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PISD teachers awarded grants for innovative programs
By Zachary Markovic, Staff Writer
Teachers are not always easily surprised, considering all the students they look after daily, so sometimes you have to burst into their classroom waving a check to get their full attention.
Plano ISD Education Foundation board members, program sponsors, district staff and parent leaders personally delivered $68,600 in monetary awards on Nov. 15, to fund 52 innovative instructional programs. 122 educators were recognized throughout the morning.
Schell Principal Susan Dantzler said, “It really creates lots of excitement when they came in,” she said. “All of the students were excited. “
"Because school districts are unable to fund all instructors’ needs, teachers frequently dip into their own pockets to enhance instruction in their schools and classrooms,” Grant Committee Chairman Wendell Sherrell said. “The Plano ISD Education Foundation helps to fill this funding gap.”
The Foundation, which was established 15 years ago, collected more than $1 million dollars in donations last year, Carol Hoey, executive director of the Foundation, said. The Educator Fund has doubled in size in the last three years. The Foundation’s sponsors include Park Place Lexus, Nortel, Plano ISD Council of PTAs and ViewPoint Bank.
“We want to keep PISD the best in the nation,” she said.
The Prize Patrol traveled throughout the Plano district delivering the awards to teachers during their classes.
Katie Muto, a Hunt kindergarten teacher, said “It was fun for all the kids. It is a really neat opportunity for the students.”
Muto and Hunt kindergarten teacher Michele Allen both won a grant for their proposal. Their program entitled Reading in Action: Reader’s Theatre for Kindergarten was awarded $848. The program has the duo act out legends with puppets on a stage and the students are able to interact with the story to get a better understanding of story telling, Muto said.
Allen said she had thought about the program for a couple of years. It was important to her because the students get to act things out and that engages the students in the story. But the costs were always prohibitive, she said.
“It just costs a lot of money to set these things up,” Allen said. “Now we can purchase what we need to include other classes.”
Expanding already existing programs to fit needs of the schools are a priority for many of the schools awarded the grants. Hickey principal Jaque Meziere said all the proposals were for specific goals set by the school. They wanted to focus on science and writing. “I see the grants as something beneficial to start programs and when started we can continually expand it,” she said.
Expanding programs included the writing grant awarded to Hickey second grade teachers Michele Rollins and Laura Durda. Their program started off only in two classes, but because of the grant money the program has expanded to all six of the second grade classes.
Rollins and Durda’s program Amazing Awesome Authors won $1048, that allow them to continue publishing their students’ writings. They will use the grant money to buy items that can accessorize their students’ stories with.
“Even the most reluctant writers came around and wanted to do participate,” Rollins said. “It gives them so much confidence.”
But the two realize that the grant money will not last forever, and since they have renewed the grant twice already to expand the program they have to go elsewhere to for funds, Rollins said. This starts by getting in contact with other business and community groups for donations.
“We are making plans for next year to offset the cost,” she said.
But, that is what the Educator fund is for, to get programs started and assist our teachers by funding important programs they have designed to enhance student learning, PISD Education Foundation Board President Mary Jo Dean said.
"The Grants to Educators program is one of the best ways that private dollars can support outstanding classroom instruction by educators across Plano ISD,” she said.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Jill wrote on Nov 16, 2007 4:01 PM:
" They collected $1 million dollars and gave out $68,600 - where is the rest? Overhead? "
check the records wrote on Nov 17, 2007 5:14 AM:
" If they collected One Million dollars it should show up on the IRS 990
report for this non profit. Check their
record on "www.guidestar.com"
so, does the money show? And who
are the officers of this non profit...
and while you are at it, just who name's the schools, and who named one after someone that had been in Federal Prison?
CHECK THE RECORD....!! "
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