Rockdale ISD Education Foundation put its money where its mouth was on Thursday by handing out $13,000 in grants to RISD educators.
The foundation recently awarded its first-ever set of grants to several campuses and teachers in the district and, on Wednesday, the foundation delivered the prizes to the winning educators.
“The awards ceremony was a lively affair, with students and faculty members joining in on the Prize Party with foundation directors to celebrate the winning teachers and their projects,” said Rebecca King, director of communications for RISD.
Wenda Dyer, vice president of programs for the foundation, spoke about the foundation’s mission and the importance of supporting educators in the district.
“Our mission is to enhance the quality of education for all students in Rockdale ISD by providing funds to support innovative classroom projects and other programs that promote academic excellence,” Dyer said.
“We believe that investing in our teachers is an investment in our students and we’re proud to support their efforts to create engaging and impactful learning experiences,” she added.
Grants awarded by the foundation this year included a Rainforest Trek Sensory Path to Shannon Pourmanafzadeh and Ashley Willard for $1,500 which will provide a sensory pathway that builds connections in the brain that are responsible for the five senses, enabling students to complete complex, multi-stage tasks.
Courtyard Dreams was awarded to Felicia Alexander and Cindy Pelzel for $2500 at the elementary school for an outdoor learning environment.
Expand Your Mind, One Chapter at a Time was awarded to Cheyenne Miller for $3,300 at the intermediate school. Students are challenged to meet individual reading goals each six weeks. This grant will allow the school to take the students who meet their goals, four out of six weeks, on an end-of-year celebratory trip.
Kristy Kaufmann was awarded $5,000 for eSports at the junior high. The UIL State Champion eSports team is getting its own gaming systems, monitors, headsets and seating. This class currently has a waiting list and now more students will be invited to join.
A Life Skills classroom grant of $1,000 was awarded to Katherine Shannon at the high school. This grant will allow the purchase of additional, updated equipment to benefit the life skills students in order to be successful in reaching goals in the areas of independent living, self-help skills, vocational skills and social skills.
Rockdale ISD Education Foundation was founded in 2022 and is in its first year of fundraising for the district.
“The foundation is always looking for ways to support the district’s teachers and students, and anyone interested in donating to the foundation can do so by visiting rockdaleisd.net/foundation. Every donation, no matter how small, can make a difference in the lives of Rockdale ISD students,” King said.
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