Foundation for Excellence awards nearly $30K in mini-grants to OPS schools

The Foundation for Excellence Owensboro Independent Schools presented 21 mini-grant checks worth a total of nearly $30,000 to schools across the district last week.

Owensboro Public Schools employees donated $18,631 to the Foundation during the 2021-2022 school year. That includes contributions from teachers, aides, administrators, and school board members, as well as many cafeteria, maintenance, and office employees.

The recipients of the mini-grants for school year 2022-23 are as follows: 

• Cravens Elementary School – $1,626 for “Novel Effect” reading app license and speakers for 1^st grade 
• Estes Elementary School – $550 for Lego Robotics software and competition fees
• Foust Elementary School – $358 for Kindergarten Touch & Read Phonics set
• Foust Elementary School – $1,500 for Virtual Reality headsets and equipment
• Foust Elementary School – $3,021 for C-Pens Independent Reading Support 
• Newton Parrish Elementary School – $1,500 for Engaged Learning in Reading for 3^rd grade 
• Newton Parrish Elementary School – $1,650 for Interactive TV for Special Ed Resource Room 
• Sutton Elementary School – $1,236 for Eureka Math Manipulatives Kits for 1^st grade 
• Sutton Elementary School – $ 1,996 for “Putting Math into Kids” Hands” kits for Kindergarten
• Owensboro Innovation Middle School – $600 for 3D pens for STEAM subjects in art 
• Owensboro Innovation Middle School – $3,500 for Virtual Reality headsets and equipment for interactive science simulations 
• Owensboro Innovation Middle School – $1,055 for Smart Home Kits for students to learn to assembly and code a smart home 
• Owensboro High School – $1,250 for students’ trip to the musical Hamilton in St. Louis in 2023 
• Owensboro High School – $192 for Electronic circuits kits for special ed. math 
• Owensboro High School – $800 for a new pottery wheel for visual arts • Owensboro High School – $500 for incentives for credit recovery courses 
• Owensboro High School – $1,000 for work experience expenses for special ed. 
• Owensboro Innovation Academy – $3,000 for GPS Coding for VEX Robotics competitions 
• Owensboro Innovation Academy – $2,698 for Padcaster Studio & iPad to create audio and video recordings 
• Owensboro Public Schools District – $500 for printing costs for shorts story collections 
• Owensboro Public Schools District – $1,000 for OPS Wellness/Mental Health Nights expenses