Mid-Prarie School District awarded 6 grant proposals

Six grant proposals are being awarded to Mid-Prairie teachers this week by the Fund for Academic Excellence, an educational endowment of Mid-Prairie Foundation.

Proposals by middle school and high school teachers were submitted for projects in technology, community projects, mentoring, horticulture, and special education. The awards are:

' $253 for Merging Learning with Augmented Reality, proposed by Terra Huber, to acquire Merge Cubes and related equipment for the middle school's Innovation Lab. With this technology, students learn to use computer software to create 3D holographs that they can hold in their hands.

' $1,170 for Drones for Science Exploration, proposed by Jessica Swartzentruber, will expand a middle school program that teaches seventh and eighth graders to design, build and operate drones to explore flight and the building/engineering process.

' $750 to partner with other organizations in Hurricane Florence Relief, proposed by Matt Freel, for travel to Beaufort, North Carolina, to help low-income families repair damage to their homes sustained during the hurricane. The goal of the project is to give 16 student volunteers new skills, a sense of accomplishment and an experience in resilience and empowerment that disaster recovery projects can provide.

' $278 for Mentoring Matters, proposed by Sara Puttmann, to support the Big Hawk-Little Hawk mentoring program, in which high school students team up with elementary students to work on cooperative activities. Mentoring increases empathy and a sense of responsibility in older students and helps younger students be more positively engaged in school activities.

' $250 for Aero Herb Garden, proposed by Carrie Schweitzer, to acquire equipment for an indoor hydroponic garden for middle school students. Growing fresh herbs will put knowledge from science textbooks into action and give students experience growing and cooking with fresh produce.

' $460 for Flexible Seating, proposed by Kristene McCall, to improve the learning environment in special education classrooms. Twenty-first century classrooms of all kinds are being redesigned to accommodate both individualized and collaborative work. This grant expands these options to Mid-Prairie's special education students and teachers, and helps them pursue different educational objectives.

The Fund for Academic Excellence was initiated in 2016 to give grants to teachers and student organizations for new and expanded educational opportunities in Mid-Prairie's classrooms and communities. A steering committee representing alumni, students, teachers, and administrators solicits proposals and awards grants.

After a successful pilot year at the high school in 2016-2017, a fundraising campaign was begun to expand the program to middle and elementary schools. A gift of $30,000 from Doug Goschke (MP Class of 1965) launched the new fundraising campaign, aimed at raising $300,000 in the years ahead. Seven graduating classes and 120 alumni and friends of the school have contributed, raising the endowment to over $120,000.