Eden Prairie School District | EPHS
    

Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools Grants

2010 Grant Application Applications Available
Are you an Eden Prairie teacher or staff member with an exciting idea that you have wanted to try, knowing it would lead toward student success, but do not have the funds to do so? The Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools offers large grants to staff members in the hopes of providing an incubator for innovative new ideas, which can help achieve Foundation goals of fostering and supporting excellence in academics. [Download application packet]

Summary of grants 2006-2009

2009 Grant Awards

  • The Robotics Initiative - Katy Anderson, Cedar Ridge - $10,128.84
  • Increasing Biotechnology Awareness - Kristin Gabel, EP High School - $6106
  • Non-Fiction Texts for Science/Social Studies - Nicola Huss, Forest Hills - $5000
  • Standing Desks for CMS - Jackie Ahlers, Central Middle School - $2880
  • Stand Up For Learning - Mike Skarp, Prairie View - $4957

December 2008 Awards
On January 20, 2009 the Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools (FEPS) announced that it has awarded $29,000 in grants to six teachers/staff members in the District. FEPS received over $185,000 in grant applications from 26 applicants. Grants were awarded based on a number of criteria including their impact on student engagement and learning, their potential scope of impact, and their sustainability. Foundation for Eden Prairie School Grants were awarded to the following primary applicants:
  • Barbara Astry at Eden Prairie High School - for books, computer books and other materials in support of struggling readers and, in particular, in support of a growing population of autistic students.
  • Lisa Birno at Eden Lake - for creation of toolkits for classroom teachers to use as they implement a Read-to-Self program which provides for large blocks of structured, independent reading time and encourages students to be independent, successful readers.
  • Karen Casey at Cedar Ridge - to fund a multidisciplinary program (reading, writing, the arts) called Classroom Conversations on Race and Diversity which involves children more directly in the districts equity goals.
  • Lori Ford at Eden Prairie High School - for the purchase of software which allows teachers to simultaneously monitor, control, and share computer lab resources from a single location thereby facilitating and enhancing classroom instruction.
  • Sarah Kuipers at Prairie View - to allow the creation of reusable kindergarten literacy backpacks which include books and props that students can take home and which will promote and encourage parent-child reading time.
  • Michael Welsh with Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) - to facilitate the establishment of father-initiated support and informational services and parent-child activities which will aid fathers of children with special needs.
The Foundation solicits requests for grants district-wide. This is the second year in a row that grant requests have totaled over $185,000. The Foundation has awarded $75,000 in large grants over the last 3 years to seven different schools, to ECSE and to district-wide initiatives. In announcing the new grants, FEPS President Anne Byrne said that the FEPS grant program shows that the Foundation has a broad, positive impact across the district and continues to foster and support creative and innovative ideas.

The Foundation looks for innovative proposals that have a direct and measurable impact on student learning. Ideally, the grants will be used for significant and innovative curriculum changes that serve to motivate students and engage them in the learning process.

December 2007 Awards
The Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools (FEPS) has awarded $30,000 in grants to six district staff members. The grants were awarded for innovative projects that have a direct and measurable impact on student learning. Grants were given to
  • Matt Hardy, Cedar Ridge teacher, for a two-year project titled "Go Green: High-Tech Environmental Science in the Elementary School";
  • Kay Rosheim, Prairie View teacher for a one-year project titled "Methods to Increase Non-Fiction Reading Instruction";
  • Marcia Beezley, director of student support services, for research on the use of tabletop smartboards in special education;
  • Terri Johnson, K-12 parent involvement coordinator, for a K-12 math night;
  • Jennifer Totoritis, Forest Hills art teacher, to start an art club at that school; and
  • Cindy Stark, Oak Point student support services coordinator, for ball chairs to be used in classrooms for special needs students.
During 2007, FEPS received nearly $190,000 in grant applications from 24 staff members. Grants are financed by private donations and by the annual Taste of Eatin' Prairie event.

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