The Hays CISD Education Foundation awarded 19 grants on eleven campuses that totaled $53,527. Educators annually apply for funds to help provide extra learning opportunities for students. The grants include computer coding, a bilingual broadcast set and an outdoor multi-sensory space.
The grants, awarded on January 27, 2023, are listed below. The project name, educator, campus, award amount and project description are listed below.
Coding Clubs Build Success -Jack Palaio -Science Hall Elementary School $4,879
This grant will provide resources and materials to introduce our young learners to robotics. 13 Kindle Fires will be purchased and used to teach Sphere Bolt coding lessons in STEM classes during the school day. The materials will also be used in after school clubs to encourage curiosity and imagination through coding skills. We will have an open house so the club members can share what they have learned with their parents.
Science Hall Sensory Motor Lab – Rebecca Bassford and Meagan Mingle -Science Hall Elementary $4,807
The Sensory Motor Lab will be a specialized movement area/room filled with sensory input and output activities such as gel visual touch tiles, Magic hands heat sensitive wall, plush rugs, reading pillows, twist and wiggle ride on toys, therapy balls, and much more along with the Ready Bodies Learning Minds curriculum. The lab will address the needs of all students in task-oriented, foundational exercises that offer developmental support for the sensory and motor systems.
Beneficial Bilingual Broadcasting – Owen Taylor, Megan McCune and Francisco Garcia-Almenar -Chapa Middle School $4,974
This grant provides a broadcast set and backdrops, as well as camera and lighting equipment to establish a small production studio on our campus. Every week, students will develop, produce and host two livestreams, one in English and one in Spanish, about important events, dates, and happenings at our school. Students from our CTE classes will run the broadcast, including camera operators, lights, sound, script (outline), and production manager. Bilingual students from our New Arrival Center can host the Spanish broadcast. We want these New Arrival students to feel welcomed and to understand that they are an important part of our campus community. Students from our Spanish classes can participate in the Spanish broadcast to practice their speaking proficiency. This will incorporate students from a wide variety of courses to help produce a campus-wide project.
Fluency FUN with Theatre! – Jennifer Higa-Rolls -Tobias Elementary School $605
The Readers Theatre will include scripts, a puppet theatre, stage lights, props and a set of multicultural hand puppets. The theatre activities will encourage young readers to read with expression, fluency, and gain skills though repeated reading. Students will host performances for their peers and parents. Students will use the scripts and props to build their reading fluency while engaging in creative and fun theatre performances.
Ready, Set, Clay! – Rachel Greengold – Kyle Elementary School $1,775
elementary art students. Students will produce a clay product that shows understanding of the elements of art and the principles of design. First, students will use an air-dry model magic like clay to show an understanding of color mixing and creating forms. Once they have mastered the air-dry model magic clay, they will move on to fire clay. Each grade level will work to create a small pinch or coil pot as well as apply glaze and paint. Students will apply texture and pattern to their creation to demonstrate their understanding of the elements of art.
Expanded Core Curriculum – Deana Gipson – Montgomery Building – Special Education $1,200
This grant will provide opportunities for Foundational Learning students to learn independent living skills. Students will have a cooking zone that is accessible and designed to accommodate for visual and fine motor impairments. A black pegboard background will offer a high-contrast storage location for color-coded equipment including measuring cups and spoons. Adapted jar openers and can openers will give students with fine motor impairments the opportunity for true independence in opening ingredients. A countertop oven will be adapted with braille, color coding, and tactile labeling so students can learn to use it to prepare foods. These tools will be used to practice daily living skills to increase confidence and encourage independence.
Live Unified – Jennifer Welma and Alicia Hartman -Montgomery Building – Special Education $5,000
This grant will support the district-wide implementation of the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools program. This program, also known as UCS, is designed to promote social inclusion within the school campus, as well as in the community. The funds from this grant will go towards promoting this inclusive movement across the district and the community with banners, posters, awareness kits. We will also host a Unified Summit with guest speakers and informational handouts.
Wheel of Fortune: Pottery Wheels – Jayson Luce and Yvonne Schneider – Barton Middle School $5000
This grant will supply the art classes with pottery wheels. The pottery wheels would be used for our ceramic units to encourage students to try something new! The pottery wheel teaches craftsmanship, patience and perseverance as students develop this new skill.
Independent Living Supplies for Foundational Learning Sensory Class – Sarah Flores – Barton Middle School $700
Students in Foundational Learning deserve opportunities to learn independent living skills and to feel their contributions to the class and school are valuable. Students in our class have goals related to completing pre-vocational independent living skills tasks, including cooking and cleaning each day. The grant will be used to purchase tools that are designed with lighting and color coding to assist the visually impaired with competing life skills. Specialized kitchen equipment can also help students that struggle with fine motor skills to become more independent.
