The Appleton Education Foundation board of directors recently approved 17 grants totaling nearly $17,000 to creatively enhance education for students in the Appleton Area School District.
All funding is from the Appleton Education Foundation Fund, unless otherwise noted.
Appleton Area School District
- $2,000 to support professional development for middle school administrators as they prepare to welcome sixth-grade students into their buildings for the 2024-25 school year.
Appleton Central
- $500 for plant and flower Lego sets to integrate into the math curriculum. Lego sets give students a hands-on way to learn math concepts including fractions, rotations, symmetry, and counting.
Appleton East High School
- $459 to purchase Geobrix puzzles to help students build spatial awareness in math.
Einstein Middle School
- $399 to support start up expenses of a chess club. The club will promote intellectual growth, social interaction, and positive competition.
- $3,000 for an artist-in-residence experience with Elyse Mische to create a mural which will be permanently installed at Einstein.
Kaleidoscope Academy
- $3,000 to support the implementation of drum circles as part of morning soft landings.
Wilson Middle School
- $498 for The Stock Market Game to improve students’ financial literacy. (Funding provided by Scheuerman Family Fund, within AEF.)
Berry Elementary School
- $250* to expand a classroom crocheting project into a school club. Crocheting helps students develop fine motor skills and practice math concepts.
Appleton Public Montessori
- $2,000 to support professional development for APM educators with Montessori literacy expert Linda Zankowsky.
Ferber Elementary School
- $572 for bell sets for the music classroom to improve literacy and social connectivity.
Houdini Elementary School
- Two grants totaling $973 to create listening centers in two second-grade classrooms. Wonder Books will help students build vocabulary, understand intonation, and gain oral fluency as they make connections with what they hear and see throughout the text.
- $675* to expand “Math Fun Folders for Families.”
Johnston Elementary School
- $315 for Story Champs, a multi-tiered language intervention tool. (Funding provided by Scheuerman Family Fund and Heffron Family Endowment Fund, both within AEF.)
- $500 to launch Mustang Mentors – a program to help older students become confident leaders at their school, as they learn to facilitate recess activities for younger students. (Funding provided by Gruner Family Community Mental Wellness Fund, within AEF.)
McKinley Elementary School
- $1,400 to bring Hmong-American author V.T. Bidania to McKinley.
Richmond Elementary School
- $350* to support a second year of nature education for Kindergarten and first-grade students in collaboration with the Apple Creek Y.
*Indicates partial funding for requests that support expansion or second-time funding. AEF’s competitive grants primarily fund new/pilot ideas to engage students.
