The City Schools Foundation distributed a record setting $106,000 in grants to Murfreesboro City School teachers. The Foundation asks educators to submit proposals for funding that will help acquire resources for classrooms not ordinarily provided by taxpayer dollars.
Grants are submitted anonymously and are judged solely on their merit by a committee. Over 120 grants were submitted for consideration.
“Reading and scoring the grants is one of the most rewarding jobs as a foundation board member,” says David Scott, grant committee chair. “Thanks to the support of our sponsors and other foundations, this is the first year that we were able to fund over $100,000 in grants which was incredible. It is inspiring to see how educators are utilizing these grant dollars to enrich the education of students.”
Forty-five grants, representing twelve schools and the district, were selected for funding, and ranged from $121 for Science Support to $17,854 for Music. Grants averaged $2,355 in disbursements in 2023.
To date, The City Schools Foundation has given over $1.2 million. This year, the overarching theme requests consisted of STEM based programs, music enhancement and social emotional support. The City Schools Foundation through the Nissan Foundation funded materials for robotics earlier in the year.
“The works of this foundation reminds me of a quote from Margaret Mead: ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world,’” says Dr. Trey Duke, Director of Schools. “From its inception, the undisputable purpose of the individuals who have served on the foundation board has been and continues to be to serve the students and teachers of Murfreesboro.”
Funded grants included:
• Black Fox: STEAMing Up Science
• Bradley: Makey Makin’ Music
• Cason Lane: “The Banana Piano” – MaKe + Key = MaKey; Stacking Up on Math; Imagination, Set Free
• Cason Lane Pre-K: Pre-K Peace Corners, Sensory Room
• MCS District: Getting Ahead of the Game, Robotics for All and All for Robotics, MCS Honor Band
• Discovery: If You Build It, They Will Come; Social Emotional Learning with Slumberkins; Get Vertical With Thinking; Eyes on Pollinators
• Erma Siegel: Aim High, Soar Higher; Using White to GO GREEN!!; “STEM”ulating Young Engineers; “We will Rock You” – Rock Wall; Science Support for Multilingual Learners; LingoPens for Equity; Storyboard That: Digital Storytelling
• Hobgood: Electric Stove; Connecting the Future
• John Pittard: Classroom Material; Growing Experiments for Growing Minds
• Mitchell-Neilson: Gelli Plates for Printmaking; Hands-On Math; Chain Reaction Central; Breaking the Language Barrier with Technology; Literacy in the Music Classroom
• Northfield: Beebot-Dashbot-Everywhere a Robot
• Reeves-Rogers: Play Therapy: Healing Through The Art of Play
• Salem: Empowering Students with Chromebooks in STEAM Class; Classroom Math Read Alouds; Spring into Action!; “App”solutely” Amazing; “Watch Us Grow!”; “Splashing Into Hydroponics!”; Bee-Bottin’ Our Way through the Alphabet; Gee Whiz Geoboards; Razzle Dazzle; Books for Boost
• Scales: Mobile Melodies: The Keys to Unlocking Music Creation; Reeds, Reeds, We Need Reeds: Consumable Materials for Beginning Band Students; Giving Math a Hand
In addition to being a resource for other foundations, The City Schools Foundation has two primary fundraisers – Excellence in Education and a new tennis fundraiser – Serve it UP.
The City Schools Foundation is a private, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. Chartered in 2005, the Foundation was created by volunteers from the community who wanted to supplement the resources available to the Murfreesboro City Schools System. Follow The City Schools Foundation on Facebook for upcoming events.
The City Schools Foundation distributed over $62,000 in grants to teachers in October with an additional $5,000 grant for indigent care. Thirty-three grants were selected for funding for the 2022-23 school year. The Foundation asks educators from Murfreesboro City Schools to submit proposals for funding that will help them acquire resources not ordinarily provided by taxpayer dollars.
“It is always incredible to see the grant requests we receive each year. The grants ranged from ukuleles and cooking to sensory rooms and Legos,” says David Scott, Grant Committee Chair and Board Chair, The City Schools Foundation. “Reading the grants opens the eyes of our committee to the extraordinary learning happening within the classrooms.”
