Community Foundation Awards Seventeen Classroom Education Grants 

The Community Foundation of Huntington County is pleased to announce seventeen recipients of the 2024 Classroom Education Grants. Totaling $13,966.81, these grants allow teachers and administrators seeking funding to implement a project in their classroom that is innovative, designed to stimulate learning and helps the educator meet state standards. This year’s applicants dreamed big, and the Community Foundation is eager to see how funding will impact classrooms across Huntington County.  

Phonemes, Graphemes and Decodable Dreams

A collaboration of Andrews Elementary School 1st Grade teachers including Stacie Ball, Rachel Jump, Brooke Adams and Jo Keller, received $561 for their project. Funding will support the purchase of highly engaging and colorful books for teaching phonics skills and concepts that give real-life practice needed to follow a scope and sequence. The books will help teachers meet phonics standards, as well as comprehension and fluency standards. The grant was generously sponsored by the James & Nancy Breiner Community Fund.  

Brainball

Blake Childs, Physical Education teacher at Andrews Elementary School, was awarded $820 to implement Brainball, a fantastic tool for physical education that combines physical activity with cognitive exercises, promoting body and brain development. Brainball activities require students to engage in physical movement while solving math problems, word puzzles and memory tasks. This dual focus improves motor skills and cognitive function, while also improving balance, coordination and agility. The grant was generously sponsored by the Robert & Vera Deal Community Fund. 

Active Adventures

Huntington Catholic School teachers, Amber Nevius and Julie Ramp received $400 to support upgrades for the playground shared between Preschool and Kindergarten classes. Funding will aid in the purchase of new storage totes, shelving and a selection of new toys to update supplies. The kids especially love the sand box, which has deteriorated over time. This grant will allow them to purchase new quality sand and sand toys like shovels, sand sifters, sand molds, trucks, etc. New playground toys will boost outdoor play which has numerous social benefits, including peer-to-peer relationships and self-awareness, as well as better health benefits, including improved muscle strength, improved mood and boosted immune system. The grant was generously sponsored by the Philip & Jackie Karst Family Community Fund. 

OSMO and ELL = Making Learning FUN!

Annette Little, ELL Teacher with Huntington County Community School Corporation, was awarded $1,561.29 to aid in financial costs for OSMO units and games to be shared between students at Andrews, Lincoln, Roanoke and Salamonie schools. Osmo is an educational tool that combines physical objects with digital learning through interactive games. The game-based approach keeps ELL students engaged and motivated, and when learning is fun, that can help reduce anxiety that ELL students often feel. Osmo’s storytelling and vocabulary-building games give ELL students the chance to hear and repeat language in meaningful contexts, which helps with pronunciation, fluency and comprehension.   

Science of Reading – Phonics and Morphology Resources

Flint Springs Elementary School teacher, Lauren Davis, received $347 to support the purchase of phonics and morphology resources that complement lesson plans for the Orton Gillingham, a structured literacy approach designed on the research from the Science of Reading. The resources will be used for daily reading small group instruction, giving students more opportunities to practice with decodable texts and activities, further strengthening specific phonetic skills. The grant was generously sponsored by the Niederman Family Community Fund.

Digital Piano

Katherine McElhaney, Music teacher at Andrews Elementary School, received $2,000 to support the purchase of a new digital piano that will replace a 20-year-old one that unfortunately broke down at the beginning of the school year. The piano helps students learn music concepts and demonstrates music’s expressive qualities. The piano will help students prepare for choir concerts and performances, and several students will use it for the annual talent show. 

Imagination Unlocked: Innovative Play with Dollhouses and Blocks

Huntington Catholic School Preschool teacher, Jami Eckert, was awarded $551.98 to aid in the purchase of dollhouses and building blocks that are ideal for classroom settings and promote open-ended creative play opportunities. The dollhouse’s open concept design allows for 360-degree play, enabling children to share and exercise design, balance and cooperative play. The grant was generously sponsored by the following funds: Donald & Lou Rayne Scheiber Community Fund, Fred & Becky Scheiber Community Fund, Harold & Pauline Bailey Memorial Community Fund.

Life is All About Balance!

Amy Degitz, Physical Education teacher at Horace Mann Elementary School, received $660 to support financial costs for half exercise ball trainers and a storage rack for Physical Education classes. These easy-to-use trainers will provide endless balance practice to help develop cardio, agility, strength, core and mobility skills. The grant was generously sponsored by the Paul Family Community Fund.  

¡Todos Podemos Aprender Ingés!

