On Wednesday, March 6, Dr. James Wilcox and Longview ISD hosted a breakfast for the Longview ISD Foundation’s 2019 Great Rewards for Great Ideas recipients and the Campus Initiative Grant recipients.
At the breakfast, the Foundation awarded funding for this year's grant cycle.
Great Rewards for Great Ideas Grant Program
Grant winners received funding from the Longview ISD Foundation ranging from $100 to $2,500 for innovative classroom projects and programs that will enhance the quality of education for all students in Longview ISD.
This year, the twenty-fourth anniversary of the Great Rewards for Great Ideas Program, $74,896.28 was requested through 41 grant applications. The Foundation funded 22 grants totaling $38,952.08. The Foundation funded 17 elementary grants for a total of $30,153.33 and 5 secondary grants for a total of $8,798.75.
Since the beginning of the Great Rewards for Great Ideas Program in 1996, the Foundation has funded 690 grants totaling $740,375.98. These grants have enhanced Longview ISD’s academic programs as well as music, art, technology, counseling and guidance, career education, health and physical education, character education programs, and STEAM and STEM projects.
Campus Initiative Grant Program
The Longview ISD Foundation, Inc. received nine Campus Initiative Grants, the most ever received, requesting a total of $38,968.99. To make all these requests possible, the Foundation partially funded all nine grants and requested that the grant applicants apply for additional funding in 2020.
The Foundation awarded funding for a total of $26,395.64 to the following campuses:
Steve Hambrick, physical education teacher at Hudson PEP Elementary, and Sue Wilson, principal, received $2,500 for a climbing wall.
Rebecka Jenkins, Erica Smith, and Virginia Bell, Forest Park Middle School special education teachers, and Dr. Cynthia Wise, principal, received $3,184.15 to purchase five special desks and five Chromebooks.
Michael Woodson and Jone’ Robinson Heflin, Foster Middle School special education teachers, and Ryan Carroll, principal, received $3,693.99 to purchase twelve Chromebooks and one Chromebook cart.
Kristina Ford, Judson STEAM Academy special education teacher, and James Gibson, principal, received $2,300.00 to purchase materials for a sensory room for their students.
Shameika Allen and Carla Williams, assistant principals at Longview High School, and James Brewer, principal, received $3,000.00 for two units of furniture to transform the school library into a learning commons area.
Kristi Maldonado, Longview High School special education teacher, and Sarah Sheppard, special education supervisor, received $3,600 to purchase to purchase twelve touch screen Chromebooks.
Cheri Lee, Longview Early Graduation High School student support specialist, and Kristi Means, principal, received $3,517.50 to purchase fifteen Chromebooks.
Nona Snoddy, Dade Center special education teacher, and Isiah Gates, principal, received $2,600.00 to purchase twelve sit and stand manual student desks.
Brittany Johnson, instructor at the Playing for Keeps Early Childhood Center, and Leisha Fluellen, principal, received $2,000.00 to purchase educational toys for the district’s youngest learners.
Since 2008, the Longview ISD Foundation, Inc. has funded 41 campus grants for a total of $116,455.76.
Through the Great Rewards for Great Ideas Grant Program, the Campus Initiative Grant Program, and the first annual John W. Harrison, Jr. Academic Field Trip Grant, the Longview ISD Foundation has returned $868,831.74 to LISD educators to enhance the quality of education for all students.
For a list of this year’s grant recipients, visit the Longview ISD Foundation’s website at LISDfoundation.org and click on Great Rewards for Great Ideas on the menu bar at the top of the page.
