Students at a Fort Worth elementary school, students got the surprise of their lives Monday afternoon when they learned the Ellen DeGeneres Show is giving them a big donation. Como Elementary will receive $50,000 to go toward new technology and food. The school provides two free meals a day and sends food home over the weekends, because many students don't have enough to eat. view article

Red Oak ISD is a statewide semi-finalist for the 2019 HEB Excellence in Education Award. This award was established in 2002 and is designed to honor outstanding public schools and to thank them for their dedication and commitment. Through this program, HEB seeks to pay tribute to educators who go the extra mile every day to serve students and their communities and who inspire others to do the same. view article

Education Service Center (ESC) Region 12 Technology Foundation recently awarded six school districts with nearly $53,000 in grant funds to support educational technology programs. Hillsboro Elementary School received $8,677 to add interactive technology to its newly adopted social and emotional learning curriculum. The technology will help the district support academic proficiency through engaging, whole-group, interactive digital-learning and restorative practices. The La Vega Primary campus received $7,150 to purchase technology that will help educators integrate engaging lessons and technology into the language arts curriculum for pre-K 3 through kindergarten students. view article

A grant will give hundreds of pre-k students in Dallas a better learning environment, with $45,000 being split between two schools. While the Texas state legislature considers the idea of funding full day pre-K schools in Texas, the Arlington Park Early Learning Center in Dallas is an example of what is happening in Dallas ISD thanks to private-public partnerships. view article

This isn’t a story about goat yoga or dog yoga or even beer yoga. This is a story about plain old yoga. But what makes this class different — and less gimmicky — is that it’s being taught in a Dallas ISD after-school program. When Ebony Smith started doing yoga, there were no studios in her neighborhood, so she started Yoga N Da Hood. view article

Representatives from the Beckville ISD Education Foundation met recently to award $22,467 in grants to district teachers. This year, eight grants were presented to teachers at the elementary and junior high campuses. The foundation's primary fundraiser is its annual Halloween carnival. The community, parents, teachers and students all join together to provide an outstanding carnival for those in the area to attend and to produce the funding for the foundation's grants. All teachers of the district are given the opportunity to apply for grants to assist them in providing innovative learning experiences and rewards for their students. view article

The Stephenville Optimist Club presented a $6,000 check to Bluff Dale ISD for the purchase of a new scoreboard. Kurt Johnson (left) is pictured presenting the donation to Bluff Dale ISD Superintendent John Taylor and Kristine Murphy, business manager for Bluff Dale ISD. view article

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has awarded Corpus Christi Independent School District (ISD) a $282,766 Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grant. The grant will help the ISD purchase and install equipment to provide 185 students with training for careers in the welding profession. “This partnership with Corpus Christi ISD will focus on advanced technical training and education to prepare our future workforce and meet employers’ demands for skilled labor,” said TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Ruth R. Hughs. “Congratulations on this grant which provides training equipment to create new opportunities in the welding profession for the Coastal Bend area.” view article

The Angleton ISD Education Foundation has a storied history of helping Angleton students and staff, and now someone who is no stranger to the group is taking the reins to help lead that vision of philanthropy forward. Former Angleton ISD graduate Allison Hemphill recently accepted a position as the Executive Director of Angleton ISD’s Education Foundation. As the former Vice President of Marketing and Events for the Foundation as well as a two-year board member, Hemphill says she’s excited to “increase exposure and strengthen relationships” in the community. view article

Brazos County Judge Duane Peters presented the Bryan school board with a check for $50,000 on March 18 to support the new Bryan Career & Technical Education Complex. The money will be used to buy equipment for the industrial engineering and robotics program. view article

Students and teachers alike were surprised when a drumline and revelers came through the door of their classrooms across Lindale ISD. The Lindale ISD Education Foundation organized the event to celebrate giving more than $25,000 in grants for innovative classroom projects. Foundation Board President Vickie Frazier said the grants are awarded to projects that fall outside the normal scope of classroom funding. view article

It’s time to dust off those running or walking shoes to participate in the second annual Marshall ISD Education Foundation’s Maverick Mile Color Run set for 4 p.m. on April 13 at Marshall High School. “This is our second annual Color Run fundraiser,” Marshall ISD Education Foundation board member Amy Nissely said on Wednesday. “We had about 100 participants last year, and it was a very successful fundraiser for us.” view article

