KISD’s Annual end-of-year awards assembly was held on Friday, May 25, in the Performing Arts Center at Krum High School. Krum ISD Education Foundation board members, Bret McDaniel, Dan Reed, Linda Moore, Kelsi Bannahan, and chair, Stacy McDaniel, attended the ceremonies to present the 2018 grants for technology and instructional initiatives.
Teachers, Lauren Gilbreath, Lyndsey Haberman, Ashley McBrayer, Cindy Morisak, Ruth Morrison, Kristy Phillips, Megan Smith, and Sarah Yanez were awarded $1,472 for their technology project titled, “Software Saving Sanity” to help with small group and individual assessment.
Project leader, Megan Boone, stepped on stage with her teammates, Heather Bell, Heather Libick, Christine Thompson, Krystie McGraw, Courtney Murphy, Brook Cates, Elia Najera, and Scarlett Elkington, to accept their check for $2,394. The technology grant was titled, “Building Independent Readers.”
Blanche Dodd Physical Education teacher, Tracy Polley, and Computer teacher, Julie Nabors, were awarded $4963 to fund their technology grant titled, “Drumming Into Fitness.”
Hattie Dyer Elementary was awarded $999 to fund Marian Martin’s Instructional grant, “Take the Mystery Out of Science with Mystery Science.”
Dodd Intermediate Special Education Teacher, Britt Warner, and Principal, Tricia Bolz, accepted their check for $400 to contribute to their grant project titled, “Interactive Sensory Room.”
Lisa Goff, Brittany Bowman, and project leader, Kelli Lawrence, from Dodd received their award of $1,999 for their instructional grant named, “Reading with Raz.” The group received this grant thanks to the generous contribution from the CoServ Charitable Foundation. Vicki Sargent, CoServ Director of Community Relations, joined the KEF board in presenting the check.
Fourth grade teacher, Erin Middleton, was the award recipient for Dodd Intermediate’s check for $599 to fund the instructional grant titled, “Flexible Seating for Flexible Learners.”
The Krum High School English Department was led by Melinda Buchanan in applying for an instructional grant called, “Who ARE These People? What Do They Think? How Do They Feel? Fostering Skilled, Empathetic Readers Through Diverse Books.” Team members included Tiffany Brown, Darrell Jenkins, Tera Riney, Alex Sibley, and team leader, Melinda Buchanan. The group was awarded $2000 for their project. Vicki Sargent, CoServ Director of Community Relations, joined the KEF board in presenting the check.
Hattie Dyer teachers, Marian Martin, Stephanie Monaghan, Macy Faught, Kim Reed, and Michele Dillon developed a grant called, “Improving Reading Through Innovative Teaching.” This application, combined with the application from a group of 1st grade teachers of the Krum EEC, was awarded $7,500. Sabrina Hendrickson led the grant submission for the EEC along with team members, Christy Lackey, Brandi Claiborne, Theresa Kilgore, and Denise Burns. The team from the EEC wrote the “Literacy for Little Learners” grant. Both teams will attend the International Literacy Association conference in Austin.
All grant applications were reviewed and scored by the Programs and Allocations Committee after educators submitted them in March. To be eligible for consideration, the grant application must present a project that has a designated period for completion, highlights measurable objectives, and aligns with the district’s mission, improvement plan, and curriculum goals. The grant application must also describe how the success of the project will be evaluated.
The Krum Education Foundation currently awards grant funds in two different areas, including technology and instructional initiatives. The purpose of a technology grant is to provide funds to acquire technology, enhance technology, which is already in place, and develop skills to leverage the funded initiative in support of education reforms and state achievement. The purpose of an instructional initiative grant is to provide funds to support educators through their instructional projects and pursuits that supplement and align with the district’s strategic plan.