs are her proving ground, helping her work out training protocols that can eventually be handed off to students themselves. Once a core group is fully trained, they can help bring new users into the space, building the kind of institutional knowledge that sustains a program over time.

The vision extends well beyond this school year. Lynn hopes to expand access to the makerspace for any KMS student who wants to use it during free periods and library time. She also mentioned potential connections with the school's pre-engineering program, where students might eventually learn to service the machines themselves. The maker mindset that connects sewing, Natasha’s robotics, and Sean Eaton’s pre-engineering fosters a collaborative environment for both students and teachers. A shared makerspace, after all, doesn’t depend on any single interest to thrive.

The Crafty Cavs are still working toward their first completed project, a hand-sewn hot/cold pad, before the year ends. It is a modest milestone, but an intentional one. In a program built on patience and process, finishing something you made with your own hands is the point.

This is Grants in Action: Finding opportunities to revitalize education that inspires students with real-world skills for a stronger future.