Students are reaping the benefits of grants given to them this year from the College Station ISD Education Foundation. The money went towards special projects to make classrooms more interactive and fun. On Tuesday, the grown-ups were the ones taking a field trip. First stop: Kristin Lehrmann's class at Cypress Grove Intermediate School. They run 'Cats Coffee Cart' and make and deliver a hot cup of joe to other teachers in the school. view article

College Station ISD Education Foundation donors, board members and staff got a first-hand look Tuesday at how a few of the thousands of dollars in teacher grants have been used in College Station classrooms. In the fall, the Education Foundation surprised College Station teachers with a total of $156,012 in innovative teacher grants. Even though the Grant Patrol in the fall was fun, CSISD Education Foundation Executive Director Teresa Benden said, Tuesday’s third annual Grant Showcase is arguably more impactful. “We really get to see the grants in action and get to see the students get excited and how it’s impacting their learning, how it’s bringing innovation to the classroom, how it’s expanding the opportunities that our kids get to do,” she said. view article

Businessman, philanthropist and Henderson alumni Grady Ash has strengthened his commitment to local students and teachers by donating another $2 million to the Henderson ISD Education Foundation.  “I love making these kind of announcements,” said the foundation’s executive director Stacey Johnson, describing the board meeting where she informed the board members of the donation. “He called on Valentine’s Day and said he’d gotten the report and had looked over the accounts.” view article

Zavalla ISD teacher Nancy Quinn Bryan has received the Gilbert I. Low Excellence in Education Award from the Beaumont Foundation. The award is given to “superior teachers whose dedication and leadership inspire both students and fellow educators,” according to a press release, and it comes with a $10,000 prize. The teachers were nominated by their campus committees and chosen by the Beaumont Foundation. view article

The Longview ISD Foundation recently awarded more than $65,000 to district educators through its 2019 Great Rewards for Great Ideas and the Campus Initiative Grants programs. The foundation received nine Campus Initiative Grants, the most ever received, according to the district, requesting a total of $38,968.99. view article

Though previously discussed and approved during a Midland County Commissioners’ Court meeting last fall, the $1.75 million grant for Midland ISD’s fiber optic project was officially approved at Monday’s meeting — after receiving opinion from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. MISD Board President Rick Davis said the grant will put fiber optic network capabilities on every MISD campus — and several county buildings also will use the network capabilities, including the three county-owned libraries. view article

High school students in the Corpus Christi Independent School District now have the option to take home high tech tools to help them with their homework.  It’s all thanks to a $150,000 grant from the Texas Education Agency.  The grant allows CCISD high school libraries to check out laptops, Chromebooks and WiFi devices to students who may not have internet or computer access at home. Supplies are limited and are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis. view article

Bryan school board members approved a $52,108 grant to fund Branching Minds for the 2019-2020 school year. According to the Branching Minds website, the program helps intervention teams and classroom teachers to find the root of a student’s academic or social struggles and how to meet each student’s needs. view article

Dow Chemical Co.’s $13,000 contribution has been a dream come true for a local nonprofit’s director. “To just have that support means a great deal to the Dream Center,” said Terri Willis, Executive Director of the Brazoria County Dream Center. “We really could not do it without our partners like Dow Chemicals.” Now in its 15th year, the Dow Gives Community Grants Program has awarded more than $3.5 million to non-profits and K-12 schools in the community, Dow Chemical Co. spokeswoman Gabriella Cone said. view article

Roosevelt ISD teacher Tiffany Gifford is the sixth 2018-2019 recipient of KCBD’s One Class At A Time donation and recognition sponsored by Frontier Dodge and Spirit Automotive. “It’s been a crazy, exciting year,” Gifford said. “For people to say that I deserve that or to nominate me just really means a lot to me.” view article

A new grant will allow the Greenville Independent School District to host an internship program that will give six educators the training they need to become campus principals. Greenville ISD was among 16 districts in the state awarded the “Principal Preparation Grant.” The Austin, Dallas and San Antonio independent school districts were among those that were awarded the grant for the 2019-20 school year. view article

The Texas Education Agency has awarded $2.1 million worth of grants to a group of school districts for an innovative principal preparation program. The Tech Principal Fellows Program is a nationally recognized graduate program created by the Tech Educational Leadership faculty, according to a Texas Tech news release. The funds will allow schools in seven independent school districts to transition currently employed teachers into principals. Fernando Valle, associate professor of educational leadership at Tech, said in the release school principals are second only to teachers in terms of the direct impact they have on the children’s education. view article

