The Appleton Education Foundation has approved grants totaling nearly $25,000 to support creative programs and projects that enhance the education of Appleton Area School District students.
Nineteen projects are receiving funding. All grants were awarded from the Appleton Education Foundation Fund – an unrestricted endowment – unless otherwise noted.
Districtwide
$4,000 for a professional development workshop focused on the well-being of educators.
$2,000 to develop a Native American dance troupe. Native American students in AASD will have the opportunity to learn drumming, singing and various styles of dance. They will make their own regalia and share their culture with fellow students and the community through special presentations.
Appleton Public Montessori
$1,840 from the AEF Fund and Diversity Fund to help create packs of diverse children’s literature, which families can borrow via a checkout system. This is a collaboration between APM, Appleton Bilingual School and Appleton Public Library.
Appleton West
$1,000 from the SAACC Endowment Fund to support professional development for coaches.
$500 from the SAACC Endowment Fund to bring a guest speaker to Appleton to address students, parents, coaches, and guidance staff re: college recruiting. This opportunity will be open to the public.
Berry Elementary
$2,000 to support a three-week artist-in-residence program with paper artist Tom Grade. All Berry students will be involved in the creation of a permanent sculpture.
Columbus Elementary
$1,300 to enhance student learning in the Columbus community garden. The community garden is a collaboration with the Outagamie County Master Gardener Association.
Einstein Middle
$305.50 to bring escape room-type digital breakouts to an English Language Arts classroom. Students will need to collaborate and communicate with peers and use critical thinking skills.
Ferber Elementary
$1,787.50 for resonator bell sets. Students in grades 2-6 will use the new music equipment to learn note reading skills, with a goal of showing a correlation between increased note reading skills and reading skills.
Foster Elementary
$1,076 for students with special education needs to participate in equine therapy at Rawhide to help them develop self-confidence, self-regulation and problem-solving skills. Counselors from Rawhide also will work with students at school to reinforce lessons learned.
Fox River Academy
$2,000 for equipment students will use to remove invasive species from local habitats and promote the reintroduction of native species.
Highlands Elementary
$1,353.74 to purchase math-based games to help transform the sixth-grade mathematics curriculum.
$349.76 to introduce STEM building concepts to first-grade students.
Houdini Elementary
$600.99 for manipulatives to help students with intellectual disabilities increase fine motor skills during literacy and math instruction.
Jefferson Elementary
$2,250 from the AEF Fund and Mielke Education Fund for xylophones and mallets to help students make concrete connections between pitches they hear and where those notes belong on the music staff.
Madison Middle
$900 from the AEF Fund and Connie Pitt Memorial Fund for Peer Buddies, a program that engages students with special education needs in community-based learning opportunities.
Wilson Middle
$350 to purchase picture books for use in US History classes to improve student engagement.
Building for Kids Children’s Museum
$500 from the Dianne Catlin Lang Fund to increase access to STEM programming for AASD Girl Scouts.
The Appleton Education Foundation, a supporting organization of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, has awarded more than $4.7 million in grants since its founding in 1997. Grants provide accessible, flexible funding for creative and innovative programs not covered by the school budget.
