GRANT ROUND SUMMARIES

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2009 Grant Awards
$125,000 was awarded to teachers for projects that provide educational enrichment

1. Brain Unit, Sandpoint Middle School, Jacki Crossingham, $2,050

(Georgia Shonk-Simmons Innovation Award)
Students will learn about the human brain including neurons, the effects of drugs on the brain, and the basic structure of the brain.  Students will conduct a variety of labs including sheep-brain dissections.  Students will be surveyed on their particular strengths and weakness (Eight multiple intelligences of man) in math.  They will apply what they have learned to their own life, enhancing understanding of self and self worth.  Our librarian will delve into information on dreaming and sleep patterns in adolescent brains.  New this year will be a parent night where student work will be show-cased and guest speakers will emphasize methods of enhanced learning.

2. Alternative Energy, Sandpoint Middle School, Perky Smith-Hagadone,  $3,450

This unit will explore three different forms of alternative energy: wind, hydro, and solar. As a culminating project, each student will construct a twelve inch long solar car. Students will learn the properties of aerodynamics, drag, traction and friction from their math teachers. They will also be constructing a mini-windmill.  Design and construction will occur in both their science and math classes. Most importantly, their engagement in real life problem-solving is invaluable.

3. Mars Rover Program, Sagle Elementary, Ray Bird, $1,400

This grant will fund the Mars Rover Program, an advanced math and science program designed to stimulate and enhance math and science concepts through participation in structured lessons and hands-on activities, leading to the building of a Mars Rover Robot.  All teams end the program by competing in a regional Mars Rover competition held in Moscow, ID in May.  Sagle has an average of 5-6 teams each year.  Each team has 5-6 members.  All activities and assignments happen after school as an extra-curricular program involving both teachers and parents with the student teams.

4. College Fair & PTE Tour, Sandpoint High School, Clark Fork HS, Jeralyn Mire, $1,844

The juniors and seniors of both Sandpoint and Clark Fork High Schools will have the opportunity to attend the NACAC College Fair in Spokane.  3 buses of 42 students each will travel to the national fair and complete a college survey, attend the workshop and fill out a college comparison chart.  A second group of 84 students will attend the NIC Professional Technical Education Tour in February of 2010.  The PTE Tour will allow students to experience firsthand the opportunities of fields such as resort management, culinary arts, nursing and automotive technology. 

5. Geometry of Windchimes, Sandpoint Middle School, Patrick Lynch, $1,650

(Dave and Laurie Wall Grant for Math and Science)
110 eighth grade students at Sandpoint Middle School will apply concepts of algebra and geometry to create and build their own unique wind chime.  Using chrome tubes and wood working tools, these students will safely construct a wind chime utilizing specific geometry and measurement techniques.  They spend 3 weeks following a specific and detailed critical path of project benchmarks and write impressive mathematical essays as well.

6. Geometry Sketchpad, Sandpoint High School, Lisa Cessna, $3,586

(Dave and Laurie Wall Grant for Math and Science)
This grant provides for the purchase of Geometer’s Sketchpad, a dynamic and engaging software that allows students to build and investigate mathematical models through hands on interactive experiences.  It enables students to better understand variables, relationships, objects, figures, diagrams and graphs.  Teachers will receive professional development training allowing them to properly model the software to students.  This program will be available to about 250 SHS students and 9 teachers.

7. Book Worm Club, Kootenai Elementary, Julie Reister-Keaton, $850

This grant provides funding for an after school reading club in which a group students will meet to read and discuss novels.  The goal is to instill, enhance and confirm the love of reading.  The plan is to involve any interested students from 2nd through 5th grades and focus on age appropriate novels of various genres and authors.  The grant funds will help purchase the books.

8. Poetry Workshop, Sandpoint Middle School, Imogene Lyon, $2,500

The Poetry Workshop is a program that brings an author to SMS for two daytime assemblies and an afternoon and evening workshop.  David Greenberg will come to the school and immerse students into his rollicking and delightful poems.  The evening workshop will be a family presentation open to all students and parents in our community.  All 500+ students at the Middle School will attend the assemblies and many more will benefit from the workshops.  The students will have a chance to write their own poetry with the goal of entering the SMS Poetry Slam.