Grants are submitted anonymously and are judged on their merit by a committee. The funding for grants ranged from $154 for Pawz the Calming Pup to Coding at Future Jobs at $9,988. Winning grants included:
Black Fox Elementary
Sensory Room – Ashley Love
Jessica Codispoti – Hands on Magnets
Tori Hooten – Serious about Circuits
Cason Lane Academy
Strumming for Success – Carolene Goff
Enriching Outdoor Play for Special Education Preschool Students – Anna Beth Phillips
Classroom Calm Down Kits and Sensory Paths – Anna Johnson
Low Tech: Big Impact – Zena Mohsen and Denise Perkins
Inclusive Related Arts Programing for Special Education – Helen Belcher
Discovery School
Loopy Tunes – Dr. Kelley Kleppinger
LEGO Math – Neely Embree
Erma Siegel
Do Re Mi – Rachel Friedman
Building Bridges to English – Tara McCamey
Creating the Future: Makerbot to the Rescue – Angela Pope
Building Math Minds One Lego at a Time – Angela Pope
John Pittard
Sound Engineers Extraordinaire – Luke Hill
Whiteboards and Dry Erase Markers for 5th Grade Math – Melinda Crook
iPads for Multilingual Learners: Promoting Language Development through Technology – Whitney Dixon, Alma Salazar, and Moussa Saleh
Hobgood
Fun-dations in Reading – Barbara Arnold
Mitchell-Neilson
The Hands-On Lab – Sarah Golden
Northfield
A School Designed for Regulation – Rachel Davenport
Reeves-Rogers
Coding for Future Jobs – Kathie Brown
Digital Art Collaboration in a STEM classroom – Shannon Harvey
Keep Calm and Learn On – Natalie Hardiman
Salem
Social Emotional Learning – Taylor Draper
Pawz The Calming Pup – Taylor Draper
Expedition Unknown – Sarah Chumney
Bridging the Gap – Lucie Abbott
Here’s Looking at You! – Kathy Latondress and Beth Wood
“Weather” Come What May, I am Ready to Explore Today! – Kathy Latondress and Beth Wood
SOUNDS Good to Me! – Kathy Latondress and Beth Wood
Scales
Life Skills (Cooking) – Charlotte Cruesoe
Bridging the Gap: Ukuleles to Guitars – Ryan Stewart
Big Band, Big Sound, Small Needs – Tony Hartman
The Foundation funded several grants this year focusing on social and emotional learning, a key strategic in the MCS five-year strategic plan. Social and emotional learning aims to help students better understand their thoughts and emotions, to become more self-aware, and to help develop empathy for others. Developing these qualities helps students with their ability to handle stress and distractions.
Grants also covered many aspects of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.) STEAM-based education teaches children more than science and mathematics concepts. STEAM teaching focuses on on hands-on learning with real-world applications including creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.
Trustees for The City Schools Foundation include David Scott, Kimberly Robertson, Joe Faiz, Justin Burris, Stephanie Roach, Kimberly Robertson, Vicki Eastham, Ellen Slicker, Andrew Young, Essence Briscoe, James Calder, Katherine Layman and Robin Bayne. Additionally, Dr. Trey Duke and School Board Member Wesley Ballard serve as non-voting members of the Foundation.
The City Schools Foundation is a private, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. Chartered in 2005, the Foundation was created by volunteers from the community who wanted to supplement the resources available to the Murfreesboro City Schools System. More information can be found at www.cityschoolsfoundation.com.
The City Schools Foundation will distribute over $73,000 in grants to Murfreesboro City School teachers in 2019. The Foundation asks educators to submit proposals for funding that will help acquire resources for classrooms not ordinarily provided by taxpayer dollars.
“Reading and scoring the grants is one of the most rewarding jobs. The Foundation is thrilled with the range of requests we received from math and science to technology and arts,” says Kevin Grisham, grant committee chair. “It is incredible to see how educators are utilizing hands-on learning opportunities to enrich the classroom.”
Grants are submitted anonymously and are judged solely on their merit by a committee.
Twenty-five grants, representing all thirteen schools, have been selected for funding and range from $300 for On a Rollercoaster with Isaac Newton to $7,000 for “Clearing” the way for STEAM. Sixteen grants received over $2,000 in disbursements.
Grants included:
This year, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) was the overarching theme for the grant requests. Many STEAM projects involve teamwork and allow students to explore subjects utilizing hands-on activities and dialogue giving students additional ways to succeed in this rapidly changing technology-based world.