Appleton Education Foundation board members were out and about the last few days delivering 13 grant awards.

Following is a listing off all grants. Funds came from the Appleton Education Foundation Fund – an unrestricted endowment – unless otherwise noted.

Board member Maria Van Laanen (far right) with students and staff from Valley New School.
Board member Maria Van Laanen (far right) with students and staff from Valley New School.

Appleton Area School District –

  • Three grants totaling $10,500 to support summer professional development sessions for district staff. Addressing a growth mindset, the achievement gap, the new grading for learning initiative, career based learning, and science are among the featured topics.
  • $5,000 to support an AASD staff member’s coursework and certification as an Add+Vantage Math Recovery (AVMR) Trainer. Once certified, this person will help train other staff members to more effectively diagnose which math concepts students are struggling with the most so that intervention is targeted and successful. $1,500 to support a two-day AASD Science Summer Institute for district educators.

Badger Elementary School – $150 to purchase a singing bowl to help students focus their minds and prepare for music class.

 Einstein Middle School – $831 to support the “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” project for eighth-grade students. Students will read texts about the Holocaust and create ceramic butterflies to represent children lost during that time.

 $200 from the Vira and Alan Stoner Education Fund to support a social awareness project for seventh-grade students. Students will learn about topics such as homelessness, poverty, mental illness, and bullying and develop public service announcements for their topic of choice.

Ferber Elementary School – $1,360 to purchase authentic Hmong cultural items to be used in classroom lessons and at the school’s Multicultural Night. Items include books, dolls, story cloths, and traditional instruments.

Foster Elementary Charter School – $904.76 for materials for 4th-grade students to create a cardboard arcade.

Highlands / Odyssey Elementary Schools – $1,500 to expand the school’s community garden and create an outdoor classroom.

Lincoln Elementary School – $300 to support the purchase of “SuperFlex” and “Social Thinking” curriculum to help teach social communication skills.

McKinley Elementary School – $408.57 to purchase copies of the “Bullying Hurts” teacher guide and supporting texts to support lessons about kindness.

Valley New School and Central High School – $1,500 to purchase used bicycles and accessories for use by students at both schools to promote physical activity, increase student mobility, and increase transportation options for student leadership and service learning. This is a student-led initiative.