GRAND FORKS – The Grand Forks Education Foundation will donate $39,135 this spring to fund various enrichment projects in Grand Forks Public Schools.
The foundation is awarding $27,217 to four impact grant projects and $11,918 to 15 mini-grant projects throughout the district.
Mini-grants have been funded by the Grand Forks Educational Foundation since 1992 and are typically awarded for classroom- or grade-level projects, said Emilia Hodgson, the foundation's executive director. All curriculum areas and grade levels are eligible for Mini Grants.
Impact Grants are funded by proceeds from The Bill and Shirley Brown Endowment for Education. This gift will be used to fund grant proposals ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 and can have a lasting impact on a district, grade level, or one or more schools.
All recipients are teachers unless otherwise specified.
Impact Grants will be awarded to:
Alex Barta, Red River High School, $2,600 for the “Vocal Music/Guitar/Drama iPad Update” project. Purchase additional or updated iPads and accessories for use in music or drama classes.
Stacey Votava, middle school librarian at Schroeder School, $1,500 for nonfiction library books to stock shelves with a variety of titles. Amy Rogers of South spends her $1,500 on Spanish books for a library for Spanish-speaking freshmen. Hannah Vonasek of the Valley donated her $1,500 to the “Improving Literacy Through Audiobook Accessibility” project to purchase audiobooks for the school library.
Anna Benson, Lewis & Clark Elementary School, $6,117 for the “Contrabassbar and Xylophone” project to purchase a set of contrabassbars and a new xylophone for the general music room.and
Holly Larson, assistant principal at Valley Middle School, donated $14,000 to cover transportation costs for seventh-graders to visit Deep Portage Learning Center and scholarships for students who cannot afford the experience. “This is not something we traditionally fund,” Hodgson said. “However, due to extenuating circumstances from the organizers, we are providing funding so that students can participate.”
Mini Grants will be awarded to:
Ann Harbeck, Discovery Elementary School, $275 to Read, Learn, Grow to purchase a variety of multilingual titles for the classroom library.
Linnia Boyer, Lake Agassiz Elementary School, $306 for “one drum, drum oar” to purchase hand drums for music class.
Kyle Rosseau, Wilder Elementary School Librarian, $329 to purchase a variety of nonfiction titles for the school library.
Kathleen Pederson, Lake Agassiz Elementary School, $391. Donate to the Unleash Literacy project to purchase decodable books for use by literacy specialists who work with all grade levels in schools.
Kiya Naburu of Viking Elementary School, $475 to purchase a “grief kit,” a variety of tools to support students experiencing loss.
Jamie Toutenhoofd, Lewis and Clark Elementary School, $596 for “The Lion's Zen Den” project to purchase sensory items to create a sensory room at the school.
Winship Elementary School Social Worker Logan Kassa donated $750 for a “Family Fun” grant to help bring families to various parent-involved events at the school.
Jessica Larson, Lake Agassiz Elementary School, $843 for the “Learning Through Play in Kindergarten” project to purchase various items such as dolls, costumes and games for the kindergarten class.
Amber Brown, Occupational Therapist at Lake Agassiz and Viking Elementary Schools, $1,500 for a “Reset Station” grant to purchase various tools to create stations that provide quiet and safe spaces in classrooms.
Tom Tuvedel, Schroeder Middle School, $865 for a “Raised Wildflower Gardens” grant to purchase materials to create and plant raised flower beds to support science and technology education.
Andrea Maus, Grand Forks Central High School librarian, $1,000 for the “Striving for the Best” grant. This money goes toward purchasing a variety of high-interest, hard-to-read books at the library.
Sean Allen, Grand Forks Central High School, $1,216 for the “Smart Carts for AP Physics and Physical Sciences” project to purchase six PASCO Scientific smart carts to be used for research on kinematics, mechanics, Newton's laws, and more.
Eric Myrold, Grand Forks Central High School, received a $1,372 Novel November grant to purchase supplementary resources, such as history and nonfiction titles, for his social studies classroom following recent curriculum implementation.and
Cindy Larson of Grand Forks Central and Red River High Schools with the Light, Language, Action project to purchase audiovisual equipment for foreign language classrooms so students can create films to submit to the Knight Rider Film Fest. We donated $1,500.
and purchased a variety of musical instruments and games for students for Julie Huchert's Therapeutic Learning Center's Music and Games in Therapeutic Learning Center project, which will impact all schools in the district. $500 will be awarded for.
For more information on projects funded this spring, please contact Hodgson at (701) 787-4866 or email ehodgson290@mygfschools.org.
