The BEF’s Teacher Mini-Grant Program, now in its third year, continues to serve as an important resource for meeting emerging needs in Bexley classrooms. Last year the award amount increased from up to $500 per mini-grant to up to $1,000, and that has continued this year.
Here is just a sampling of the teacher mini-grants already awarded this school year:
- BHS Special Education High teacher Karissa Kaide will use her mini-grant to purchase a book binding machine. The machine will be used to create books that are made with multi-sensory features and are interactive when using. Students will learn how to use the machine as a life skill by “building” books by cutting, laminating and binding.
- Cassingham Music Specialist Bill Manchester received a mini-grant for a semester-ending literary/music workshop for Cassingham students. Four guest musicians will work with Cassingham students to create background music for reading.
- Maryland School Counselor Megan Reeve used her mini-grant to purchase Seeds of Caring kits that support the concepts of building empathy for others and increasing awareness of the challenges others may face. The kits provide service learning opportunities for a conflict resolution/friendship skills group with a group of 3rd graders.
- Elementary School Gifted Intervention Specialists were awarded a mini-grant to purchase books about diversity, tolerance and inclusion to share with their students as a teaching tool about different cultures and experiences.
- Bexley Middle School Math (geometry) teacher Janeen Kimble used her mini-grant to purchase kinetic sand. She plans to use the sand as a tactile device for teaching how a three-dimensional shape can be sliced to become a two dimensional shape.