Classroom Grants

The Belton Educational Foundation awarded over $15,000 in grants during its fall round of funding.  This brings the total amount of grants the foundation has awarded since the beginning of 2007 to over $120,000.  In November, the Belton Educational Foundation agreed to fund projects across the district that will improve the educational experience students of the Belton School District receive.   

November 2009 Grants:

• Funding for an after-school tutoring program for Kentucky Trail Elementary school.  This program will pair real life experiences with reading as teachers and students explore fiction and nonfiction books and visit various locations across the community that tie to their reading.
• Personal CD players purchased for a class at Mill Creek to use during their reading time.  These CDs will allow students to work on reading individually.
• Mill Creek received a school grant to assist with their after-school tutoring program.  This innovative program will target students reading below grade level.  It will provide these students with experiential learning opportunities directly linked to their literary focus on reading and writing. 

• Kindergarten teachers from Hillcrest received funds to expand to five ABC Nights where kindergartners and their families can work on key kindergarten skills.

• A team of teachers from Mill Creek received funds to take four fifth grade classes on field trips tied to classroom curriculum.

• The Title One and Special Education Preschool Classrooms at Grace received funding to attend several community-based field trips.  These field trips will allow the students hands-on learning while they learn new vocabulary and concepts.

March 2009 Grants:

• Read Naturally Online Program purchased for Yeokum middle school.  This program will continue our work at Mill Creek to ensure that students who struggle with reading are given the opportunity to improve their reading skills.
• Two computers for a Resource Classroom at Mill Creek Upper Elementary School.  These computers will give the students who utilize this room access to several different types of specialized computer software to assist them in their learning process.
• One LCD Projector and Two Document Cameras for the art rooms at Belton High School.  This technology will allow the teachers to better demonstrate specific art techniques to the entire class at one time.
• Props for the Language Time program at Grace Early Childhood and Care Center.  These props will be used by the Speech-Language Pathologist to help children with special needs or children who are English Language Learners acquire language skills.

November 2008 Grants:

• District-wide grant to fund interactive computer software programs and curriculum for students with autism and special needs in Kindergarten through 12th grade.  The programs include language development, reading, and math curriculum, and are designed specifically for children with autism and other disabilities.
• Belton High School Freshman Center – funding to assist with the purchase of a multi-media system for the common area
• Kentucky Trail Elementary (two grants) – funding awarded to purchase science equipment for all grades
• Belton High School – funding to purchase a hovercraft kit for the advanced physics class

May 2008 Grants:

• Grace Elementary School (four grants) – funding to provide transportation and admission to educational field trips for one Title One Pre-Kindergarten classroom; funding to purchase literacy and math take home bags so that student can practice these skills at home with their families; fund the purchasing of five computers for the newly created library; fund the purchase of a smartboard for the blended preschool classroom
• Belton High School Freshman Center - fund a comprehensive health education class with hands on curriculum that will focus on hygiene, healthy eating, substance abuse, exercise, stress, and other health topics
• Scott Elementary School – fund the purchase of hands on curriculum to assist with counting money, telling time, measuring, and comparing and estimating
• Yeokum Middle School – fund the purchase of classroom performance systems
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program – fund the purchase of three video cameras and blank DVDs in order to enhance the educational achievement of deaf students; teachers will videotape themselves signing instructions and study materials so that students can better prepare for tests and complete homework assignments successfully