To help the school year start off in a positive direction, the Lake Washington Schools Foundation (LWSF) awarded grants of $200 to more than 80 teachers in the Lake Washington School District with one year or less of teaching experience. During a training session in mid-August, I made the surprise announcement and distributed the first of the checks.
The grants are given to every grade level, from preschool to high school. Recipients included regular classroom teachers as well as teachers in special education, the English language learners program, Quest, music, library and physical education.
The only stipulation on how to use the grant is for the teacher to spend the money in a way which benefits the learning environment. The grants have been spent on basic supplies and materials, organizers, washable pens, walkie-talkies, posters and books on tape. One teacher spent the majority of her grant at Half-Price Books to create an in-classroom library that she previously had thought would take her years to put together.
The Lake Washington Schools Foundation was founded in 2005 by a group of community volunteers to enhance the educational opportunities provided to all our students by acquiring supplemental funding and developing community resources. LWSF's vision is to support the three E's in the District: 1) Enhance opportunities for all students; 2) Enrich all our schools; and 3) Engage our community.
During the 2005-2006 school year the LWSF also awarded new teacher grants, as well as 15 classroom and school enrichment grants for a total of almost $17,000. Elementary, junior high and high school students in Redmond, Kirkland and Sammamish participated in a variety of innovative classroom programs, from robotics to African drumming, that otherwise might not have been available to them if not for the funding from the Lake Washington Schools Foundation.
LWSF works collaboratively with the school district - in addition to other key community stakeholders - to define and prioritize initiatives that are aligned with the curriculum and with the new higher learning and graduation requirements for all students. Several initiatives are in the planning stages and will be announced in the near future.
Grant applications for the 2006-2007 classroom and school enrichment grants are also available on the Web site.
Tracy Hoien is president of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation. She can be reached at 702-3414. For more information on the LWSF and on how to become involved, go to www.lwsf.org.
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