Officials with Pre-K 4 SA asked City Council on Wednesday to place an item on the May 2020 ballot to reauthorize the organization’s funding stream.  Council members largely voiced support for the May ballot and Pre-K 4 SA’s funding reauthorization. Mayor Ron Nirenberg said Council would consider placing the reauthorization question on a May ballot at Council’s February meeting.  However, Councilman Clayton Perry (D10) questioned whether the City and its taxpayers should have a role in funding another school system. Perry’s question may be especially pertinent, given that in the most recent legislative session, lawmakers approved additional funding for pre-K expansion in traditional school districts, mandating the districts expand their current half-day offerings to full-day programs. view article

Cheerleaders and a drum line from John Tyler and Lee high schools thundered through the halls of schools all over Tyler, helping make educators’ dreams come true on Tuesday.  Cheerleaders from Lee and the JT drum line led a caravan of community members partnering with the Tyler ISD Foundation through 21 campuses to present teachers and staff with big checks during the annual Grants for Great Ideas program. view article

TYLER, Texas (KETK) – Tyler ISD educators were awarded for their hard-working efforts as several campuses were visited by the Tyler ISD Grant Patrol who awarded more than $90,000 in educational funds. ‘Grants for Great Ideas’ is a program that offers rewards to teachers that come up with innovative ideas to advance learning.  The Tyler ISD Grant Patrol visited 21 campuses and awarded more than 37 grants to educators. view article

Excitement echoed down the hallways of several Tyler ISD campuses and departments Tuesday as the Tyler ISD Grant Patrol visited classrooms and offices to award more than $90,000 in grants to educators. The program is called Grants for Great Ideas, and it rewards innovative teachers with grants that go toward classroom projects that wouldn’t otherwise find funding through Tyler ISD. view article

An Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) elementary received a grant for its fitness program. Lyndon Baines Johnson Elementary School received a $25,000 grant as part of the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation that began in 2014. According to the release, the grant will be used to pay for fitness equipment to address the deficit areas where children fail fitness tests and indoor fitness equipment. view article

Fabens ISD is the only school district in west Texas to be named a finalist. “The Fabens Independent School District is extremely honored to receive this recognition. It is a true testament to the great community we have and to the commitment made by all of our staff and students,” said Dr. Veronica Vijil, the superintendent of schools for Fabens ISD.  “We have a learning organization that is student-centered, focused on student outcomes, and embraces the growth mindset philosophy,” Dr. Vijil added. view article

Mesquite ISD recently announced details for a new scholarship in honor of Superintendent David Vroonland’s foster parents. The Hubert & Georgia Rossin Scholarship will recognize students in the district who have benefited from or are currently in foster care.   Vroonland spent seven years of his childhood in a loving foster home, and as a way of honoring the memory of his foster mother, who recently passed away,  Vroonland and wife Joy created a new college scholarship for MISD, dedicated to both his foster parents. view article

Some Longview ISD teachers could make up to an extra $32,000 in incentive pay in the next school year in a state-funded program the district is considering joining. John York, director of elementary education for the district, presented the Teacher Incentive Allotment program to the Longview ISD board of trustees Monday at their regular board meeting The Texas Education Agency program is a result of House Bill 3, passed this year by the 86th Legislature. The legislation, also known as the school finance bill, provided school districts with an influx of funds, some of which were earmarked for teacher salary increases. view article

Thousands of Austin-area students are about to get some hands-on experience learning about sustainability. The City of Austin's Office of Sustainability announced Tuesday that 40 area K-12 schools will receive Bright Green Future Grants to start 46 sustainability projects that are expected to benefit over 20,000 students. According to the City, these projects will offer hands-on learning opportunities, help school campuses become "greener" and provide benefits to the surrounding neighborhoods. view article

The Pleasanton ISD Education Foundation presented the 2019 teacher and campus grants to teachers across the district this past Friday. The Foundation surprised the teachers and students with the drumline, a few cheerleaders, Big E, community members and foundations members as they presented the checks. The Pleasanton ISD Education Foundation was able to give away a total of $16,166.90 in teacher a..nd campus grants.This year, six grants were presented to campuses and teachers across the district. At the Primary, the Pre-K teachers including Rachelle Campos, Veronica Carrillo, Amy Chapa, Ruth Conroy, Luke Huth, Abigale Parker, Kara Persyn, Jessica Rankin- Schimelpfening and Kimberly Salazar received the Outdoor Learning Grant that focuses on socialemotional development, literacy, mathematics and science. This grant is worth $2,908.70 and will assist 180+ students. view article

