So far this year the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) has approved 10 grants. Five grants were chosen in their November 19 meeting alone based on which ones would have the most impact in the classroom.
The PTA has $11,000 to spend on grants throughout the year, which mostly comes from membership dues and any fundraisers they hold. Teachers can apply for grants by filling out the Intrsuctual Grant Application and giving it to the PTA to be voted on. In order to decide whether or not they should fund the grant, members look at certain criteria, such as how many students will be benefitted and how the respective department will be benefitted.
Three of the five recently approved grants went to the art department. Art teacher Wanda Simchuck, recieved $350 to attend an art conference, art teacher Adam Finkelston recieved $400 dollars to buy a button maker and art teacher Alexis Burdick was given a grant to buy five digital drawing tablets for the whole department.
“[The art department] currently don’t have enough [digital drawing tablets], they have a limited number and people had to share, people didn’t have time to get on them,” said Michelle Twibell, head of PTA Instructional Grants. [Giving them this grant] will allow more students the opportunity to work with the technology that they’re going to use in college.”
One $450 grant was given to the library to purchase new books for the Nook devices. The final grant was given to special education teacher Alisha Matthews to attend an autism workshop.
Twibell says the workshops and conventions will not only be beneficial to the teachers who attend them, but to the department as a whole.
“If they go to workshops or conferences they can come back and teach other teachers and have a bigger impact in the classroom,” said Twibell.
The grants were announced in the December news letter available here.
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