The Texas Education Agency has awarded more than $2.1 million in grant funds to a group of school districts to partner with the Texas Tech College of Education on an innovative principal preparation program, the university announced Tuesday. The funds will allow schools in seven independent school districts to develop currently employed teachers into principals through the Texas Tech Principal Fellows Program – a nationally recognized, job-embedded graduate program created by faculty in the Educational Leadership program at Tech, reads a statement from the university. view article

Mineral Wells ISD Superintendent John Kuhn's trip to Austin earlier this month with a contingent of other Mineral Wells government, business and civic leaders proved quite prosperous. It was there while visiting with Texas Workforce Commission officials that Kuhn learned the school district was one of just 11 schools in Texas to receive a Jobs and Education for Texans grant from the commission. Kuhn said the grant amount totals $176,000. view article

Clyde Consolidated Independent School District is putting $50,000 back into its schools. The rebate check was obtained from an incentive to complete an energy efficiency project with Schneider Electric, a French energy management company,  as a result of the successful second-phase energy efficiency project. The company presented the check to the Clyde CISD school board, Monday evening. This rebate allowed the district to switch to LED lighting upgrades, which is said to enhance safety in its schools. However, before the deal, the district sought out companies to help reduce its energy consumption rates, due to challenges from aging infrastructure, like the HVAC units at both the junior high school and high school campuses and water fixtures. view article

The Texas A&M University System’s focus on preparing teachers for Texas public schools recently earned a $440,000 grant from the Texas Education Agency to support 20 prospective teachers to teach in six West Texas school districts.  The grant will help meet the workforce demands and improve the quality of teaching in Canyon, Dumas, Friona, Olton, Perryton and Stratford independent school districts by supporting 20 demographically representative teacher candidates while they earn their bachelor’s degree from West Texas A&M University. view article

In a nationwide contest benefiting athletic departments across the country, Powerade hosted a video competition that gave students the opportunity to showcase the needs of their school. Ira Independent School District won $2,500 last year in the contest, but this year the school received a grand prize of $10,000. With its campus only a few years old, Ira ISD's main priority is not its indoor facilities. view article

Overcome with shock, Transportation Director Angel Kersten held a large $7,000 check from the Angleton ISD Education Foundation in her hands Tuesday morning, with the money going toward safety equipment. “It’s priceless, actually,” Kersten said. “When you ask for something that you need for your organization or department and they are so willing to make it happen for you, it’s a good feeling that you have that backing.” The AISD Education Foundation gifted $6,919 to the school district’s Transportation Department for safety equipment, Angleton ISD spokeswoman Brittany Blanchard said. view article

Amazon presented students and staff from Lancaster ISD George Washington Carver 6th Grade STEM Learning Center with a $10,000 check after they were the first group of students to ever tour the Fort Worth Robotics Fulfillment Center. “In Lancaster ISD we are very proud of being a K-12 STEM district,” Lancaster ISD Superintendent Elijah Granger said. “We are so excited about our partnership with Amazon and their generous donation to assist our scholars at George Washington Carver STEM Learning Center.” view article

Marshall ISD was one of two East Texas schools that recently received a $125,000 grant to implement new blended learning math programs for its students, according to the Texas Education Agency. view article

Two East Texas school districts recently received a $125,000 grant to implement new blended learning math programs for its students, according to the Texas Education Agency. “Blended learning is the new buzz word in education,” Marshall ISD Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Anika Perkins said on Monday. “It’s a new way of teaching students. It used to be that ever student got the same instruction for the same amount of time, and they either got it or they didn’t. Blended learning is a new personalized learning that allows each student to grow where they are.” view article

Irving ISD employees committed $354,760 to support the Irving Schools Foundation (ISF) through this year’s Payroll Deduction Campaign. view article

Jerry Hodge is synonymous with Amarillo. For decades, the former mayor has played a crucial role in the growth and development of business in the community that anchors the Texas Panhandle. Now, Hodge is stepping up once again to support another significant vision for the region: the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine. The commitment of Hodge and his wife, Margaret, to generously support the School of Veterinary Medicine with a $10 million gift was recognized Monday by Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec, Texas Tech University System Chancellor and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) President Dr. Tedd L. Mitchell and other officials during ceremonies held at the Amarillo Club. view article