9. Acadeca NICE,  Sandpoint HS, Clark Fork HS, Priest River HS, Mary Bird, $1,300

The Acadeca coaches of four local high schools will hold a scrimmage called N.I.C.E. (Northern Idaho Competition of Excellence).  This is a pre-competition which gives students an opportunity to set goals and to achieve them, to be involved with a school team, and to help improve their test-taking skills before the regional Acadeca competitions.  The money from this grant will purchase awards, printing costs for tests and essays, timing devices, and office supplies for the pre-competition. 

10. Orff For All, District-wide, Tamara Gunter, $6,408

All elementary students in our district will benefit from the purchase of the Orff musical instruments.  These instruments are specifically suited to teaching music to children through speech, natural movement, play and song.  The instruments will create a type of small orchestra, as well as providing accompaniment to singing multicultural, traditional, folk, popular and student-composed original music.

11. Project I CAN, Southside Elementary, Pat Valliant, $8,500

I CAN! (Intense Cognitive Advancement Now).  This is the fourth year of implementing the I CAN! Program at Southside Elementary to provide students with opportunities to become better readers.  Students’ reading scores continue to rise, in part due to this grant.  Reading is the single greatest indicator of a student’s future academic success.  The goal of this project is to target all students prior to the start of each school day with reading opportunities including an open library, two classrooms and the computer lab.  The grant funds will pay for tutors and pizza parties for peer tutors.

12. Music Equipment, Clark Fork MS, Sandpoint Middle School, Ryan Dignan, $2,500

This grant allows for the purchase of basic music equipment and sheet music that will benefit the students of Clark Fork Jr. and Sr. High School and SMS.  The music stands, recordings, computer with cart and stereo equipment provide essential tools for our band program, benefiting a broad cross-section of middle school and high school students.  The students and the community benefit from concert performances each year.

13. Acadeca 2009/10, Sandpoint High School, Mary Bird, $5,000

This grant provides partial funding for the AcaDeca team to participate in competitions.  AcaDeca offers students in both the upper and lower quartiles a chance to earn recognition for academic achievements, to compete in events that are essential to work-place success, and to explore honors level curriculum.  Academic Decathlon is an activity that helps address the goals of the LPOSD and the No Child Left Behind legislation.  Study will focus on the French Revolution this year.

14. Before School Enrichment, Northside Elementary, Jayne Sturm, $2,520

With funds from this grant, Northside Elementary will offer a twice weekly, before school program that will bridge the 50 minutes between children’s arrival and the beginning of classes.  The study sessions will be offered to all grade levels, 1st through 6th, providing reading skills, computer activities, board games, homework help and academically challenging activities. Teachers will serve as the guides for the program, steering students toward enriched learning.

15. Spell Checkers, Southside Elementary, Randi Kulis, $525

The purchase of Franklin Spell Checkers will enable Southside Elementary students who are challenged in language and spelling to gain confidence and mastery of the language when they are writing.  The spell checkers are a writing tool that helps challenged students identify misspelled words and self-correct.

16. Motorized Mechanisms, Sandpoint Middle School, Richard Ross, $2,450

Through this grant, about 200 7th and 8th graders at Sandpoint Middle School will get exposure to basic mechanics, programmable motor operations, pneumatic and fluid power concepts.  The grant provides for purchase of a start-up package for simple machines and motorized mechanisms that includes software, booklets, and models for building and demonstrating the projects.  The student will learn, through hands-on, interactive instruction, to problem solve in the related areas of science, math, engineering and technology.

17. Doc Cameras (ELMO), Sandpoint Middle School, Marcea Marine, $1,505

The purchase of 2 document cameras will be shared among the 7th grade teachers at SMS to enrich the classroom learning environment in math, language arts, social studies and science.  The document cameras display any image onto a projector screen or Smart Board allowing for moving objects and powerful zooming capabilities. Annotation tools let the teacher draw freehand in a variety of colors on the captured image.  The precise communication between teacher and students improves the learning experience.

18. Math Counts, Sandpoint Middle School, Patrick Lynch, $1,935

Mathcounts is a national math enrichment, coaching and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement.  Approximately 135 7th and 8th graders will benefit from the weekly exposure to math problem sets in the classroom and involvement with the after school Mathcounts program.  The grant will allow SMS to purchase OPLET (Online Problem Library and Extraction Tool), a database of 10,000 math problems to use in generating worksheets, flash cards and daily math exercises.  

