Special to the Chronicle
The Lexington 1 Educational Foundation recognized winners of the Innovation Grants for Elementary Schools recently.
6 schools received Innovation Grants for a funding total of $27,433, which will positively affect more than 3,100 students in Lexington District 1.
The Foundation developed these grants to advance existing or future innovative efforts at the elementary school level. Each school’s proposal addressed and aligned with the district’s standards, one of which encourages engagement in strategic innovations.
Schools applied for up to $5,000 in grant funds with a required 10% match. During the past 4 years, the Foundation awarded 20 grants totaling $85,495, impacting 12,553 students.
The 2018–2019 Innovation Grant winners include:
Lexington Elementary — Principal Jim Hamby and Program Coordinator April Hamilton; $5,000; “Getting the Most Bang from our Books”; This project focuses on helping LES students identified as struggling readers and at least one year behind their grade level. LES will purchase book sets for these students to use in class and at home, as well as provide students with extra support from the reading interventionist and related arts teachers. All involved staff will work together in helping these students read on the appropriate grade level by year’s end.
Midway Elementary — Principal Jan Fickling and Program Coordinator Alyssa Langford; $4,925; “PBL STEAMing Ahead with Coding”; MES will purchase devices and technology utilized for coding and the extension of the school’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) initiative through Problem- and Project-Based Learning. This grant will ultimately allow for equity of access to coding and will benefit the entire MES student body.
Pleasant Hill Elementary — Principal Margaret B. Mitchum and Program Coordinators Betsy Goodman, Jen Jones and Amanda Youmans; $4,494; “No Fear Engineers Design the Future Project”; PHES will purchase materials to create STEAM bins that promote learning in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. These bins, filled with manipulatives and task cards, will encourage students to build, create, problem-solve and imagine. Teachers can check out bins for their classrooms from the PHES Learning Commons, making the materials available to all.
Red Bank Elementary — Principal and Project Coordinator Marie Watson; $5,000; “Up! Down! Inside or Out! Learning My Way”; RBES plans to purchase flexible furniture to engage their students in learning.