The Foundation for Excellence Owensboro Independent Schools presented 18 mini-grant checks worth a total of $25,520 to schools across the district Friday.
Owensboro Public Schools employees donated $18,255 to the Foundation during the 2019-2020 school year. That includes contributions from teachers, aides, administrators, and school board members, as well as many cafeteria, maintenance, and office employees.
The Foundation Board of Trustees voted on May 21, 2020, to give back that amount and more in the form of grants to OPS schools.
The recipients of the mini-grants for school year 2020-21 are as follows:
- Cravens Elementary School – $400 to purchase 6 ukuleles to add to a set of 19 for music classes so all students can have one to use in class.
- Cravens Elementary School – $1,576 to purchase a Pass-the-Mic sound amplification system to help deaf, hard-of-hearing, ADD/ADHS, English learners, and all Kindergarten students to enhance the teacher’s voice to class noise ratio.
- Estes Elementary School – $1,210 to build and sustain the RCX Lego Robotics Team at Estes to expand math and science knowledge through competition.
- Estes Elementary School – $1,600 to purchase a buzzer system, supplies, and KAAC dues for Quick Recall Academic Team competition.
- Hager Preschool – $2,500 to purchase Pre-K Eureka Math Program, a foundational piece to prepare for OPS elementary grades K-5 Eureka Math programs.
- Newton Parrish Elementary School – $300 to purchase 6 specially designed chairs for students with ADD/ADHS to help with concentration.
- Newton Parrish Elementary School– $1,200 to purchase books to enhance independent reading particularly science-related in 4th grade classrooms.
- Owensboro Innovation Middle School – $2,570 to purchase furnishings and supplies to create a Sensory Room, a place for autism students to calm and refocus.
- Owensboro Middle and iMiddle Schools – $2,800 to purchase 2 TVs and supplies for each buildings’ lobbies for technology classes to design content for daily school information.
- Owensboro Middle and High Schools – $100 to purchase 10 storage bins for dance classes to store costumes and dance shoes.
- Owensboro High School – $1,000 for community-based instruction and transition to work skills for non-diploma students.
- Owensboro High School – $700 for Early Childhood Education Pathway program to pay for background checks, TB skin tests required for graduation.
- Owensboro High School – $1,000 to purchase two books for each student in AP Literature and Composition course to foster love of reading.
- Owensboro High School – $197 to purchase 9 games to promote speaking in ELL classroom for a self-directed game station for English Language Learner students.
- Owensboro High School – $575 to purchase materials for collaboration of arts & humanities and photography classes to re-create famous works of art from household objects from an idea inspired by the Getty Museum during quarantine.
- OPS District Literacy – $2,523 to purchase Scholastic Magazine subscriptions for each OPS 6-12 school to give access to current literacy instruction in all content areas.
- Seven Hills Preschool – $269 to purchase 3 pre-made STEM Early Learning Kits to be shared throughout the school.
- Transportation Department – $5,000 to partially fund the purchase of “Buster the School Bus” robot program for teaching bus safety to elementary students.