19. Ovations Support, District-wide, Kim Queen, $5,000

The Ovations program operates in conjunction with the Pend Oreille Arts Council’s acclaimed annual performance series.  Local and regional students in grades K-12 gain first hand experience with professional performers, providing cultural and artistic exposure uncommon in the local community.  Youth attend educational performances and attend workshops and master classes.  An estimated 3,000+ students will be served by this program.

20. Kaleidoscope Support, District-wide, Kim Queen, $2,000

The Kaleidoscope outreach program provides visual arts education to approximately 1,500 rural students in grades 3-6 in the fiscal year 2009-10.  Approximately 10 artists and 60 volunteers reach students in 11 schools (56 classrooms). The program offers art lessons once per month for one to three hours.  Over the past 20 years, this effort has served over 15,000 students that would otherwise have no art education.

21. Acadeca 2009/10, Clark Fork High School, Mike Turnland, $2,052

This project will supply students with the necessary travel arrangements and curriculum to succeed in the Academic Decathlon class and the scheduled competitions. In order to build a successful Academic Decathlon program it is essential that the students have access to necessary materials and transportation. This program is an extremely competitive academic program that provides students with the opportunity to learn and master a variety of skills including public speaking, written composition, test taking, and interview skills. Students involved in this program are dedicated to academic success and continually endeavor to better themselves through the pursuit of knowledge.

22. Brain POP, Sandpoint Middle School, Jacki Crossingham, $1,495

BrainPOP is an on-line resource that uses innovative characters to introduce difficult concepts and provide individualized student learning.  All 500 students will have access to the BrainPOP site both at school and at home through this subscription.  Many of the SMS teachers use the on-line material as a classroom resource in a variety of categories:  art and music, English, health, math, science, social studies and technology.

23. Arts, Authors and Us, Washington Elementary, Tom Prez, $2,000

Arts, Authors and Us! begins with a keynote address by a well known children’s author to the entire school population.  Afterwards, students attend three sessions throughout the day where they engage in self-selected, hands-on art, building, writing, drama and dance workshops.  Arts, Authors and Us! is a critical component of the school’s language arts curriculum, and fosters a life-long love of reading, writing and the arts.  The goal is to encourage, motivate and inspire young writers and artists through hands-on activities, led by community artisans, parent volunteers and a published guest author or artist.  The grant will cover the cost of the guest author/presenter, books and supplies.

24. Graphing Calculators, Charter School, Peggy Lovenbury, $7,425

This grant will fund the purchase of graphing calculators and teaching software for math and science classes.  This will increase 6th and 7th grade access to TI-Nspire graphing calculators and provide “clicker” technology for assessment and feedback.  This provides more engagement and better understanding as the students learn in new and different ways.

25. Carpentry/Green House Kit, Sandpoint High School, Richard Price, $500

This grant provides for the purchase of materials for 5 green house kits to be developed by the level 1 carpentry students.  The students will learn a wide range of carpentry skills: estimation, plan drawing, building layout, power tool orientation, fasteners and assembly.  Marketing and sales of these kits is another valuable aspect of the project. Each of the 5 carpentry classes will build a green house kit and the proceeds from the sales will provide seed money for the following year.

26. Sub Teacher Training, District-wide, Lee Stevens, $3,669

This grant provides vital training for substitute teachers in the entire district.  The district will mandate an on-line training program accompanied by a 306 page handbook for all substitute teachers.  It provides them with the tools and skills to handle a classroom, to be prepared and professional.  On an average school day, approximately 23 substitute teachers are on LPOSD classrooms.  This program will ensure that lessons will be taught, discipline maintained and state standards can still be met even while the teacher is absent.

27. Success Tracker, Washington Elementary, Susan Lee, $1,812

Success Tracker is an online, whole-class assessment and remediation management system aligned with Reading Street (a reading/language arts program), and Idaho state standards.  It can be accessed by every teacher at Washington to offer benchmark tests, target content skills to appropriately place students in remediation, and correlate to state standards to help with test readiness.  Each class of 30 students, grades 1 – 6, will have access to the program on a weekly basis.  When students complete a test, Success Tracker’s instant feedback lets students know what they’ve mastered.  By selecting un-mastered skills the student is directed to immediate remediation.