Edinburg CISD student surprised with $48,000 UT Impact Scholarship

December 1708:25 AM

 

Edinburg CISD student Daniela Gonzalez from Economedes High School answered a knock at the door of her northeastern Hidalgo County home on Saturday and was surprised by University of Texas officials carrying burnt orange and white balloons and a large check for $48,000. read more

Over the past 40 years, the Wichita Falls Independent School District has been awarding its teachers with IDEA grants for innovative developmental and educational activities. This year, 39 teachers from 15 campuses received 26 grants for over $24,000 dollars. “Mr. Kurt came in and I was like ‘No way! Really?'” Lamar Elementary kindergarten bilingual teacher Elena Martinez said. view article

The Lufkin ISD Board of Trustees accepted a $127,000 School Safety and Security Grant to improve security measures at its Thursday morning meeting. Superintendent Lynn Torres said the district received a notice by mail today from Gov. Gregg Abbott’s office on how much it would be receiving from the $1 million grant given to the Texas Education Agency. view article

One school in the Dallas Independent School District received a very generous donation Wednesday to help fund tornado recovery. PNC Bank donated $50,000 to support the recovery effort of David G. Burnet Elementary School. The school's 65-year-old building was severely damaged during the October tornado outbreak. District leaders plan to use the money to enhance and supplement educational opportunities for students and staff. view article

Humble Independent School District will receive $25 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to build flood-prevention infrastructure at Kingwood High School. When Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017, it flooded Kingwood High School. The school suffered 5 feet of water, said Humble ISD Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen, and the students shared a campus with Summer Creek High School until March 2018. Roughly $65 million was funneled into Kingwood High School to bring the school back to its former state. Fagen wanted to make sure that something like Harvey couldn’t happen to Kingwood High School again. view article

Students board a bus at H.G. Olsen Elementary School after classes ended on Monday, Dec. 2. The school recently received a grant that will help students who have autism. Staff photo by Zach Perkins A grant of nearly $150,000 recently was awarded to equip H.G. Olsen Elementary School with “sensory” areas that will be beneficial to students who have autism. view article

The First Lady of Texas was the keynote speaker for the Brownsville Independent School District Youth in Philanthropy ceremony reminding students of the importance of service. First Lady Cecilia Abbott addressed the students from six early college high schools, all of whom participated in the semester-long Youth in Philanthropy program. view article

The Hutto Education Foundation and Hutto ISD board of trustees recognized 20 students who were IMPACT grant recipients at the board's Nov. 21 meeting. Those awarded with a certificate from the HEF and a superintendent's coin were acknowledged for their "excellence in academics, character and community," HEF Director Lizzy Samples said in a Nov. 24 email to Community Impact Newspaper. The Student Leadership IMPACT Grant Program is for students grades K-12 and is designed to promote HISD students' leadership skills, both on and off campus. The program aims to enhance HISD's "vision of inspiring excellence in academics, character, and community," according to HEF's grant description.   view article

Students with Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD will have new learning opportunities thanks to a donation from Chevron. In the school district's board meeting Thursday night Chevron presented a $75,000 check. According to a release, the school district will be using the money for STEM projects at each of their campuses. view article

On Thursday, $64,625 in innovative teaching grants were presented to teachers in Navasota ISD on all campuses. Board members, community members and Navasota ISD administration joined students in surprising their teachers with checks funded by the Navasota Education Foundation. This money is meant to enable more capabilities in the classroom. Officials boarded a district school bus around 9 a.m. and mad view article

The Navasota ISD Education Foundation gave out more than $64,000 worth of grants Thursday to district teachers for both individual and district-wide programs. “It is an awesome privilege to be able to bring grants to the schools and students who need them,” Navasota ISD Education Foundation Board President Marilyn Bettes said. view article

Mineola High School science teacher Deborah Armstrong is receiving a Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT) Innovation Award and grant for the Science Show Extravaganza her high school students present yearly at Mineola Elementary School. The STAT Innovation Award program recognizes the best and brightest science initiatives in Texas while also offering solutions to the resource challenges schools face. MHS is one of four schools to be awarded. The $4,700 grant will be used to purchase materials and resources to implement and sustain the extravaganza.  view article

