Grand Forks Foundation for Education awards 'mini grants' for 17 teacher-led projects

Pamela D. Knudson, Grand Forks Herald
·3 min read

Nov. 25—Seventeen teachers in the Grand Forks public school system are receiving grants from the Grand Forks Foundation for Education, Inc., for a variety of enrichment projects, district officials have announced.

The Foundation is awarding $14,093 for projects that will impact students at all grade levels, according to Emilia Hodgson, executive director. The "mini-grants," which have been awarded by the Foundation since 1992, are usually for classroom-level or grade-level projects and cover all areas of the curriculum.

Grant recipients for this round of funding are:

In elementary schools — Susie Lancaster, Viking, $314, for "A Soft Way to Begin the Day," to provide multiple STEM tools — such as Legos, magnetic strips and snap circuits — to help students to make connections, communicate and be creative as they start the day;

Katie Wood, Century, $386, for "The Spot (SEL (social-emotional learning) Curriculum for Primary Grades)," to purchase "On the Spot" SEL books for K-2 that include themes of courage, perseverance, teamwork, kindness, responsibility, patience and other traits;

Jessie Pieper, Ben Franklin, $579 for "Sensory Learning in Early Childhood Special Education," to purchase sensory and tactile tools to be used in her early special education classroom;

Amy DeWitt, Century, $655, for "Equitable Instruments," to purchase an additional xylophone to give students the most engaging experience possible during music class;

Cassie Riewer, Wilder, $773, for "Making the Most of Mentor Texts," to purchase additional mentor texts for all grade levels in the school; the texts are not included in the district curriculum but are referenced in teacher lesson guides.

In middle schools — Brooke VanLooy, South, $241, for "Hands-On Foreign Language Materials," to purchase multiple games in Spanish, German, French and Latin, which touch on social, cognitive, physical and emotional development;

Josey Chow, Valley, $285, for "8th Grade Math Algebra Tiles," which help students visualize the concepts and increase understanding of abstract equations and formulas;

Kat Puhl, Valley, $700, for "Higher-Level Texts for Advanced Readers," to purchase books used in 8th grade literature circles;

Justin Johnson, Schroeder, $721, "Getting Flexible with Classroom Seating," to purchase standing desks and wobble chairs which help students with strong urges to move, to increase their ability to focus;

Nick Pederson, Valley, $1,000, for "School-Wide Traveling Manga Resources," to purchase popular "Manga" titles that can be shared throughout the school;

Ann Herbeck, South, $1,095, for "Connecting Creativity Using Strawbees," to purchase a Strawbees construction set, to be used with her Micro Bits, to allow students in her science classes to explore the engineering process.

In middle and high schools — Marilyn Iverson, STEP (Student Transitional Education Program), for "Alternative and Equitable Literacy," to purchase books for a mini-library onsite, providing students with access to various-leveled pieces of literature;

LoRia Novak, Valley Middle School, and Eileen Zygarlicke, Community High School, $800, for "Literacy Beyond the Classroom," to purchase copies of the book "Long Way Down," by Jason Reynolds, for a student book study which meets via Google Hangouts for discussion and allows students the opportunity to interact, listen, and learn from one another.

In high schools — Emily Kulas, Red River, $737, for "Let's Get Graphic! Tackling Complex Issues with Graphic Novels," to purchase a variety of graphic novel titles for the Library Media Center;

Maren DeWar, Grand Forks Central, $1,300, for her "Purple Rhymes with Orange Student Workshop," to provide theater students the opportunity to perform an original, multi-cultural production with North Dakota artist Patrick Kasper;

Sheri Sletten, Red River, $1,420, for "TI-84 Python Graphing Calculator," to purchase 10 Python Graphing Calculators, for her enriched algebra classroom, which introduce students to more STEM opportunities, including programming;

Lindsay Fugleberg, Red River, $2,305, for "Biology Microscopes," to purchase six microscopes to be used by all science classes for a variety of experiences, including analyzing various types of cells and tissues in living organisms.

For more information on these projects, contact Hodgson at 701-787-4866 or ehodgson290@mygfschools.org.