28. Shakespearience, Sandpoint Middle School, Deb McShane, $1,100

This grant will provide funding to bring the traveling troupe of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival (ISF) to perform for our 7th and 8th grade students.  ISF is composed of dynamic young performers who bring the wit and wisdom of Shakespeare alive to students.  The performance is 50 minutes long and will be offered twice during the school day.  Students will read and discuss the play during the two weeks prior to the ISF performance to integrate the learning with language arts and social studies.

29. Interwrite PRS, Sandpoint High School, Mike Martz, $2,500

The Interwrite PRS system employs a classroom set of remote control “clickers” so every student has the ability to answer multiple choice, true/false and mathematical operation questions.  The teacher can immediately see the response broken down by student without the student feeling fear of answering wrong in front of peers.  This grant would also provide for an Interwrite Mobi smartboard that is carried as a clipboard tablet.  The teacher has real time interface with the clickers and can encourage 100%  student participation and achievement.

30. Friends of Rachel, Sandpoint Middle School, Irene Adler, $850

Friends of Rachel is a nationally recognized program that aims at making a cultural change in our schools, creating a climate of tolerance and kindness.  It was started at SMS in 2008 and continues to operate with around 150 students involved.  The students meet in small groups with a staff member to plan and implement the program for the year.  This grant will provide monies for the basic operating expenses for the club.

31. Active Engagement with Mang., Sandpoint Middle School, Imogene Lyon, $4,000

This grant funds a one-day seminar by Louis Mangione for the entire SMS faculty.  During this Innovations in Education workshop, teachers will be actively immersed in learning techniques that utilize the latest brain research and innovative strategies to engage learners on multiple levels. Following the workshop, departments in the middle school will meet to plan how and when to implement strategies and assessment tools learned in the classrooms.  Students will provide feedback on the successes of the strategies employed by their teachers.

32. Kootenai Math Club, Kootenai Elementary, Naticia Litven, $1,733

The Kootenai Math Club is a before school program for all interested 5th and 6th grade students who want to move ahead in math.  They meet once a week for almost an hour with the goal of attending the Math Olympiad in Spokane in the spring.  This grant would provide funds for the team to travel to the competition and stay overnight.

33. Science Lab Materials, Lake Pend Oreille High, Jeanett Schandelmeier, $2,500

This grant will provide hands-on science laboratory experiences for special education students.  The purchase of lab materials such as petri dishes, 2 microscopes, 2 balances, glass/plastic ware, lenses, rock and mineral specimens and ph charts will help create the environment that is essential to bring earth science and life science alive for these students.

34. Library Project, Elementary Schools, Julie Smith, $3,434

Funds from this grant will purchase supplies needed at each elementary school library to create and update the labels on the A.R. library books.  This Accelerated Reader program is an essential part of improving reading and increasing reading scores.  All schools are currently working to update their labels with the help of staff and volunteers.  The grant monies will provide two new printers, Avery labels, printer toner and cartridges, colored dots and various other supplies needed to complete this task.

35. Sagle Math Club, Sagle Elementary, Liz Gollen, $1,123

The purpose of this grant is to fund Sagle Math Club, a unique opportunity for 5th and 6th graders who excel in advanced math concepts in a before-school setting.  Topics covered include algebraic equations, Pythagorean Theorem, working with pi, factorials, statistics, probability, algebraic variables, the circle and exponents.  The grant will fund the trip to Spokane in spring for the Math Olympiad where the students will compete in teams.

36. Management and Leadership, Southside Elementary, Pat Valliant, $1,325

This grant will provide funding for Southside’s principle to attend a Fred Pryor Seminar, a nationally recognized, powerful management and leadership training workshop.  The skills gained are numerous:  building successful teams, tough problem solving, collaborative learning, effectively leading others and what it means to be a manager in an ever-changing workplace.  This training will benefit the entire school by introducing new leadership concepts and implementing best practices in education.

37. Master Dance Class, Sandpoint High School, Cindy Smith, $4,065

Dance Team Coach Cindy Smith will bring three diverse masters to broaden the horizons of her dance team.  The goal is to provide the experience of working with other instructors, increase the student’s technical knowledge and build diversity through challenging choreography.  The team will use the experience in competitive performances.  The grant funds a two-day, six hour per day workshop with each instructor.

