Wimberley Education Foundation Surprises Teachers, Bestows Grants

Community volunteers raise puppies as the they are educated to become diabetic alert dogs and other types of service dogs. WHS students will learn various canine training techniques…

Energized and enthusiastic, the Wimberley Education Foundation (WEF) directors visited all Wimberley ISD campuses doling out more than $25,000 in funding for 19 innovative grants.

District-wide, teachers create out-of-the-box curriculum, projects and programs throughout the year, and when they need a financial shot in the arm, they submit their grant proposals to the Wimberley Education Foundation.

The Foundation, which was founded in 2006, has donated more than $258,000 to WISD faculty. The grant proposals ranged from STEM-based activities to a “Race to Save the World.”

Jacob’s Well Elementary School

• Melissa Perry—Breakout EDU—$275
• Dene Brinkman—Back into Nature—$900
• Erin Springs, Mel Sumers—Fun-filled Fluency Facts (Rolling into Math)—$986.89
• April Grant, Cathy Boles, Traci Biggers, Dawn Gips—A CartFull of STEM–$2213.11
• Dene Brinkman, Melinda Brazell, Dora Grantham, Ben Campbell—Mathematics Pentathalon, Interactive Problem-Solving Games—$1,108.80
• Michelle Wilkes, Mary Grace Barbee, Katherine Sparkman, Tiffany Malone, Courtney Katzmeyer, Alisha Ronshausen, Mercedes Salinas—Texan Token Store—$999.42
• Robyn Rivera, Jamie Thibodeaux—Student Council Field Trip to the Capitol—$127
• April Grant—2nd Grade STEM Storybook—$507.27

Danforth Junior High School

• Laurie Gates, Bess Reisberg—Lock Boxes & Locks for Escape Rooms—$556.92
• Lori Pharis, Stephanie Carter, Katie Gillman, Elizabeth Edelen, Dean Bagby—Map TX & US—$2,856
• Julana Long, Laurie Gates, Bess Reisberg, Christy McCollum—TEKS-Aligned 5E Lessons Station Labs for 6-8th Grade Science—$449

Wimberley High School

• Jill Johnson—Accessible Team & Individual Sports for Lifelong Fun & Health—$1,072.52
• Brannon Gilley, Denise Garza—AP Environmental Science—$1,400
• Ryan Durkin, Karin Prado, Erich Robinson, Stephanie Barthels—Adventures in the Classroom, Learning with Virtual Reality — $3,195
• Jason Giesen, Cade Pharis, Lacey Lambert, Tiffany Black—Steaming to the Future and Beyond—$1,200
• Sarah Schmidt, Roberto Frontera—Best in STEM–$1,706.79
• Roberto Frontera, Sarah Schmidt, Cade Pharis—Race to Save the World—$2,300
• Nurse Darelle Jordan, Carey Soderstrom—Sit & Breathe—$700
• Tiffany Black, Jason Giesen, Jack Greene, Cade Pharis—Pups Empowering People—$2,875

The high school grant, “Pups Empowering People,” is an innovative program the Career Technology Education (CTE) department will implement next year, placing highly trained assistance dogs with people needing more freedom.

Community volunteers raise puppies as the they are educated to become diabetic alert dogs and other types of service dogs. WHS students will learn various canine training techniques and provide socialization experiences for the Freedom Canines International puppies.

“We are so excited that the Foundation saw the extraordinary benefits these freedom canines provide to people and the learning opportunities it opens up for our Wimberley High School Students,” said Black, CTE Agriculture Teacher.

Teachers at Jacob’s Well Elementary School came up with a creative way to increase hands-on, minds-on learning with “A CartFull of STEM,” including 20 different activities aimed at increasing skills and cultivating a love of science, technology, engineering and math.

“We are so excited about these awesome grant donations and can’t wait to start seeing how they will support our teachers’ goals for their classrooms,” said Andrea Pope, Jacob’s Well Elementary School principal. “We wholeheartedly thank the Foundation for granting our wishes,” she added.

The WEF hosts their major fundraiser next summer on June 14, 2019, at the Waters Point. All funds benefit innovative grants for WISD faculty. For more information or to support the WEF, please visit www.wimberleyeducationfoundation.org.