Angela Grube, English Language Learner Program Coordinator with Huntington County Community School Corporation, received $600 to support after-school programming for ELL (English Language Learner) families that will teach students and their parents English. The English classes will be hosted two nights a week and bilingual books will be offered to families to “check out” and share at home. These programs will foster a stronger sense of community, empower parents and provide long-term educational and career benefits for students and parents. The grant was generously sponsored by the Howell-Ehler-Wiley Community Fund, and an Anonymous Community Fund.

Refine & Reignite

Heather Fields, Kindergarten teacher at Lincoln Elementary School received $300 to help “refine” learning and “reignite” what students already know when starting kindergarten and returning to school after summer break. Funding will support the purchase of materials that will help students grow their fine motor skills, provide a fun and engaging way of learning and lay the foundation of writing, reading and mathematics. Each item will be used daily for activities within the categories of sensory, emotional regulation, language arts, math, fine motor development, problem solving and organization. The grant was generously sponsored by First Federal Savings Bank Community Fund.

Drums!

Lincoln Elementary School Music Teacher, Gracia Gates, was awarded $319 to support updating drum inventory. Music classes currently use outdated drumsticks and loud bucket drums that can cause issues for students with noise sensitivity. Funding will aid in the purchase of Lollipop Drums® and several pairs of drumsticks, making drumming more accessible for Lincoln’s K-5th grade students. 

Social Emotional Learning in Preschool – Kimochis – everyone has BIG feelings in challenging times

Laura Lahr, Huntington County Community School Corporation Preschool Coordinator, was awarded $2,400 to aid in the purchase of Kimochis, a curriculum that teaches lessons to children about respect, responsibility, resiliency, compassion and kindness. The implementation of this curriculum will help young learners understand how to better work through their emotions as they grow and transition into new grade levels. The grant was generously sponsored by the John & Midge Decker Community Fund, and the Bippus State Bank Community Fund. 

Preschool Dramatic Play and Gross Motor Activities

Salamonie School Preschool teacher, Nicole Warpup, was awarded $500 to assist in the purchase of materials that will encourage gross motor development, as well as dramatic play items that will improve social, emotional and language development for students. The gross motor skills items that will be purchased include an indoor hopscotch mat, balance buckets, a small parachute, dance party cards and a dice movement game. Dramatic play items that will be purchased include a dollhouse, dollhouse furniture & people, a pretend farm, horse stable and vet kit. 

Nonfiction Texts for the Middle School Classroom

A collaboration of Riverview Middle School teachers including Rebecca Livingston, Jennifer Herrberg, Kim Teusch and Macy Hire were awarded $1,365 to support the purchase of class sets of four interdisciplinary nonfiction books. Having multiple class sets of each book will enable teachers to lead collaborative book clubs, allow for multiple classes to read the same book and have shared mentor texts used for teaching writing techniques and grammar. 

Kimochis Social Emotional Learning for Early Childhood Students

Parkview Huntington Family YMCA Preschool Teacher, Karen Teusch, was awarded $591.54 to support the financial costs for a Kimochis Educator Took Kit, which will prepare pre-k students for kindergarten by helping achieve developmental milestones and building social-emotional skills. The program will engage students with fun plush characters, the tactile sensory experience of using emotional pillows and relatable character stories. The Tool Kit includes 25 weeks of social-emotional learning lessons, along with stories for each character. Each plush character has their own background and personality, with one specific thing that is challenging for them that kids can relate to.  

Students Out of School Program

Youth Services Bureau of Huntington County (YSB) Executive Director, Jan Williams, was awarded $350 to support a technical upgrade. YSB’s Students Out of School program offers students the opportunity to continue their education when they have been removed from a school corporation. Students complete class work both individually and as a group, and some of the group time includes the use of a projector to view short videos and other educational material. Funding will support an upgrade from a projector to a smart television for the classroom as well as a wall mount and HDMI cable. The grant was generously sponsored by the Dr. Ron & Judy Frischman Community Fund.

Engaging Students During Small Groups: STEM bins and VersaTiles

Salamonie School 5th grade teacher, Carlee Selig, received $640 to support the purchase of STEM bins and VersaTile kits designed to support and enrich literacy and math education in the classroom. These resources will allow students to explore mathematical concepts and literacy skills through interactive, experiential learning by using STEM-based challenges that promote logical reasoning and analytical skills. These kits support diverse learning needs by catering to various learning styles and abilities, ensuring all students have access to meaningful educational experiences. The grant was generously sponsored by the following funds: Jim & Linda Howell Community Fund, Daugherty Family Community Fund, James & Regina Ditzler Community Fund. 

Congratulations to all of the dedicated teachers and administrators that received 2024 Classroom Education Grants. The Community Foundation is eager to see how funding will impact classrooms and students across Huntington County. 

For more information on Community Foundation Grants, visit huntingtonccf.org/grants/