Carson City Schools Foundation awards various grants to support students and educators

The Carson City School District, on behalf of the Carson City Schools Foundation, is pleased to announce winners of mini-grants from Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. The competitive process garners dozens of applications from district educators each semester. In addition to the mini-grants, the foundation has also awarded $2,000 to $3,000 grants for a Department, School or Grade-level projects.

“The review committee always has a difficult task of narrowing down all the worthy applications,” Steven Reynolds, chairperson of the CCSF Board, said. “The Foundation is proud to recognize and support these exciting programs for students. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we're helping make a difference in our classrooms.”

The Spring $200 mini-grant winners include the following alphabetically by last name:

— Kristina Britt, Bordewich Bray: Materials for a recycling project ($100)

— Jeff Hendricks, Student Support Services: Job and Community Living Skills for students age 18-22 with disabilities

— Paulina Hernandez, Fremont: Update the school's front entrance to improve family engagement

— Joshlyn Jensen, Empire: Stage and Podium for special education students to present to class

— Robert Olivas, CHS: Mindful Sead SEL teacher training project

— Pamela Shank, Fremont: Students read children’s biographies then write their own

— Kristin Steinkraus, PHS: CNC engraver for engineering class

— Wendy Tims, CHS: Math manipulatives for pre-algebra and basic skills special education classes

The Fall 2019 $200 mini-grant winners include the following alphabetically by last name:

— Rebecca Beddoe, CMS: Tier 2 curriculum for social workers and social and emotional learning

— Shelley Buchanan, CMS: Family reading kits

— Kendra Ciccarelli, Empire: Read aloud books to teach mindfulness and GATE

— Mayelen Garijo, Fremont: Bilingual books

— Katelyn Howard, CMS: Headsets and web cameras for virtual read-aloud programs

— Daniel Ingram, CHS: STEM/Sea Perch Kits for students to build a submersible ROV

— Janelle Kaufer, CMS: Class set books (Don Quijote) for Spanish class

— Rochelle Kennedy, CHS: Calculators for low-income students

— Alisa Kuniya, CHS (2 projects): Tile Mural at CHS and Empty Bowls ceramics

— Toni Nielsen, Seeliger: Flexible seating for GATE classroom

— Laura Ricks, Empire: Classroom stage to promote speaking skills

— Victoria Smith, CMS: Emotion regulation baskets

— Kristin Steinkraus, Pioneer: Solar car building kit for environmental science

— Nancy Varner, Bordewich Bray: Grade 2 mentor texts to go with Patterns of Power program

Additionally, there were three Department, School or Grade-level grants awarded this spring in the amounts of $2,000 - $3,000:

— Mark Korinek, Operations: Recycling bins for schools ($2,000)

— Speech Pathologists, Student Support Services: 5-minute articulation drill sessions, materials and supplies ($2,000)

— Serra Wheeler, Computer Science CMS: Hands-on exploration of computer science standards through student communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity (up to $3,000)

— The fall 2019 Department, Grade-level or Team winners include the following alphabetically by last name:
Joe Childs, Transportation: Books for special needs bus ($200)

— John Corbitt/Math Department, Pioneer: Oculus Go Virtual Reality headset to explore the world of mathematics ($300)

— Adrienne Wiggins and fourth grade team, Empire: Cow eye dissection kits (STEM) for fourth grade classrooms ($300)

The Carson City Schools Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting community involvement and investment in the public schools of Carson City. This project is one of the many results of the “Empower Carson City 2022″ Strategic Plan – a five-year strategic plan for extraordinary schools built by the community of Carson City.

CCSF was created to increase student achievement through philanthropic investment and involvement. Established by the Carson City School District’s Board of Trustees, the foundation promotes education programs that traditional funding sources may not be able to reach.

For more information about the CCSF, please visit ccschoolsfoundation.org. To make a contribution with your credit card, go to ccschoolsfoundation.org/campaigns/donations/

Click here to watch a YouTube video about the foundation.