The Jefferson City Public Schools Foundation recently released the list of teachers and schools that have been named recipients of 2018 "Grant Awards."
The JCPS Foundation is giving more than $16,000 to nine different schools and programs, according to a news release.
Teachers can request grants for their classrooms for up to $500, and school buildings can request up to $5,000 for projects that benefit the school as a whole. Applications are approved by principals and then reviewed by a foundation committee.
The foundation uses donations from individuals - often memorial funds the foundation manages - businesses and corporations to fund the grant programs.
Morgan Werdehausen, the foundation's associate director, said check presenations to awardees are tentatively scheduled to be in two weeks.
Werdehausen also explained for what each grant paid.
Teacher grants include:
- Susan Isaacs and McKenzie Green, of Callaway Hills Elementary School, $500 from the Dorothy Williams Memorial Grant to purchase various class and team-building tools and materials such as answer boards and timer tools to increase student engagement and get students working together or with the teacher in small groups.
- Andrew Medley, of South Elementary School, $500 from the Bobbie J. Howard Memorial Grant for ukulele instruments in his music classroom.
- Kim Sellers and Carla Brown, of Jefferson City Academic Center, $500 from the Howard memorial grant for the SOAR program - Service Opportunities for Active Readers. The reading course at JCAC partners students with elementary classes to develop reading skills and expand knowledge beyond classrooms.
- Jennifer Henderson, of Southwest Early Childhood Center, $486.08 from the Howard grant for sensory kits.
- Julie Wankum, of Simonsen 9th Grade Center, $300 from the Howard grant for alternative seating methods for students to use in class. In Wankum's class, this was a tall desk-like structure to allow students to stand while working in class.
School initiative grants include:
- Jarrod and Shawna Hendricks, of Jefferson City High School, $5,000 from the foundation for 10 wireless, portable microphones.
- Leigh Ann Doyle, of North Elementary School, $3,000 from the foundation to purchase a site license to access teacher tools through iReady - an assessment tool which analyzes students' performance in reading and math.
- Amanda Schmitz, of Belair Elementary School, $2,500 from the foundation for National Geographic Ladder books for 80 students in the third and fourth grades. The books are part of a collection that can serve students at, above and below their reading grade level.
- Terri Miller, of Pioneer Trail Elementary School, $2,000 from the foundation for a two-year subscription to Flocabulary, which according to the product's website is a "learning program for all grades that uses educational hip-hop music (videos) to engage students and increase achievement across curriculum." The material supplements instruction and is marketed to help develop core literacy skills in English, math, social studies and science.
- Panera Bread's Rising Above Grant: Ashley McCollum, of Pioneer Trail, $1,000 for "Improving balance and hand-eye coordination in adaptive PE" through equipment such as balance boards, pods and beams, and stability balls. The grant is sponsored by the Panera Bread in Jefferson City.