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MEF Awards $35,659 in MISD Staff Grants
Friday, December 14, 2007
Staff members at Caldwell Elementary react to news of a grant.
Most funds for grants are given by MISD employees. To honor their spirit of giving, MEF charges no administrative costs from the Staff Grants program. This year, CoServ Teacher Grant Endowment, Sunrise Rotary Club and two individual donors also contributed to the fund from which grants are awarded.
MEF thanks everyone who donated to the Staff Fund this year and everyone who helped award grants on Friday. A special thank you goes to the MEF Grant Committee for their time and hard work:
Julia Shahid – Chair
Jeff Caserroti – MEF Board Member
Kevyn Robertson – MEF Board Member
Laura Allen
Dr. Virginia Cotton - MISD Staff
Bobby Mefford
Scott Moltzan
David Omholt
Professional Development Grants
United States Institute for Theatre Technology Convention in Houston, TX
Denise Tooch
McKinney High School
This convention brings together theatrical professionals from around the world who speak on theatre topics that include design, innovations, safety, community outreach, and problem solving.
Inclusion Works Conference in Austin, TX
Heather Blankenship et al.
Multiple Elementary Schools
The conference covers a variety of issues dealing with inclusion of special education students into the general education settings.
International Reading Association Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia
Martha Drexel et al.
Multiple Elementary Schools
The Title I Literacy Specialists for both the mono and bilingual classes will be attending the International Reading Association Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 5 through the 8th, 2008. The conference will provide the Literacy Specialists with up-to-date research about effective practices that will positively impact MISD students.
Classroom Grants
Study Island TAKS Program
Christy Hames
Webb Elementary
The Study Island TAKS Science preparation program is designed specifically to improve students TAKS scores by helping them to master content specified in the TEKS.
Left to Right: Dave Omholt, Harry Long (Principle of Finch Elementary), and Carol Wichmann (MEF Board Member).
Rebecca Oaxaca
Finch Elementary
This grant will assist the purchasing of leveled reading books from the "WorldScapes" award winning cross-cultural, cross-curricular reading series. These books will provide a forum for students to discuss cultures, debate issues and shape their opinions.
Increasing Literacy in Struggling Readers
Amanda Arriaga
Faubion Middle School
This grant will assist in purchasing high-interest level books on tapes or CD's, and with three paper copies and a teacher's guide for each title to service struggling readers in our core classes, including, but not limited to these student populations: ESL, special education, dyslexic, and visually impaired students.
SOS for Students
Judith O' Toole
Scott Johnson Middle School
This grant will fund Judith O’Toole and her AVID students to write a student booklet that will be distributed to each Scott Johnson Middle School student at the beginning of the school year with their supply packets (starting next school year 2008 - 2009). The booklet will be entitled SOS, for Middle School Students (The Secrets of Success, as easy as A, B, C), and will give students easy to follow advice on how to be successful in middle school.
A Bundle of Sticks
Dellen Gibson
Scott Johnson Middle School
Dreamweaver CS3 Suite implements CS3 and XHTML design which is the current and future tool for MISD’s web based design classes. Dellen Gibson and her students will utilize these collective learning software "sticks" to learn about building websites.
Reading and Math Club
Meredith Reedy
Valley Creek Elementary
The first grade reading and math club would be held once a week after school from 3:30-4:15. The club would include students who are "striving" in the areas of reading and math, who could benefit from additional help. Each first grade teacher will be able to select 3-5 students for the reading club and 3-5 students for the math club.
Johnny Galyean (MEF Board Member) and Scott Moltzen present a Staff Grants to Bree Bakke and Heather Hernandez at Valley Creek Elementary.
Bree Bakke
Reuben Johnson Elementary
This project will make it possible to send home a math bag full of educational, hands on, fun learning games to aid MISD’s growth in math. These games will give parents the opportunity to help foster their child's knowledge of math skills in an enjoyable, meaningful way.
Power of the POD
Kass Bates
Minshew Elementary/ Reuben Johnson Elementary
Both Minshew Elementary and Reuben Johnson Elementary are willing to match funds for each campus to purchase 5 iPods for each campus. Using technology that is engaging to students, digital media such as United Streaming videos and Podcasts will be used to bolster student understanding of background knowledge.
Super Scientists
Melissa Berry
Valley Creek Elementary
This grant will provide portable minicomputers and accessories to enable 5th grade students to develop and present science lessons to K-4 classes. The purpose of this project is to provide technology tools to enhance the study of science at all grade levels in Valley Creek Elementary.
Mentoring Young Writers
Miguelina Krier
Finch Elementary
This grant will be used to purchase bilingual literature that models writing strategies for young bilingual writers. These books will bring the literature of award winning authors into the classroom and the authors' books will serve as a mentor example for writing for both the students and the teacher.
Outdoor Learning Space
Alison Smithwick
Caldwell Elementary
This grant will help to extend the learning space of Caldwell's Library Media Center by adding an outdoor reading area on the paved areas just beyond the library and science lab doors and windows. This will include chairs, benches, planters with perennials, and shade umbrellas.
Student Awareness of Tuning in the Performing Arts
Bryan Wright
Faubion Middle School
The Yamaha "Harmony Director" keyboard is a tool that allows students to hear variations in sound waves between in-tune and out-of-tune notes on their instrument or voice. Hearing these variations in intonation gives the student immediate aural feedback as to the accuracy of their performance. Through the daily use of the Yamaha "Harmony Director" keyboard in rehearsals and instruction, student achievement will greatly improve.
Let to Right: Sandi Froese (MEF Board Member), Stacey Kemp (Sunrise Rotary Club), Michelle Allen, and Webb Elementary Principal Amber Epperson.
Michelle Allen
Webb Elementary
Webb Elementary will receive funds to implement functioning listening centers with both cassette tape and CD capability. Research has shown that the development of oral language in classrooms has been in direct correlation to how much oral language students hear daily. To meet the needs of these children, our teachers are making oral language development a primary focus for instruction.
Novelty of French
Deanna Robertson
McKinney North High School
This grant will help purchase one or two sets of classroom mini-novels. Deanna Robertson plans to have her French Two (and possibly French Three) students read a mini-novel throughout second semester. Reading a text written entirely in French, targeted for second-language learners, helps to improve student reading, writing and comprehension skills in the target language.
Fluency and Vocabulary Building Blocks
Kim Carr
Burks Elementary
This grant will help fund listening centers that reflect current technology in 2 classrooms on every grade level. In addition, it will help fund a substantial offering of books on CD in the library to accommodate various reading levels. These book sets should offer English and Spanish titles.
Character Counts
Gretchen Madison
Webb Elementary
Gretchen Madison, Webb Elementary’s school councilor, implemented a School-wide Character Education Program called "Character Counts". This grant will help her expand the program by adding visuals throughout the campus that remind students and staff of the Character Traits taught.
