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Foundation Awards 24 Grants to Local Teachers and Schools

BEAUFORT CO., S.C. – The Foundation for Educational Excellence awarded 20 Innovative Teacher Grants and 4 School Resource Grants this week to teachers across Beaufort County from 15 different schools. These grants totaling over $29,000 were awarded to teachers and schools for innovative learning opportunities and projects that go beyond the regular school district budget.

“The Foundation is thrilled that this year’s grants will provide individual learning opportunities for almost 5,000 Beaufort County students,” stated Michel Claudio, Innovative Grants Chair and Foundation Board Member. “Students across the district ranging from early education through high school will benefit from this year’s funding.”

Projects funded by the Foundation this year range from purchasing materials for sensory bins for early education learners to building pickleball courts for Middle Schoolers and providing funds for a printmaking press for High School students.

It is our honor to be able to make projects possible through the funding of these grants.

Lisa Carroll, Foundation Board Chair

Pritchardville Elementary School teacher Nancy Frigon received a grant for her project “Let’s Code with Micro:bits.” The funds will go towards the purchase of Micro:bits, credit card sized computers that integrate both hardware and software. Using these Micro:bits, students will be able to code a tool like a thermometer or barometer that can be used to determine the current weather conditions.

At Hilton Head High School, Science teacher, Robert Stine, received funding for his project “A More Rigorous Approach to Environmental Sciences.” Through this project, the school will be able to add a laboratory component that incorporates basic chemistry and physics for Environmental Science students. These labs will align with traditional Environmental Science topics such as atmospheric and water pollution, energy production, nutrient cycling, and natural resources. These lab additions will make the course more rigorous yet more fun for the students enrolled in these courses. The funds will allow for the purchase of items which can be used to demonstrate principles of waves, light, sound, chemical reactions, electrostatics, and mechanical energy. And the materials can be used for many years to come.

Whale Branch Elementary School second grade students will now have the opportunity to participate in Yoga classes thanks to Kendra Coffey Batson’s project entitled “Mindfulness and Meditation Yoga Mats.” The grant money provided by the Foundation will help provide safe and comfortable space for instruction. This will allow students to participate in mindfulness exercises to increase social-emotional outcomes, lower the need for disciplinary actions and encourage resilience resulting in positive impacts on the students’ overall well-being and academic performance.

Karen Perdue, the IB/GT Coordinator and STEM/Robotics lead teacher at Hilton Head Island Elementary School, was awarded a School Resource Grant for her project entitled “EV3 Lego Robotics for Competitions.” With the grant money, the school will be able to purchase three VEX robotics kits. This new equipment will allow for Robotics to be expanded to a wider range of students as well as allow Robotics to be offered as a specials class in the future instead of just a club offering.

 “The Foundation’s Board loves to see the impact that these projects have on the future generations in our community through the initiative and creativity of these amazing teachers,” stated Lisa Carroll, Foundation Board Chair.

The grant recipients for Fall 2022 are listed below:  

GRANT NAME

SUBMITTED BY

SCHOOL

A More Rigorous Approach to Environmental Science

Robert Stine

Hilton Head High School

It’s Electrifying! Strengthening our Scientific Argumentation Skills through Hands-on Exploration

Bree Lauffer

Okatie Elementary School

“Train”ing the Brain

Jennifer Friend-Kerr

Hilton Head Island Elementary School

OtterBots - EV3 Lego Robotics for Competition

Karen Perdue

Hilton Head Island Elementary School

Increasing Vocabulary through Sensory Bin Exploration

Summer Tucker

M.C. Riley Elementary & Early Childhood Center

Imagination Building Center

Melissa Rosen

Robert Smalls International Academy

Installation of Pickleball into P.E. Curriculum

Mike Roark

Beaufort High School

Map Making in the Lowcountry

Matthew Pheiffer

Hilton Head Island High School

Let’s Give ‘Em Something to Talk About

Jill Exley

M.C. Riley Elementary School

What Should I Do? Making Positive Decisions Coosa’s Way

Jennifer Lyles

Coosa Elementary School

Let’s Be a Sphero Hero

Ashley Smith

Battery Creek High School

Printmaking Extravaganza

Kara Luke

Beaufort High School

Greenhouse for “From Seeds to Shoreline” Program

Wen Wu

Hilton Head Island Elementary School

Poetry For Life!

Eve Weaver

Robert Smalls International Academy

Mindfulness and Meditation with Yoga Mats

Kendra Coffey Batson

Whale Branch Elementary School

It’s Never Too Early to Teach Computer Science

Lizabeth Webber

Okatie Elementary School

Test Tank for Donated Yamaha Engine and Jet Drive Systems

Edwin Tucker

Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence

Student Leaders for Leader in Me

Cheryl Horton

Lady’s Island Elementary School

Building Confident Readers!

Melissa Murray

M.C. Riley Early Childhood Center

Up Close and Educational

Jill Brickley

Hilton Head Island Middle School

Reinforcing an Atmosphere of Peace in our School with Peace Poles

Aimee Wieler

St. Helena Elementary School

Pickle Ball for Middle School

Blake Bishop

River Ridge Academy

Voices not forgotten/Voces no olvidadas

Irma Rameizi

Hilton Head Island Middle School

Let’s Code with Micro:bits

Nancy Frigon

Pritchardville Elementary School

 

About the Foundation for Educational Excellence

The Foundation for Educational Excellence raises funds to support the mission and goals of the Beaufort County School District by furthering student instructional activities and projects through Innovative Teacher Grants, Innovative School Resource Grants and Student Enrichment Grants. Established in 2007, the Foundation awarded its first grants in 2009 and has awarded over $325,000 in grants to the teachers and students in the public school system since its inception benefitting thousands of students across the county each year.

Grants are applied for and awarded once a year. Projects are chosen on their merit by board members of the Foundation. Innovative Teacher Grants are for learning experiences above and beyond the normal classroom like science projects, arts performances, and robotic materials and provide unique learning opportunities that are not funded through traditional budgets. Innovative School Resource Grants are for innovative instructional school-wide projects. These grants help spark the imaginations of students to create a life-long interest in learning.  Often these grant awards provide multi-year learning impact.

The Foundation is supported by individual donations and these local charities: The Bargain Box of Hilton Head, Friends of Callawassie Island, Italian-American Club of Hilton Head, Moss Creek Charitable Fund and Women In Philanthropy of Hilton Head. We are grateful for their ongoing support of our work.

The Foundation is a fund of Community Foundation of the Lowcountry and a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law and can be made at https://www.foundationedexcellence.com/donate

For information, contact the Foundation at www.foundationedexcellence.com , 843-304-1922, or FFEEinfo@email.com