2014 Teacher Grant Recipients

1. Junior High School Campus – 8th Grade $2999.70
Recipients: Dana Elliott as a team with Jill Tate and Debbie Smith
Awarded:
This grant will be used by 300 students in the 8th grade. This grant asked for 30 graphing calculators which are necessary because of changes in math curriculum.  Starting in the Fall of 2014, a change in the STAAR test will allow the use of graphing calculators.  Calculators will allow students to be better equipped to answer more rigorous types of questions and to focus on solving the problem instead of getting caught up in the computation of the problem.  All 8th grade Math teachers need a full class set of 30.danaelliot

2. Middle School Campus – 5th Grade $5000
Recipient: Holli Cooper as a team with Sherri Browne, Allie Ensor, Melanie Reyes and Michele Davis
Awarded:

This grant will impact 300 students in the  5th grade. This grant asked for 24 Learn Pad bundles and screen protectors to increase the number of instructional resources that can assist students with the new mathematics TEKS being implemented in the 2014-2015 school year.  The new math curriculum that Wylie is adopting to address the new TEKS includes digital components.  Students can access these digital components at home and the Learn Pads will be the necessary hardware that will allow access at school.  This will improve academic achievement

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3. High School Campus $1000
Recipient: Luke McMillan
Awarded:
This grant will impact 160 students in grades 9-12. This grant requested money to attend a workshop in order to learn how to operate the software necessary to write a “drill” for the marching band show.  In the past, we have paid a drill writer several thousand dollars each year to write the “drill” for our shows.  The drill plots out on the field where each student should go and when.  By learning to write the drill himself, Luke will save the district thousands of dollars.  
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4. Junior High Campus – 7th-8th Grade $949.69
Recipient: Shana Hrbacek
Awarded:
This grant will impact  58 students in grades 7-8. 7th and 8th grade. This grant asked for a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Core Set, Software and a Dell Laptop in order to grow the robotics program.  The goal of the Robotics Program is to expose as many students as possible to the world of robotics through STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  By introducing students to projects that require them to use their problem solving skills, the students learn that science involves other things than a book and a paper and are encouraged to use critical thinking.  By having more computers and kits available, Wylie can have more robotics teams.  
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5. Junior High and High School Campus – Grades 8-12 $1,000
Recipient: Gabriela Bundy
Awarded:
166 8th – 12th grade Spanish students, Junior High and High School. This grant asked for money to attend the National TPR Storytelling Conference where she will receive formal training in the new curriculum implemented last year.  We are now teaching Spanish through Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS).  In this methodology, grammatical structures are acquired in the same manner as children acquire their first language.  

6. Elementary Campus – 2nd Grade $735.08
Recipient: Jennifer Rapstine as a team with Rebecca Groban and Jessica McIntire
Awarded:
70 2nd grade students. This grant requested money to replace the subtraction and addition math wrap-ups which students use as a great hands-on tool to learn their basic facts.  Currently three classes share both sets of wrap-ups and they are very worn out.  This grant will pay for an additional 70 subtraction wrap-ups and 22 addition wrap-ups.  The teachers felt like they used the addition set less frequently so it was less of a priority given budget constraints.IMG_5272

7. Middle School Campus – 6th Grade $599.60
Recipient: Shana Shuler
Awarded:

160 6th grade students.  This grant requested current, hard cover atlases that provide more information than the ones which are currently being used.  The current set is outdated and the soft covers are falling apart and have missing pages.  This resource will be placed in the basket under each desk and will be more effective as they are readily available.  The atlases are used for providing a more detailed perspective of our world and giving students a better understanding in both physical and political boundaries, as well as additional information for continents, countries and capital cities.

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8. Middle School Campus – 6th Grade $969.95
Recipient: Lynlee Ueckert
Awarded:
150 6th grade students. This grant requests three mini Ipads to be used to gain internet access necessary with the new science curriculum being implemented next school year.  The 6th grade currently has access to 1 iPad cart that is shared between 12 teachers.  The new science curriculum has many digital lessons and virtual labs that provide additional exciting and interactive ways of learning and affords experiences we wouldn’t have been able to provide for students without this technology.  

