On Wednesday, March 31st, Dr. James Wilcox and Longview ISD hosted a breakfast for the Longview ISD Foundation’s 2021 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 and improve student achievement for all students in Longview ISD.
This year, the twenty-sixth anniversary of the Great Rewards for Great Ideas Program, applicants requested $65,455.35 through 36 grant applications. The Foundation funded 12 grants totaling $16,985.15. The Foundation funded nine elementary grants for a total of $13,059.89 and three secondary grants for a total of $3,925.26.
Teachers at Bramlette STEAM Academy, East Texas Montessori Prep Academy, Hudson PEP Elementary School, Ned E. Williams STEAM Academy, Foster Middle School, Judson STEAM Academy, and Playing for Keeps Early Childhood Center received funding through the Great Rewards for Great Ideas Program for the 2021-2022 school year.
Since the beginning of the Great Rewards for Great Ideas Program in 1996, the Foundation has funded 728 grants totaling $795,468.74, moving ever closer to having returned $1,000,000 to Longview ISD educators. 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 Foundation awarded $2,199.50 to Megan Burns and Christi Scott at Johnston-McQueen Elementary School for their grant Forging the Future: Robotics and Coding in Education. This grant will to improve instruction and student engagement by expanding high quality STEAM opportunities for math and science.
The Foundation awarded funding for a total of $16,985.15 to the following campuses:
Madison Copeland, Early Childhood/Special Education teacher at Ned. E. Williams Elementary, and Melanie Hamilton, principal, received $883.29 for the Sensational Swings program.
Steve Hambrick, physical education teacher at Hudson PEP Elementary, and Sue Wilson, principal, received $1,853.10 for the Purple Pickle Power Pack program.
Ivonne Guerra, Spanish teacher at Judson Middle, and Melanie Pondant, principal, received $425 for the Student-Centered Speaking/Listening program.
Blanca Alvarez, Barbara Crane, Hellen De La Vera, Ana Maria Garcia, Andrew Gonzales, Shannon Isaac, Jeannie Miller, Joshua Pitts, Lisa Salas, and Caitlin Warren, teachers at East Texas Montessori Prep Academy, and Dr. Jacqueline Burnett, principal, received $2,228.21 for the All On Board With Literacy program.
Amy Bruyere and Deonne Collins, language arts teachers at Judson Middle, and Melanie Pondant, principal, received $588 for the Teach Big: Writing Academy program.
Nadia Chapa, Ashley Cryer, Olga Emerson, Allison Horton, Jimmie Miller, and Cassondra Stephens, teachers at East Texas Montessori Prep Academy, and Dr. Jacqueline Burnett, principal, received $2,334.18 for puzzles and books in their Head Start program.
Kristine Ashley, Sydni Bridgewater, Safawna Dunn, Deanne Martin, Ashley Morgan, Adriana Rincones Ortiz, and Richelle Wessman, teachers at East Texas Montessori Prep Academy, and Dr. Jacqueline Burnett, principal, received $2,236.75 for their Out of the Box Learning for the Global Classroom program.
Brittany Johnson, teacher at Playing For Keeps Early Childhood Center, and Leisha Fluellen, principal, received $1,762.46 for the Learning Outdoors program.
Ricardo De la Garza, Science teacher at Foster Middle, and Ryan Carroll, principal, received $2,392.30 for Pocket Lab Wireless Sensors and the Scratch STEM Coding program.
Lizete Castro, Korina Cummings, Maria Felix, Chelsea Hildenbrand, Hernando Martinez, Kyla Newton, Colter Norris, Fozzie Smith, Grace Smith, Kirsten Valentine, and Phyllis Wilks, teachers at East Texas Montessori Prep Academy, and Dr. Jacqueline Burnett, principal, received $839.89 for Flip and Solve Math Boards.
Kenda Stuart and Kaci Homer, teachers at Judson Middle, received $519.96 for the Hearing All Children's Voices program.
Since 2008, the Longview ISD Foundation, Inc. has funded 47 campus grants for a total of $138,872.58. Through the Great Rewards for Great Ideas Grant Program, the Campus Initiative Grant Program, and the annual John W. Harrison, Jr. Academic Field Trip Grant, the Longview ISD Foundation has returned $960,332.45 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.
