Several members of the Pilot Point Educational Foundation board had the pleasure of informing 23 teachers they had received grants from the organization totaling over $41,066.15 on Monday.
PPEF President Lee Ann Ray spoke with pride of the number of applications submitted this year.
'We've had more this year than ever,' she said.
There were 36 applications asking for a total of more than $87,000.
Ray also said she was grateful the foundation was again a recipient for a Josephine Hughs Sterling Foundation grant of $20,000, which helped the foundation double the money it could dedicate to grant projects.
'There's actually [21] teachers getting grants this year, which is great,' Ray said, adding, 'There was a wide variety.'
The committee also prioritized grants that will provide long-term resources that benefit large groups of students where possible.
Although there were multiple grants approved for flexible seating across the district, there were also projects that asked for specific tools, such as sight word cards for Cindy Hewlett's students at the elementary school or a topographical map the students can touch and experience in Colleen Pierce's middle school classroom.
'There were a couple that we could just do partial funding on,' Ray said, 'but hopefully next year we can [fund the other portion].'
Superintendent Dr. Shannon Fuller also spoke of her excitement about the way that engagement with the teachers is growing in the process.
'We're grateful to all the people who donated to the foundation, to all of the hard work that goes into fundraising for it,' she said. 'Our goal is always to enrich and make the best learning environment for our students, and we can't do that [alone], and so it is great to have such great partners like the education foundation help us in that.'
The day started at Pilot Point Middle School, where nine teachers were visited and told of their grants.
PPMS Principal Taylor Penn said he was proud that so many of his teachers applied for the extra funding.
'One of my goals for this upcoming year was to encourage teachers to fill out a grant [application] because in the past we've never taken advantage of it,' he said.
District Librarian Nicole Smith learned at the middle school that her audiobooks application was successful, as was her application to update the high school library collection and add to the Spanish collection there.
These are her second and third grants, and she's only been in Pilot Point ISD two years.
'Every year, I've been successful,' Nicole said.
Andrea Perez, who leads the award-winning Pilot Point Middle School yearbook program, was also awarded a grant for digital cameras.
'Right now, we're sharing one camera, so to have each student have their own camera, we can be at more events,' she said.
Dr. Alice Coe was thrilled to learn her Shark Tank application was successful.
'It's exciting to be able to give the students an opportunity to do things they are just really excited about,' she said. 'Sometimes it takes money.'
The group then moved to the Early Childhood Center, where three applicants were successful.
Arianna Cordero Gonzalez was so surprised that she ducked down with a smile beaming on her face upon learning that her grant for practical life materials was granted.
'[Some students] struggle so much with the grips of pencils, of crayons, markers, so practical life [materials] help kids to have better development to use those materials,' she said, adding, 'I'm so excited!'
Next up was Pilot Point High School, where four projects were funded.
Jennifer Fronterhouse applied for a grant to fund tabletop easels, and it was her third successful grant.
Jenna Lawson received funding for pompoms for the Bearcat dance team.
'They're expensive,' she said. 'Hopefully they'll last for years.'
Last but not least was Pilot Point Elementary, which had six projects funded.
Brandy Smith had her request for a hands-on science discovery lab funded.
'With that lab equipment, it will bring numerous years of use for showing things like conservation of matter, revolutions versus rotations, and all of the science TEKS that we have for fifth grade,' she said. 'It will help enhance the learning experience for those students.'
Kelsey Whitsell was one of the board members who visited every teacher.
'As a parent and local business owner, it's awesome to see the community supporting our teachers in a meaningful way that allows for better opportunities for our students to learn,' she said.
