The Garden City Public Schools Foundation Grant Squad visited schools on Monday, November 17th to award $250 mini-grants to help teachers enhance instruction in their classrooms. The awards were presented to teachers in a surprise celebration in their classrooms.
The foundation received nine grant applications from staff around the school district. The grants are awarded to help support learning initiatives in the classrooms. The grants may be used for the classroom, department, or individual staff development for a district employee. The applications are read and judged by a Garden City Public Schools Foundation committee.
The teachers who received the mini-grants include:
Megan Ford, Jennie Barker Elementary School third grade teacher, will use the grant to purchase acoustical headsets allowing students to focus on and hear the individual sounds of words more clearly as they learn to read. Students will experience literacy success, becoming more fluent and confident readers, writers, and spellers.
Trina Moquett, Garden City High School PE teacher, will use the grant to purchase Project Sky-High initiative to boost confidence and competitive performance of female students. The initiative is designed for high-intensity, skill-specific training protocol to enhance the explosive power and vertical jump capabilities.
Crystal Martinez-Rojo, Victor Ornelas Elementary School counselor, will use the grant to purchase a rolling cart equipped with appropriate tools and resources that will help students in the school identify their emotions, practice coping strategies, and return to learning more quickly. It will help to increase student self-regulation, support positive classroom climate, and promote academic engagement.
Natalie Konrade, Jennie Wilson Elementary School instructional coach, will use the grant to purchase appropriate tools and resources for a sensory room to help in calming students, get them regulated, and return them back to the classroom to learning more quickly. The space provides an area for students so they won’t affect and distract classmates who are learning.
Joseph Bach, Horace Good Middle School science teacher, will use the grant to purchase a classroom set of miniature skeletons. The skeletons will help students have a hands-on learning experience and gain a better fundamental understanding of the skeletal and muscular system.
The Garden City Public Schools Foundation has provided over $41,000 in grants to fund opportunities to enhance the learning environment and increase the effectiveness of instruction across the district. The foundation was founded in 2004 and is a non-profit organization that is committed to effectively generate, manage and distribute funds to stimulate excellence for the preservation and enhancement of an exemplary education provided by Garden City Public Schools. The foundation functions in alliance with the Western Kansas Community Foundation.