The Salina Education Foundation's focus is on creative and innovative project-based grants.  Why project-based? Students are active, not passive; a project engages their hearts and minds and provides real-world relevance for learning. Students not only understand content more deeply but also learn how to take responsibility and build confidence, solve problems, work collaboratively, communicate ideas, and be creative innovators.

Outside-the-Box Grants reward creativity aimed at expanding students’ understanding of their community and the world.

Recipients: 
Carolyn Goodwin, Meadowlark Ridge  Students in EBD (Emotional and Behavior Disorders) and TLC (Therapeutic Learning Program) will travel to community sites like Lakewood Discovery Center and Sunnyside Pumpkin Patch where they will put into practice social and life skills they have been taught in classrooms.  Skills such as following directions, obeying rules, working as a team, and learning personal and group responsibilities will be reinforced on these trips.
 
Gina Turner, Meadowlark Ridge   Students who read a required number of books will travel to Emporia to meet the authors who win the William Allen White Children’s Book Award.  While in Emporia, students will also visit the White home (Red Rocks), drive past the Emporia Gazette, which White owned, and visit Peter Pan Park, the land White donated to the city of Emporia.  Students from other schools who read the required number of books will be included in this wonderful trip.
 
Erica Allen, South Middle  Poetry will come alive for 7^th grade students when Cash Hollistah works with individual classes to discuss literary techniques like alliteration and metaphors in order to write original poems.  The students will write their own lyric poem, using the techniques that Cash teaches, and present it to their classes as a rap or poetry slam. The poets will also share their original creations with their school and the school community during Parent/Teacher Conferences in February.
 
Amy Frost, South Middle  Career and Life Planning students will explore a wide variety of options for college, career, and other post-secondary opportunities by attending the ESSDACK Career Expo in Hutchinson.  When the 8^th graders return, they will use salary information gathered from their choices and create multiple scenarios of budgets based upon their choices.  They will develop a good understanding of how a career choice impacts their future.
 
Taylor Urban South Middle  The South Middle Garden Club will plant and care for a vegetable garden.  Students will learn about agricultural practices and the impact on the environment, the importance of pollinators, and sustainability.  Real-life application to biology lessons they are learning in classrooms will be emphasized.  Students will plant seeds, learn how to identify and repel common weeds and pests, learn the benefits of composting and companion planting, and how to harvest.  Parents will be encouraged to participate.

 
21st Century Advantage Grants support creative and innovative classroom projects.
 
Recipients:
Molly Cherry, Cottonwood  The Cottonwood Culture Club will encourage second language students to learn about their heritage by participating in even more activities through Salina’s Arts Infusion Program.  By sharing cultural awareness to Cottonwood and the community, students will embrace their heritage while learning to speak English.  Bilingual library books will be added to foster and maintain students’ native language as well as improve their understanding of English.
 
Kylee Flaherty, Heusner  Special education students will work with interactive blocks that can be used to teach all areas of mathematics from basic number skills to algebra.  Hands-on investigation will help to make difficult math concepts come to life as students compare height of the numbers (each block is the numeric height in inches of the number), swap out a number and replace with two numbers (addition), and even do multiplication by turning the one-inch blocks on their side to create different combinations of numbers.
 
Elizabeth Kinnion, Lakewood  Lakewood’s library will create a Makerspace where students have the opportunity to think creatively and problem-solve. Materials provided would add to current activities such as origami and would target Science, Technology, Math, and Artistic endeavors.  Students will build their own robots and collaborate to make Lego designs.  Makerspace can be a collaborative as well as an individual creative process.
 
Lisa Hall, Meadowlark Ridge  At-risk students will use text evidence to support their thinking.  Hands-on materials focus on a variety of reading comprehension skills such as:  making inferences, comparing and contrasting, identifying the main idea and point of view, and finding key details.  All of the activities are between 15-30 minutes and use both fiction and non-fiction texts.
 
Amber Bohm, Meadowlark Ridge  Special Education students will continue the Kindness Project that was started in 2016.  The students in the Therapeutic Learning Classroom will experience first-hand the power of being kind.  Students work on building character and practicing social skills while planning and carrying out the kindness projects.  These projects include making and giving crafts, volunteering, and donating.  Some of the community entities that the children will help include the food bank, the fire department, the Salina Animal Shelter, and the Morrison House.
 
Carolyn Goodwin, Meadowlark Ridge  Special education students will learn how to de-escalate and return to a task by using sensory items that are specifically designed to help individuals develop and engage their senses.  These can include lights, colors, sounds, and soft play objects.  Sensory needs can occur several times during the day and by having various materials available, students can learn what works best to calm themselves.
 
 Corey Ritter, Meadowlark Ridge  Students will appreciate high-interest books that can be read individually.  It is a huge disappointment for students to try to read books that are below their maturity level, so books will be ordered that are high interest and low level reading.  The goal is to engage reluctant readers and get them interested in reading again.  If students are able to read independently with age-appropriate reading material, they will want to read more, which in turn will increase their reading ability and assessment.
 
Kay Barriger, Oakdale K-2 students will be introduced to the coding process using the “Code and Go Mouse.” The device would integrate more technology into K-2 library lessons and allow students to see a connection between math, science, and reading.  Students work in pairs to program the mouse in sequential steps and then test those steps with various activities.  The goal is to build reasoning and problem-solving skills while encouraging communication and teamwork.
 
Janet Sauber, South Middle  The library’s Makerspace will add “Cubelets” and Keva Planks to continue to attract students to the space where they can build, create, take risks, and learn while having fun.  The Cubelets are small cubes that have different functions, like power source, motion sensor, or mobility that students use to build simple robots.  Keva Planks are hardwood planks of wood that fit in the palm of your hand.  The planks encourage self-directed building and can be a collaborative or individual activity.
 
Elizabeth Burke, South High  South High’s Library will be a buzzing place with their new book club (Overbooked), Maker Event’s Challenges, art projects, STEM challenges and community service projects.  Materials will be provided that encourage creativity and problem solving through social learning.  Books that have received praise from the American Library Association will be selected by the club.  The goal is to increase student participation in library events as well as reading.
 
Gary Seibel, South High  Career and Technical Education students will use cutting edge technology by using a 3D printer to make prototypes. The 3D printer allows students to assemble and test ideas or designs in a short period of time.  Evaluating functionality and design is a vital part of engineering and having a working prototype in less than an hour simulates real work product production.  The printer will encourage students to brainstorm, develop product concept, 3D design the product, 3D print the product, and evaluate and put the product in production.
 
Shelly Parks, Stewart  Kindergarten students (4 classrooms) will enjoy the new STEAM (science, engineering, art, and mathematics) materials that will engage students in sensory and specifically in fine motor skills.  In addition to the four classrooms receiving Lego tables and light tables, the materials will be rotated to the common room to constantly change student activities.  Literacy units may encourage students to build the Three Little Pigs’ houses or the Gingerman’s bridge.  Math concepts can be reinforced by using the light tables and Lego tables where students can create their own math stories.