Plenty of hoopla accompanied the million-dollar donations that Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones made to Dallas ISD after last month’s wicked tornadoes obliterated campuses and left several thousand students with no place to learn. But just Friday, another donor -- one who generally stipulates that her giving go unnoticed --quietly dropped $1 million into the Dallas Education Foundation’s disaster-relief bucket. view article

Mineral Wells ISD officials took full advantage of their time in Austin during Mineral Wells’ chamber-organized trip to the state capitol to meet with legislators and agency leaders and representatives. It really paid off. As a result of a meeting with Texas Workforce Commission members, the district was awarded a $176,837 Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grant – one so competitive that of $49 million in requests this year just $2.5 million was awarded to high schools, plus another $2.5 million to colleges. view article

Canyon ISD teachers are getting surprised with more than $33,000 in grant money this week. The Education Foundation of Canyon ISD awarded 17 grants this semester. The group funds a variety of needs, from classroom book libraries to playground equipment for different sensory needs, to mental and emotional health training for employees. view article

A program founded by East Texas native, Mathew McConaughey is helping students in Longview ISD learn how to be a good neighbor and lend a helping hand. “‘Just Keep Livin’ focuses around 4 key philosophies; nutrition, fitness, and my two favorites are community service and gratitude,” said Elizabeth Ross, Longview ISD. view article

Some Dallas ISD students are scoring a big win in the classroom with $50,000 worth of school supplies. A Dallas Cowboy Kavon Frazier brought joy and much-needed school supplies to kids displaced by last month's tornado with donations from Dollar General. view article

Maypearl High School is set to take its cutting-edge agricultural science program to the next level with the addition of a greenhouse. The Maypearl Education Foundation gifted the school with a $3,358.95 grant for the purchase of the climate-regulated plant-growing structure on Nov. 6. view article

On Nov. 12 Christmas came early for more than 110 Plano ISD teachers, counselors and librarians as together they received a total of $125,000 in educational grants. Grants to Educators, a program of the Plano ISD Education Foundation, graciously provides funds to Plano ISD educators each year ranging in value from $250 to $1,500. Teachers, grades or entire schools had the ability to apply for these grants which will financially support projects that demonstrate instructional excellence. view article

Pfluger Elementary educators Nicki Larson (left) and Brooke Borreson got quite the surprise Monday when they were presented a $27,000 check for winning first place in Voya Financial’s Unsung Heroes program. Through Unsung Heroes, Voya Financial awards educators across the country with grants for innovative teaching ideas. Borreson and Larson submitted their idea “Switch it!,” which focuses on helping students with special needs and disabilities interact with switch-adapted toys, according to a release. view article

Berta Palacios Elementary Librarian Linda Hinojosa has been awarded the $1,000 H-E-B Read 3 prize that will be used to purchase books for students during upcoming campus literacy events. H-E-B launched their statewide literacy program called Read 3 in 2011 with the goal of getting parents and/or guardians to read to their children three times a week for at least 30 minutes. view article

Beaumont ISD is getting a helping hand in its Imelda recovery process thanks to ExxonMobil. At Tuesday night's board meeting, the school received a $50,000 check to help restore Beaumont United High School and Fehl-Price Elementary after Imelda damaged the campuses. The money will also go toward supporting STEM education initiatives throughout school in Beaumont ISD.  view article

The Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development, an El Paso nonprofit better known as CREEED, has awarded El Paso Independent School District a $100,000 grant. The funding will support scholarships for 50 teachers as part of CREEED’s accelerated teacher certification scholarship program. The program helps high school teachers complete master’s degree programs in their subject areas, enabling them to be certified to teach dual-credit courses throughout the district. view article

Led by those in the College Station High School and A&M Consolidated High School drum line and cheer squad, members of the College Station ISD Education Foundation and school district surprised teachers throughout the district with thousands of dollars in grant on Wednesday. By the end of the day, the Education Foundation’s annual Grant Patrol had handed out 60 grants totaling $185,372. The grants will help 135 teachers, representing all 19 College Station campuses. view article

The Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development (CREEED) presented the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) a grant to help more students graduate from high school prepared to thrive in college. According to an EPISD NEWS release, this $100K grant will allow high school teachers to complete their master’s degrees in their subject areas, allowing them to teach certified dual-credit courses throughout EPISD. “This initiative aligns with our efforts to invest in teacher development, as well as our goal to set up more students for success in college”, said Richard Castro, Chairman of CREEED in EPISD release. view article