Foundation for Education Awards $12,777 for Local School Projects

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Grand Forks Foundation for Education, Inc. is awarding $12,777 through 13 grants this fall to help fund a variety of enrichment projects in Grand Forks Public Schools.

The Mini-Grants have been funded through the Foundation for Education since 1992. Awards are usually for classroom-level or grade-level projects. All areas of curriculum and all grade levels are eligible for Mini-Grants.

Early Childhood Education

• $533 – Heather Chatham, Ben Franklin Elementary, “Equity in Sensory Learning in Early Childhood Special Education” project, to purchase sensory materials for the classroom.
• $893 – Heidi Neubert, Phoenix Elementary, “Literacy Exploration for Early Learners” project, to purchase a variety of early literacy tools like magnetic letters, alphabet puzzles, and more.

Elementary School

• $403 – LeeAnn Miller, Lake Agassiz Elementary, “1st Grade Brain Bins” project. Funds will be used to purchase open-ended materials (Magna-Tiles® , blocks, Lego®, etc.) for students to explore, create, build, and learn at the beginning of each school day.
• $551 – Martie Wesley, Winship Elementary, “Building Background and Raising Voices” project, to purchase picture books for the school that builds background knowledge and vocabulary, from government and citizenship to Earth science and economics.
• $559 – Lynneah Boyer, Lake Agassiz Elementary, “Lake Agassiz Recorders” project, to purchase a classroom set of recorders to be used by 4th grade music students. The instruments will be cleaned and reused year after year.
• $1,260 – Christine Dewey, Winship Elementary, “Community Connection: Be the Light” project. This award will fund several community service and engagement projects at every grade level. Examples include a Valley Senior Living music performance by kindergarten/1st graders, Northland Rescue Mission backpack program stuffing with 4^th and 5th graders.

Middle School

• $652 – Hannah Vonasek, Valley Middle, “Barren Grounds Read Aloud Kits” grant. These funds will be used to purchase copies of the book, Barren Ground, for 7th grade English students. This book is about two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, who are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
• $715 – Tiffany Olson, Schroeder Middle, “Learning Modalities in Math Class” grant to purchase a classroom iPad®, Apple TV®, and accessories to be used as an interactive tool to present materials and model the mathematical process from around the classroom.

High School

• $581 – Nancy Greenwood, Grand Forks Central, “Warped Art” grant. These funds will be used to purchase various supplies (looms, yarn, tools, etc.) to teach the technique of weaving, surface design, and hand-sewn textiles in art classes.
• $650 – Kelly Entzel, Community, “Promoting Student Connections with Literature and Quality Time” project. These funds will be used to purchase materials to create a free library where students can pick up a book to take home.
• $865 – Maren Dewar, Grand Forks Central, “Student Playwriting and Directing Workshop” project, to purchase various playwriting and directing materials. Not all students are actors. This will provide an opportunity for them to be involved in writing, directing, and technical aspects.
• $1,715 – Erika Feole, Grand Forks Central and Red River, “Literacy Leads to Language Acquisition 3.0” project. These funds will be used to purchase additional Spanish, German, and French books for students to use for independent reading in their foreign language classes, improving their reading comprehension.
• $1,700 – Missy Miedema (Grand Forks Central) and $1,700 – Trisha Smith, (Red River), “Stealing Back Our Teen’s Stolen Focus” grant. These funds will be used to purchase six classroom sets of the book Stolen Focus to be read by all 9th grade ELA students. The students will then conduct research on brain health and development, and share their findings with other students, their parents, and the community in a “Brain Fair” during parent-teacher conferences in February.

For further information on the projects that were funded this fall, please contact Foundation Executive Director Emilia Hodgson at 701.787.4866 or ehodgson290@mygfschools.org.