IMG 5301The Tecumseh Education Foundation awarded its annual Mini Grants to several district teachers on Friday night, giving them the funds needed to implement special learning programs in their own classrooms. Tecumseh has seen maximum impact from these Mini Grants since they were first handed out in the 1990s, as many teachers still utilize the programs made possible by the grants many years ago.

Through the support of the New Carlisle Breakfast Optimist Club, New Carlisle Rotary, and several private donors, the Tecumseh Education Foundation was able to hand out nearly $10,000 in grants last weekend.

15 teachers from all of Tecumseh’s schools were selected as recipients of this year’s Mini Grants. Kevin Harmon of the Tecumseh Education Foundation said that it is quite difficult selecting the grant winners, as there are so many deserving teachers and programs, but not enough funds to pick them all. Harmon said that 21 teachers applied this year with their different projects, and ten were selected to receive monies that will fund their learning-centered programs.

Harmon said staff and students went crazy for Teresa Gray and Deb Jones’ Sustainable Vermicomposting program at Donnelsville Elementary, a project that Gray said will be noticeably improved with the Mini Grant funds. Vermicomposting is a fancy word for worm-farming, Gray said, noting that her program meets many key educational requirements for her students, including math, science, reading, and writing. Gray said she has an existing worm farm in her second grade classroom, but has plans to enhance the system, as it is currently housed inside a plastic tote, meaning that the students aren’t able to see the inner-workings of an active worm farm.

Gray said that with her new grant, she will build a worm farm with removable trays and screens so that she may show her students what is going on inside the worm community. She said the project will also allow every student to participate in the production of the farm, as they will be allowed to bring in items such as eggshells and orange peels to contribute to the vermicomposting site. In this program, second-graders will be able to measure the worms as well as see how the creatures complete the composting process.

A group of five Park Layne Elementary teachers also received a Mini Grant for their “Handwriting Without Tears” program, which aims to alleviate the stress of younger students who struggle with handwriting. Kari Dillman, Amy Massie, Amanda Asper, Emily Berner, and Jenna Boggs currently lead the handwriting program, but said the funds received Friday night will allow them to purchase much-needed materials. The program strives to make the art of handwriting fun through the use of singing, apps, and other hands-on processes for Kindergarteners and some first-graders.

Jean Karn, the high school’s Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, will use her newly-awarded grant money to implement a grow system that will allow students to raise their own indoor crops and then incorporate them into healthy recipes. Karn said students will grow lettuce and other vegetables in the hydroponic grow tower, around which she plans to base nutritional recipes and eating practices.

Choir and Drama Director Melissa Willardson received a grant that she will put toward the creation of a Handbell Choir. Willardson said she will organize the program for fifth-graders, and have them meet once per week. She plans to target middle-school students who want to become members of the band in high school, and hopes that the handbell choir will help them become more serious about reading music and performing in the community. She said she will also offer the entire district the use of the bells for Christmas concerts and other programs.

Eighth-grade science teacher Angela Greene also received a grant for her Gizmos for Arrows program, which she hopes will become a district standard from here on out. Greene said that state science assessments for middle-schoolers occur in the eighth grade, and while her last group’s scores were acceptable, she would have preferred that they were higher. In attempt to boost her students’ scores, Greene attended a training seminar and found that teachers from more affluent Ohio schools were given the use of an app that provides their students a modern, comprehensive, and applicable approach to learning some of science’s tougher subjects.

“Some of the wealthier districts are just being handed these subscriptions…I didn’t think it was fair that we didn’t get them too,” she said.

Greene will use her grant funds to purchase subscriptions to ExploreLearning.com, which includes apps that students can use on their phones and tablets. She said she was able to secure a prolonged free trial and greatly-reduced discount on Tecumseh’s subscription after telling the company that she hoped to pay the fees with the help of district-awarded grants. The online apps will allow students to see demonstrations and other applicable learning techniques through the use of this program, Greene said, showing us on her phone how the app describes genetics and earthquake waves, for example.

Many of the teachers who received Mini Grants this weekend said that they plan to use their newly-acquired programs for years to come, demonstrating their impact on the district.

Harmon said he was impressed by the lasting impact these grants have upon students. He said that sixth-grade teacher Karen McCorkle received a Mini Grant nearly ten years ago, and still puts her students to work on it each year in her geocaching project that sends students outside in search of hidden items through the use of longitude and latitude. Harmon said it was estimated that roughly 2,000 students have been affected by the Mini Grants since their inception in 1993.

Sue Anne Martin, President of the New Carlisle Breakfast Optimist Club, said that her organization has been contributing to the Mini Grant presentations for the past three years. Martin said the club’s mission is to promote the betterment of the youth in our community, noting that the Mini Grants provide the opportunity for them to touch so many students.

Martin said the club was able to donate $750 this year, using proceeds from the Heritage of Flight Festival’s 5K Run, as well as business sponsorships.

New Carlisle Rotary President Bob Holder said that local Rotarians contributed $3,000 this year for the Mini Grants through fundraisers like a golf outing and a television raffle.

Holder said he felt it important to continue Rotary’s support for the Mini Grants because they allow teachers to improve the lives of their students.

“They are our future,” Holder said.

Other Mini Grant recipients and programs include:

Catherine Croxdale, New Carlisle Elementary—Fraction Manipulatives.

Sara Wells, Donnelsville Elementary—Lego Education Story Starters.

Laura Wright, Tecumseh High School—News-2-You.

Amy Cody, Park Layne Elementary—Letters for Little Hands.

Helen Collins, New Carlisle Elementary—Video Book Talks and Reading Fair.