38. Drum Circle Kit, District-wide, Aaron Gordon, $4,418

      (Betty Ann Diehl Grant for the Arts)
The Drum Circle Facilitator’s Kit will be used to incorporate multi-cultural education in every school’s music program.  By incorporating a variety of drums, shakers, bells, woods and tambourines into a drum circle, students will be able to explore different cultures of Africa, South America, and the Caribbean while participating in the drum circle.  With no prior musical experience required it makes this music venue open to all students and community members.

39.  Point of Sale,  Sandpoint High School, Melinda Nieman, $2,500

Sandpoint High School operates a student run store called The Red Zone in which students gain the experience of operating a real business.  This grant will provide funds for the high school to purchase the necessary “Point of Sale” technology to simulate an actual small business experience.  The POS system tallies and stores information on sales and inventory, leverages the data into forecasting, projections, current sales trends and more.  Students can spend time learning the cash register features and setting up vendor information, UPC codes, price, sales promotions and discounts, etc. 

40. Clickers for Feedback, Southside Elementary, Mary Wells, $1,500

This grant allows Southside elementary to buy a set of 32 clickers for the 4th grade class.  The clicker is a handheld electronic device that allows every student response to be heard and recorded with instant feedback.  This will help students engage and internalize academic principles.  The plan is to use it for vocabulary applications and then expand it to the math and reading series.

41. Human Skeleton, Lake Pend Oreille High, Georgina Puailoa, $366

This grant will help purchase a human skeleton model as a teaching aid for the health class at LPO.  Having a model of a skeleton would provide the necessary visual aids and hands on learning experience.  The skeleton would be used to demonstrate how the body framework gives strength and shape and the importance of the different functions of the skeletal system.  It could be used by the PE teacher as well.

42. Organic Gardening, Lake Pend Oreille High, Linda Spade, $1,547

Through this grant, LPO high school will be able to set up an organic raised vegetable garden.  This project is a simple way to involve the entire school, parents and the community.  The students will plan and plant the raised garden to grow food that they will share with classmates and families.  Seeds, soil, garden tools and the raised bed will all be purchased with these grant funds.  Students will also take a field trip to NIC to tour their Culinary Arts department and see the preparation of the produce and explore suitable recipes. 

43. Projection Systems, Washington Elementary, Susan Lee, $2,200

This grant allows for the purchase of 2 projector systems for use in the classrooms at Washington Elementary.  The large visual provided by a projector increases student engagement, deepens concept development and allows full access to program components.  The projectors will get used almost daily for instructional purposes and will be necessary for introduction of SmartBoard technology in the future.

44. PE/Health Curriculum, District-wide, Pam Lippi, $687

This grant provides the funds to place laminated Character Education posters depicting the Six Pillars of Character (Respect, Responsibility, Citizenship, Caring, Fairness and Trustworthiness) in every gym and school hallway in our district.  PE teachers will teach mainstream health topics in their PE classes, supported by newsletters to help educate parents and encourage them to discuss current health issues at home.  The goal is to infuse health, healthy lifestyles and positive character education into the PE curriculum.

45. Computer Tables, Farmin Stidwell Elementary, Pauline Delamarter, $1,390

The purchase of 10 additional computer tables for use in the Farmin Stidwell Computer Lab will increase the amount of workspace for students and allow for more student/teacher interaction.  The students will benefit dramatically during ISAT testing with more space and privacy.  The Computer Lab is fully booked during the week and the entire student body will benefit from this upgrade!

46. Collegiate Medical Terminology, Sandpoint High School, Kathy Holm, $3,525

This grant provides monies for the purchase of medical terminology texts and resource books for the SHS Health Occupations class.  Students will earn extra college credits at NIC through the incorporation of medical terminology in the curriculum. 

47. After School Tutoring, Farmin Stidwell Elementary, Trudie Weiden, $8,331

This grant will fund an after school Math and Reading Tutoring program at Farmin-Stidwell.  The goal of the program is to offer intensive intervention in reading and math to students in grades 4, 5, and 6 who fall below the Proficient level on their Fall ISAT scores in either subject.  The sessions take place from Nov. through March, three days a week for 75 minutes at the end of the school day.  The goal is to see an improvement in ISAT reading and math scores for each of these students.