2026 Grants

Again, this year we have had the pleasure of awarding grants to benefit the students and community of BPS101. We are certain these projects will greatly enhance the learning environment in our schools and community, and cannot wait to see the students engaged!

STEM + GRIT: Building Resilient Learners Together

Alice Gustafson Elementary School, Kristen Stevens
Foster Student Grit and Curiosity: Provide students with the opportunity to practice problem-solving, perseverance, and collaboration skills through engaging, hands-on STEM activities.

Strengthen Family Resilience: Provide parents with training and strategies to support their children’s growth mindset, perseverance, and emotional well-being.

Build Family-School Partnerships: Create opportunities for families to learn and grow together, enhancing connections between school, home, and community.

For Students:

Participate in hands-on STEM challenges that require teamwork, persistence, and problem-solving.

Reflect on STEM experiences and connect them to perseverance and grit.

For Parents:

Attend a workshop led by an expert speaker on resilience, growth mindset, and strategies to support children’s perseverance.

Develop personal “family resilience action plans.”

AGS will host an evening event where parents are invited to participate with a speaker in a grit and resilience discussion.  Students will work on a STEM project requiring grit and perseverance during this time.

Social Interaction & Problem Solving through Outdoor Play

Early Childhood Center at AGS, Paulette Ollie
The EC Center supports students developing social interactions and problem solving skills in a wide variety of ways and in all their learning environments.  The EC Center has a wonderful outdoor learning space, but we would like to provide additional opportunities and materials for students to work cooperatively and problem solve while helping to develop their independence and positive peer relationships.

Our key goals are:

-Taking care of own need appropriately 

-Interacting in a positive manner with peers

-Solving social problems

-Using language to express thoughts & needs

-Showing curiosity and inventiveness in thinking

-Using scientific inquiry skills and tools to perform tasks

Mindful Collaboration: Strengthening Oracy Through Brain-Breaks

Grace McWayne Elementary School, Jeff Modaff
One of our School Improvement Plan goals this year is to enhance students’ language use by embedding oracy practice and high expectations throughout their day.   With grant funds, we propose to purchase highly engaging, easy to implement educational games that will continue our mission toward improving oracy during brain breaks and indoor recess.  These educational games and puzzles will be stored on rolling carts and accessible to all classrooms for use during classroom brain breaks and during indoor recess.  The activities will combine both physical and mental exercise, but most importantly, will require students to engage in conversation and practice higher-level vocabulary.  Not only will this support our school improvement goal for enhancing language through oracy practice and high expectations, but this will also reduce the need for videos and Chromebook games that are sometimes used to give students a “break” from learning.  This reduction in screen-time is an added benefit.  In conclusion, our intention is that these brain breaks will lead to more prepared, less anxious, engaged students while also supporting our School Improvement objectives.

Belonging Begins Here: Strengthening School Community Through SEL and Student Voice

HC Storm Elementary School, Chris Milka
This proposal seeks funding to implement a school-wide Social Emotional Learning (SEL) assembly connected to our 2026 Family Literacy Night, along with creating  a permanent Student Community Display Wall. While our district’s curriculum includes core SEL competencies, this project goes beyond those minimum requirements by fostering a school-wide culture of emotional intelligence, empathy, and student voice in a highly visible and participatory way. The SEL assembly will bring students together across grade levels to engage in an interactive experience titled “Be A Magician”.  “In this interactive SEL assembly, students discover how the skills magicians use—empathy, focus, respect, and perseverance—aren’t just stage tricks. They’re real tools that help us connect with others, work through challenges, and become thoughtful, kinder student citizens.”  The engagement with this assembly will deepen classroom-based instruction and extend SEL into students’ daily lives.
The Student Community Display Wall will serve as a dynamic and inclusive space where student contributions are showcased throughout the year.  Our student council will be involved with coming up with themes pertaining to our school’s 4B’s(Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Be Kind).  This installation will not only celebrate student voices and accomplishments, but also reinforce key SEL messages throughout the school environment in a lasting and evolving format.
Together, these initiatives will transform SEL from a set of classroom lessons into  shared school experiences. They will promote equity, belonging, and emotional growth in ways that exceed district expectations and directly support students’ social, emotional, and academic success.

Book Vending Machine

Hoover Wood Elementary School, Sean Degman
We are looking for high quality, diverse books to fill a book vending machine we are purchasing through our PTO. This aligns with your vision because it is expanding all student opportunities to read new books and have more books at home for students. It is innovative as a way to positively support students while also promoting reading. Students would earn books from the vending machine by going above and beyond in behavior or academics. 

Enhancing Engagement & Sensory Input in Specials Classrooms

JB Nelson Elementary School, Nicole Prentiss
This would give all Specials environments at JBN flexible and responsive seating options for students.  These seating options and noise cancelling headphones will support students in accessing these less structured environments more successfully.

Sensory Pathway

Louise White Elementary School, Michael Wall
A sensory pathway will provide a year round opportunity for movement breaks and activities for students.  We hope to provide a location to allow individual students and classrooms to have independent movement activities. Outcome: students utilizing the structure as a movement break opportunity.  This will result in increased student regulation, leading to increased student learning.  Success will be measured by the utilization of this structure.

From Page to Stage: An Author Experience at RMS

Rotolo Middle School, Diana Wolf
Michael Leali, an award winning children’s author, brings not only incredible storytelling talent, but also a personal journey that inspires and resonates with students. His visit to Rotolo Middle School will provide students and staff with a rare opportunity to connect the literacy skills they learn in the classroom to real-world applications. Through his story and interactive sessions, students will see the value of reading and writing, gain insight into the creative writing process, and develop their own voice and identity as writers.

This experience goes beyond the standard curriculum by offering authentic engagement, modeling the writing process in a professional context, and inspiring students to see themselves as authors and storytellers.