Hays Mountain Bike Team Transport Trailer – Travis Loy – Hays High School $5,000
This grant will be used to purchase an enclosed trailer capable of carrying up to ten bikes and the team’s equipment. The mountain bike team’s vision is to provide an opportunity to experience mountain biking for students from diverse backgrounds in the middle and high schools in the Hays CISD. Team loaner bikes are provided to students interested in participating on the mountain biking team but who do not have the means to purchase the equipment needed to succeed. The enclosed trailer will be used to store and transport the team loaner bikes along with all of the team equipment such as canopies, bike stands, tables, bike repair equipment, cooking and camping materials for race weekends.
The MiniOne Initiative – Julia Fishback – Hays High School $4,250
The MiniOne system of gel electrophoresis allows students to learn about their genetic profile while building valuable skills in the biotechnology industry. The MiniOne equipment allows students to gain hands-on experience in lab activities for science classes. In addition, the equipment can be used to meet TEKS in the law enforcement, health science and agriculture clusters of our CTE department.
Supplemental Textbooks for AP Government Students – Derek Poludniak -Hays High School $1,475
This grant will be used to purchase a classroom set of supplemental textbooks for students enrolled in AP United States Government and Politics. These study guides provide students with a concise summary of the content, multiple choice practice questions, and free response practice questions. Distributing this resource to the students will allow them to freshen up their knowledge and skills before taking the AP exam. Doing so can result in an increase in the percentage of students earning a 3 or more on the exam which is not only a campus goal but allows students to earn college credit for the course at most colleges and universities.
Demo Kitchen – Courtney Veltman-Palladino – Johnson High School $3,800
The demo kitchen is a fully equipped portable kitchen with ceramic burners, a griddle, air-fryer and microwave that will be used by the culinary classes to provide cooking demonstrations outside the classroom. This will give the program lots of opportunities to have guest chef demonstrations, engage in fundraising opportunities to support our program and reach a larger audience. The demo kitchen can be transported on a trailer to events to showcase the culinary program across the district and at community events.
18 + Program – Eggs – Tiffanie Schoenherr – Buda Upper Campus $2,000
Students in the 18 + Program will raise chickens for eggs. Grant funds will be used to purchase chicken coop and supplies needed to raise and care for chickens. Students will sell some of the eggs to buy chicken feed and shavings. The surplus eggs will be donated to the Hays County Food Bank. The egg project teaches students responsibility for daily care of chickens, life skills – working hard, communication, caring for others, and problem-solving.
Building Book Clubs– Jeanne Ditta – Buda Elementary School $700
This grant will create lunch time book clubs for students of all ages. The grant will be used to buy books from the Texas Bluebonnet list (for grades 3-5) and the Texas 2×2 list (for grades K-2). We will meet with small groups to discuss the books and then create a project to reflect on the book. The projects will be a hands-on art activity and/or a technology-based project.
Building the Future – Kristen De los Santos and Niki Burch – Sunfield Elementary School $1,597
The Pre-K inclusion program will purchase block center items that will promote problem-solving, math skills and increase communication skills. The block center will give students access to building materials that will help them create, collaborate and problem-solve together while encouraging quality relationships among peers. Playing with blocks and various building materials promotes key aspects of development such as math, science, social, literacy skills and language development.
Core Communication for All – Lacey Hoff, Samantha Phinney and Katy Smith – Sunfield Elementary School $600
This grant will install a large, symbol-based core communication board on the playground, in the gym and throughout the building. We have many students at Sunfield Elementary who are unable to communicate their needs through traditional verbal speech communication. The core communication boards will allow students to communicate with their friends, teachers, and staff. This will encourage inclusivity on our campus by showing classmates an alternative way to communicate with their fellow non-verbal friends.
Outdoor Multi-Sensory Space – Lacey Hoff, Xavier Hatnot, Kathleen Jordan, Katy Smith and Samantha Phinney – Sunfield Elementary School $1,300
The outdoor multi-sensory space will provide an educational outdoor area that promotes hands-on academic and social-emotional learning opportunities. Our outdoor multi-sensory space will include plants, sensory items, and flexible seating to provide a way for students to smell, touch, hear and see nature in an outdoor classroom environment.
Rigamajig: Make Something that Does Something – Stephanie Deskin – Sunfield Elementary School $3,865
The Rigamajig Basic Builder Kit is to be utilized in Sunfield Elementary STEAM Lab and Makerspace to allow students to “make something that does something.” Our young designers and engineers will be able to use real, life-size building materials consisting of wooden planks, pulleys, nuts, bolts, and more to create innovative designs while learning the design process. Students will be inspired through hands-on building challenges that promote creativity, collaboration, problem-solving skills, and STEM learning. Scientific concepts will be reinforced and extended through using the Rigamajig building kit.