9. Middle School Campus – 5th-6th Grade Special Education Students $500
Recipient: Sherry Brown
Awarded:
20 5th and 6th grade Special Education students. This grant requests lower grade level, high interest,  AR- approved books for students reading on a lower grade level.  Some Special Education students are reading on a first grade level on a campus that has a library geared toward higher level reading students so their choices are very limited while still being required to get a reduced number of AR points.  Seeing books that are too hard for them discourages reading so this grant will provide additional books for the classroom that can be read independently and will allow these students to feel  successful.   Their reading abilities will improve through success.  
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10. Junior High School Campus – 8th Grade Field Trip $2250
Recipient: Kelly Trumble
Awarded:
250 8th grade students. This grant asked for money to help offset some of the district’s expense to take the 8th grade to Dallas to visit the Holocaust Museum and the Ross Perot Science Museum.  The students study the book, Night, which depicts a Holocaust experience and the museum helps them to fully understand what happened during that time in history.  The Science Museum enhances what they have learned in class to enhance STAAR test grades.  In the past, the students have paid for one meal and the museum’s admission price.  The transportation and sponsor costs were paid for by the district.  By granting $2250 to this year’s trip, the Foundation will pay the admission fees for all 250 students to both museums.  
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11. Middle School Campus – 5th-6th Grade $1000
Recipient: Brittany Gurganus
Awarded:
30 5th-6th grade students.  This grant asked for assistance in purchasing a new Clavinova to be used in the music classroom at Middle School.  The current one is guesstimated to be over 10 years old and is structurally questionable requiring the Junior High Clavinova having to be transported over for concerts.  Also, the technology is obsolete and no longer meets required needs.  A new Clavinova would provide educational and technological growth for current and future Middle School, Junior High and High School choirs.  
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12. High School Campus – 9th-12th $1000
Recipients: Leianne McMillan
Awarded:
15 9th – 12th grade students. This grant would help to purchase 3 Dell Inspiron 15.6” Laptops to be used for UIL competitive speaking events, particularly Speech/Debate.  Wylie was one of only two schools at the District UIL competition who had not yet gone “digital”.  We currently rely on the printing and filing of news articles having to drag 4 large article-filled tubs to each speaking competition plus going through reams of printing paper and ink.  Laptops would allow the ability to become cutting edge in research/retrieval techniques.  
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13. Elementary School Campus – 1st Grade $735.06
Recipient: Diana Witherspoon
Awarded:
 22 1st grade students.  This grant requested a Promethean Actiview document reader and AV cart to be used to enlarge and show work and activities on the white Promethean board.  The majority of 1st graders are visual learners so this will increase attention level and give a more accurate understanding since the students can see exactly where the teacher is working.  It also allows the teacher to face the class and not have to turn her back while working at the Promethean board.
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14. Junior High School Campus – 7th Grade $890.01
Recipient: Ann Hurst
Awarded:
90 7th grade students. This grant requests 90 yearly subscriptions to Scope: The Language Arts magazine.  Students need authentic engagement with different genres about topics that they are interested in.  This magazine give students the opportunity to engage in reading on a level that is tailor-made for them.  The subscription also offers students extension activities and technology connections that are second to none.   Mrs. Hurst is going to allow the students to write and highlight in the magazines, thus, really engaging with them.

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15. Elementary School Campus – 2nd Grade $351.56
Recipient: Julie Humecki
Awarded:
22 2nd grade students.  This grant requests a class set of Wrap Up manipulatives which are tools the students use every day to increase the automaticity of addition and subtraction facts in order to meet Grade 2 TEKS by the end of the year.  Currently, Ms. Humecki shares a set of 22 Wrap Up manipulatives with 2 other teachers which doesn’t always allow enough time with them and affects the flow and efficiency of the time they are used in class.  A class set will allow for more frequent use in small groups and the ability to send them home with students who require extra practice.  

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TOTAL AMOUNT GRANTS APPROVED: $19,980.65
2@ High School, 5 @ Jr. High School, 5 @ Middle School, 3 @ Elementary

The Wylie Bulldogs Education Foundation is a not-for-profit organization recognized as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). Our mission is to collect and distribute gifts to promote excellence in education to students and teachers.