SPRING ISD – The Spring ISD Education Foundation delivered $26,725 in innovative grants to Spring ISD campuses districtwide during a surprise visit by the Grant Express Nov. 30.
“Our work is to provide grants for teachers so that they can enhance and build upon the lessons, the projects, the activities that they design for their students and their classes. Good teachers always want to do a little more than what has been provided in the budget, a little more than what they had already been asked to do. That is where we come in,” said Stelle Claughton Lacefield, Spring ISD Education Foundation co-president.
Some unique projects that received funding will combine math concepts with physical fitness, artwork with writing and iPads with life skills. One campus will turn a pond into an ecosystem while another turns a nature trail into an outdoor classroom. Job centers at one elementary school and science field trips at another are designed to engage students in learning and enhance their classroom experience.
Following are descriptions of the grants and their recipients.
Ponderosa Elementary School was awarded $2,700 for implementing job centers where fourth- and fifth-grade students will apply their science, technology, engineering, mathematics and humanities knowledge. The centers will include a school store, weather center, nutrition depot, research and development center, administrative office, zoo, garden and recreation station. Students will learn how to apply and interview for a job, research job requirements and employment practices and skills needed. Recipients are Jennifer Meehan, Donna Riojas, Thad Riggins, Karol Cargill and Principal Debbie Graham.
Clark Primary School received a $3,000 grant for a Mathletics Fit Club that will allow prekindergarten through second-grade students to enhance their core-content-area skills through physical activities during classroom instruction, physical education (PE) class, and recess. Indoor and outdoor PE activities will focus on supporting mathematics concepts. Recipients are Linsey Tipton, Lucy Ashcroft, Candace Welch, Sherrille Smith, Yolanda Bryant and Lakisha Williams.
Northgate Crossing Elementary received $5,000 to sponsor four monthly STEM Learning Nights that will enhance the participants’ knowledge of careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The learning nights will provide opportunities for students to discover and explore career options in the STEM fields at an early age. Recipients are Micah Gonzales, Rosa Nagaraj and Kristi Brown.
Westfield High School received $1,100 for a teen-parent couple’s project that is designed to facilitate healthy co-parenting relationships between teen parents. The goal is to help them learn skills to work together as a team to raise their child. Recipients are Arlinda Turner and Christopher Paul.
Jenkins Elementary School received $4,500 to purchase iPads for students in the life skills and structured learning classrooms. The touch-screen computers will be used to help the students learn lifelong technological skills for accessing information and communicating. These skills are expected to increase the students’ capacity for living independently. Recipients are Christine Grant and Teresa Caronna.
Marshall Elementary School was awarded $5,500 for purchasing plants, animals and equipment that will be used to turn the school’s existing pond, located at the entrance to the building, into an ecosystem. Students will use underwater cameras and other equipment to study the ecosystem, compare living and non-living things, investigate the life cycle of plants and animals and collect data regarding the impact of environmental factors on the ecosystem. Recipients are Heather Spencer, Jamie Merillat and Joanna Brennan.
Cooper Elementary School received $1,100 for providing fifth-grade students with an in-house, science field trip that will combine science with creativity to enhance student learning. The three-day field trip experience will include presentations, hands-on discovery and lab activities regarding endangered animals and tropical rainforests. Recipients are Robert Silvy and Principal Leticia Gonzalez.
Beneke Elementary School was presented $1,500 for using its existing nature trail to create an outdoor classroom habitat where students will experience science concepts through discovery learning. A variety of hands-on activities will feature a desert habitat, butterfly garden, vegetable garden and include an archaeological dig. Recipients are Jennifer Rudolphy, Liliana Senter, Adolfo Sanchez, Laura Zambrano, Monica Hernandez, Kimberly Mascaritola, Emily Heath, Trang Lequang, Angela Roberts, Carol Wegrich, and Susan Derkowski.
Spring ISD elementary schools were awarded $2,325 for a combined art and writing experience that will take place during a museum field trip. Fourth-grade students, districtwide, will learn how to use artwork to improve their writing skills, based on Spring ISD curriculum, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness expectations. Recipients are Performing and Visual Arts Director Rick Ghinelli and Secondary Humanities Director Dianne Brazell.
The Spring ISD Education Foundation was established in 1993 to benefit the students and teachers of the District. The non-profit 501c(3) organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and is a collaborative effort that includes local business, community, and educational leaders.
The mission of the Foundation is to provide financial support to those areas that demonstrate a commitment toward enhancing the academic mission-of-excellence in the district. This is accomplished through direct support of new and innovative academic programs that would otherwise not be funded through traditional sources. The foundation also provides financial support to the ongoing professional development of teachers and staff so they can continue to improve themselves and the quality of education for all students.
For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation, call the Spring ISD Community Relations Department at 281-891-6012.
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