High school Spanish teachers Katelyn Kellerman and Anna Jackson were beaming with joy as the Eudora Schools Foundation presented them with a giant $2,600 check on Friday.
The two applied for a grant through the foundation in hopes of purchasing new Spanish books for their students. Now, that hope has come to life.
“We’re going to get you lots of new books,” Jackson said to her class. “So, you have lots of new things to read with each other. There’s gonna be fun stories and mysteries and a lot of other stuff.”
This is just one of 24 grants the foundation’s prize patrol handed out around the district on Friday. Foundation board members and district staff strolled down the halls of the elementary, middle and high schools with the grants and heart-shaped balloons in hand.
A $4,600 grant was given to seven kindergarten teachers – Paige Hayden, Lynae Rebman, Ellie Lewis, Courtney Neas, Brandy Claire, Stephanie Jacobs and Kassi Mountain – to transform the alcoves of the kindergarten pod into interactive play centers.
“We have alcoves that are kind of empty right now and not really utilized to their best ability,” Hayden said. “We want to take these spaces and transform them into social opportunities for our students to best meet their needs. Help them not only for their social skills, but then use those skills in the classroom.”
Elementary students in Jessica Vanstory’s music class were ecstatic once they saw her $3,600 check. The grant will go toward purchasing full sets of percussion instruments for her classroom, as well as the classroom of music teacher Kate Washburn.
“It’s just really exciting,” Vanstory said. “Just excited to share this with the whole building.”
Michelle Plegge, Jamie Meyers and Cherrie Ann Lindsey will help eighth graders prepare for career development after receiving a $2,250 grant for a student-led career fair.
Shanda Hurla, the foundation’s executive director, had a smile on her face the entire morning.
“I love hearing them talk about their grants,” she said.
Overall, the foundation awarded $32,500 in grants on Friday to help fund classroom initiatives.
Elementary school grants:
Dave Powers, Megan Perry, & Christy Boyer – Calm, Comfort, and De-escalation Initiative
Meghan Bettis – Cup Stacking
Nicole Murphy – edZoocation
Corinne Dunn – Ernie Miller Nature Presentations
Taylor Gillihan – Fine Motor Promoter
Jenn Ducey – Good Vibrations
Paige Hayden, Lynae Rebman, Ellie Lewis, Courtney Neas, Brandy Claire, Stephanie Jacobs and Kassi Mountain – Kindergarten Alcove Adventures
Megan White and Payton Knoll – Math Mania
Adrianne O’Grady – Moving Towards Success
Jessica Vanstory and Kate Washburn – Percussion Power
Michele Fairchild – Reflex Integration
Payton Knoll and Megan White – STEM Bins
Theresa Wilcox – Active Seating
Middle school grants:
Michelle Plegge, Jamie Meyers, & Cherrie Ann Lindsey – 8th Grade Student Led Career Fair
Mandy Shockley, Dallas Seyler, Kayla Washee and Susan Carnagie – Cardinal Calming Corner
Brandon Parker and Mitch Tegtmeier – Heart Rate Monitors
Barbie Grado – Merge Cubes
Lee Minton – Model Steam Engines
High school grants:
Katelyn Kellerman – Enhancing Teaching Experiences Through High-Utility Resources
Morning Pruitt – Ice Ice Chemistry
Eric Magette – (More!) Science Games
Renee Mueting – Piecing It Together
Katelyn Kellerman and Anna Jackson – Por Amor a la Lectura (For the Love of Reading)
Renee Mueting – Project Runway Part I
Reach reporter Ryn Drummond at [email protected]
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