There was surprise and excitement across the district Friday after almost 30 teachers received grants to help student learning and success.
The Eudora Schools Foundation gave out more than $34,000 to make these new innovation projects happen. This is the most money the foundation has ever given out on its annual prize patrol.
Foundation members snuck through each building, surprising teachers with giant checks and balloons.
The grants include STEM projects, career exploration, music education and cross-curricular education. Since 2006, the foundation has awarded over 200 grants to fund over $178,000 in classroom initiatives.
The elementary school received $12,800, the middle school received $12,000 and the high school received $9,500.
Elementary music teachers Rebecca Killen and Jessica Vanstory received $406 to help students with cognitive and developmental disabilities participate in music class with adaptive tools like alternative seating, help with playing chords on instruments and other fidgets.
“We just want to make sure everybody feels supported in the classroom so this will really help a lot,” Killen said.
Second grade teacher Amber Jackson received almost $400 to provide the entire elementary school with tools to have more interactive and hands-on experiences in the garden. Entire classes will be better able to participate in the building phase of the garden.
“This is for the whole school, though, it’s not just for math or reading. It’s for everyone at Eudora Elementary to go enjoy the garden, and do a lot of hands-on planting and taking care of it. Just learning outside with their hands,” Jackson said.
High school FACS teacher Renee Mueting was awarded two grants for her classes. With $2,350, Mueting will be able to give students experiences with a serger for her sewing classes. With another check for $900, Mueting will teach students how to make simple and quick meals with new appliances like air fryers, Instant Pots and griddles.
“We’re gonna try to do the Instant Pot, the really short quick [meals] because that’s how it is at home,” Mueting said. “You get home, you have 30 minutes to cook so we’ll still do the two-day labs, but it’s just gonna hopefully be more realistic.”
High school weights teacher Scott Russell received $2,200 to purchase new technology to better track students’ progress in class. It will allow Russell to see more data and give students instant feedback on their running and training.
“It allows me to kind of make decisions based upon science and based upon evidence that the kids are improving,” Russell said. “This stuff helps incredibly with tracking how our kids are performing in class.”
Executive Director Shanda Hurla said the event shows how supportive and generous the Eudora community is to their schools.
“A lot of our community members are so generous and want to be able to support our schools to do wonderful things,” she said. “Giving them away to invest right back into innovative things or things that we need is so important.”
Teachers who received grants in previous years pulled the foundation into their classrooms today to show how the money has paid off for their students.
“I think that’s really meaningful because, you know, the money that’s invested, it continues on and on, and to hear those stories is so important. We like to be a vehicle to be able to allow our communities to invest in our schools,” Hurla said.
Elementary Grants:
Courtney Chacon – Bridges Learning System
Bonnie Allen and Briana Wilkerson – The Calming Cardinal Room
Amber Jackson and Rachelle Butler – Cards for Math
Lynae Rebman and Paige Hayden – Excelling Beyond Expectations
Erin Weinmaster – Functional Skills
Amber Jackson – Garden Goers & Growers
Rebecca Killen and Jessica Vanstory – Making Music More Accessible
Nicole Murphy – Math and Success Add Up
Paige Hayden and Lynae Rebman – Molding Minds with Makerspace
Taylor Gillihan – Occupational Therapy Fine Motor
Samantha Patrick – Physical Movement Break
Gretchen Reed – Preschool Fun!
Tiffany Parker – Read, Record, and Share
Samantha Patrick and Jordan Lorenzo – Sensory Meets Math and Reading
Middle School Grants:
Michelle Plegge, Jaime Meyers and Cherrie Ann Lindsey – 8th Grade Career Exploration Experience
Barbie Hartwell – Building Research Skills and Communication Skills Through Podcasting
Sondra Garner, Kyle Stadalman and Brandon Parker – Fingertip Pulse Oximeters
Mitchell Tegtmeier – Outdoor Connect Four
Mitchell Tegtmeier, Sondra Garner and Brandon Parker – SLAP Games!
Lee Minton – Telegraph Machine Kits
Katie Hammerschmidt – Think Like a Scientist
Kyle Stadalman – Trout in the Classroom
High School Grants:
Mandi Holsten – Animal & Vet Science Injection Training
Barbie Hartwell – Building Robots
Scott Russell – The Digital Weight Room
Caitlin McFadden, Jim Barnard, Kyle Deterding, Wrigley Heide, Scott Keltner and MaryJo Swann – Math Board Games
Nate Robinson – Mic Check
Renee Mueting – Serging Forward
Renee Mueting – “What’s on your plate”
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected]
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