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March 17, 2010

DPS foundation aids teachers

Awards 28 grants

Toni Hopper

DUNCAN — Exploring, creating, dreaming and singing sound like simple every day activities, but school teachers know that getting children to do those things can sometimes go beyond their resource budget. Especially when it involves a lesson plan and materials.

Enter Duncan Public Schools Foundation and the annual grant program, where teachers can apply twice a year to receive that extra needed funding.

For the 2009-2010 school year, 28 grants have been awarded to help the teachers implement such lesson plans as “Fun With Phonics” Rug, created by Trisa Shelton at Plato Elementary for kindergarten students, to “A Challenging Day” for freshman students in Micheal Barrick’s classroom, to “Dream to Succeed” which gives students with special needs just that in Audie Dorrough’s Horace Mann classroom.

DPS Foundation has been handing out the money to teachers for 21 years and to date, 611 grants have been awarded, totaling $260,077.59.

In the fall 2009 batch of “Grants to Teachers” $8,233.98 was awarded, and in the spring 2010 allocations, $8,936.82 was available for local teacher use.

DPS Foundation President Rick Buchanan and Assistant Superintendent Glenda Cobb recognized the teachers for their excellence.

The Foundation noted that “excellence is rewarded.”

According to the grant release issued by the foundation, the grants enable teachers to acquire creative resources to support innovative teaching, beyond that of the regular classroom curriculum.

While much money has been funneled into the school system for classroom projects like “Show Me the Music” that Patty Jennings at Mark Twain Elementary has used to inspire her students, the Foundation recognizes that it still is unable to fund less than 50 percent of the grant applications submitted.

The Foundation also recognized Janis Arrington at Horace Mann Elementary with a “Quest For Excellence” teacher scholarship that she can use for professional development. Arrington received $475 to implement “Smart-Attack Words” in her first-grade classroom, “$472.65 for “Smartest Minds Want to Know,” and $212.70 for “Magical Tree House of Books.”

Following is a list of the teachers who received Spring 2010 grants: Tracie Gillispie, Plato Elementary; Megan Taylor, Horace Mann Elementary; Teresa Blalock, Horace Mann; Jeremy Smith, Duncan High School, marching band; Angelia Smith and Nikki Brant, Mark Twain Elementary; Maria Martinez and Dawn Carmen, Mark Twain; Trisa Shelton, Plato Elementary; Jamie Jackson, Woodrow Wilson Elementary; Cindy Parks, Duncan Middle School; Sandra Hurst, DHS; Lois Dawes, Kasey Clauson and Angela Golloher, Horace Mann; Denise Clark, DHS; Allison Lovett, Jeanie Edge, Ann Almon, Kenita Self, Christy Jarboe, Ashlie Knapp, Brandy Peters and Amy Benton, Emerson Elementary.

Many teachers received grants for more than one project.

DPS Foundation officers are Buchanan, president; Jon Bowers, vice president; Nancy Hemphill, treasurer; Tami Pewitt, secretary; and Debbie Parks, administrative assistant.

— Toni Hopper is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. She can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 132 or by e-mail at: toni.hopper@duncanbanner.com.

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