After holding two of its largest public fundraisers – the Burien Brat Trot and the Oktoberfest Auction – Highline Schools Foundation will be distributing $25,000 in funds to schools through its grant programs:

  • The Highline Schools Foundation Impact Grant
  • The (new) Department of Technology Services (DoTS) Technology Grants
  • Highline Schools Foundation Excel Grants
IMPACT GRANT The Impact Grant program, now in its third year, is partially funded by Alaska Airlines. The grant is a tool in which the Foundation awards $10,000 to one school or program in the district for an opportunity that aligns with the Highline Public Schools strategic plan in a way that impacts a large number of students. This year’s Impact Grant winner, announced at the Highline Schools’ State of our Schools event this morning, is “Design and Engineering” submitted by Sandy Gady, Design and Engineering Teacher at Pacific Middle School. Pacific Middle School will receive $10,000 to implement Sandy’s vision: “Maker Faires” are a growing phenomenon that launched in the Bay area in 2006. Maker Faires are “The Greatest Show and Tell on Earth.” Initially designed to be forward-looking showcases for makers who are exploring new forms and new technologies, the Faire is not just for technical fields, rather it features “innovation and experimentation across the spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and craft.” “It is my vision all students have the opportunity to pursue not only a career of their choosing, but to find hobbies and past times they can enjoy for a lifetime.” ~ Sandy Gady, Pacific Middle School, Design and Engineering Teacher.
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(Left to right) Highline Schools Foundation Executive Director Ashley Fosberg, Foundation Trustees Scott Lautman and Aileen Cronin, Highline Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield, Sandy Gady, Design and Engineering Teacher at Pacific Middle School (Impact Grant Winner), and Brad Tilden, President CEO of Alaska Airlines and Alaska Air Group.
TECHNOLOGY GRANTS In support of the District’s Strategic Plan where every student in the class of 2026 will graduate tech-savvy and tech-literate, the Foundation, in partnership with the District’s Department of Technology Services (DoTS) is offering the first-ever Technology Grants to help teachers put technology in the hands of students in innovative projects! Major support of the Technology Grants was provided by Comcast. The Foundation received many worthy applications this year and the winner of the $5,000 award was also announced at the Highline Public Schools’ State of our Schools this morning: “Live From Hilltop!” submitted by Nicole Grambo, 5th Grade Dual Language Teacher/Hilltop Huskies Journalism Club Lead Teacher at Hilltop Elementary School: “Our technology-based project for 2015-2016 is the expansion of the Hilltop Huskies Journalism Club that was established last school year. With new technology to support this club, we will bring more student voice into the school and provide a way for our journalists to inspire a new school spirit throughout the entire student population. We want all students to understand that they are a part of a bigger community outside of an individual classroom encourage increase parental involvement at Hilltop through student reporting on upcoming school events. Our journalists will develop crucial communication (both verbal and written), interpersonal, teamwork and time management skills that will broaden their horizons when thinking about future career paths.”
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(Left to right) Winners of the 2015 Technology Grant – Nicole Grambo and the Hilltop Journalism Club Team with Highline Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield, and Foundation Executive Director Ashley Fosberg.
Additional Technology Grant Winners: Mount Rainier High School will receive $2,500 for the project “CNC Router” submitted by Christopher Calvin, Teacher: “In this project, students will build a light duty computer controlled router for use by the MRHS FRC robotics team. Students will work with a local design and prototyping business to prepare metal parts and then assemble those parts at the school. Orders will be placed for commercial off the shelf electronics (hybrid stepper-servos, limit switches, 3.5 hp router, super PID control card, gecko motor controllers…) and added to the assembly. When completed the router will weigh between 200 and 300 lbs, and occupy no more than 1.33 square yards. This router will be used by the MRHS robotics team as the primary method for any precision aluminum work required during a typical FRC build season.” CHOICE Academy will receive $2,500 for the project “From Idea to Product: Enhancing Learning with 3D Printers” submitted by teacher George Wheeler: “One of my professional goals is to consistently provide all of my students at CHOICE Academy with rich learning experiences and easy access to innovative, cutting-edge and instructionally-focused learning experiences. It is important that I motivate and encourage my students to develop a lifelong love of learning. My students are digital natives who have grown up with, and use technology on a daily basis. I want to connect the passion they have for using their phones, computers tablets, game consoles and other devices to technologies that will help take their bold ideas and turn them into tangible objects. The grant funds will be used to purchase a dual extruder 3D printer that can print application-based designs with multiple pieces, and the associated accessories to support it.” $500 Grants:
  1. Brain Pop as a Language Tool, Midway Elementary
  2. Engaging the Community through Podcasts!, Highline High School
  3. Headphones for Chrome Cart, North Hill Elementary
  4. Headphones for Chromebook Use, Beverly Park Elementary
  5. Headphones for Hearing!, Seahurst Elementary
  6. Headphones for Personalized Learning, Cascade Middle School
  7. Keep it Going in the ALC Room, Gregory Heights Elementary
  8. Project Yourself, Global Connections High School
  9. Puget Sound Skills Center’s Jobs for Washington’s Graduates Creative Marketing through Technology, Puget Sound Skills Center
  10. World Language Listening Project, Health Sciences & Human Services High School (HS3)
Highline Schools Foundation reaches a great number of schools with funding on a smaller scale, through its Excel Grant program. Excel Grants applications are currently being accepted via the Foundation website and are due Thursday, November 5th. Excel grants are awarded each fall, and they can be for as little as $50 and as much as $1,000. “We make a concerted effort to align our grant giving with the district’s strategic goals, and we also strive to award excel grants to a variety of programs, schools and grade levels,” said Ashley Fosberg, the Foundation’s Executive Director. “We receive grants for everything from field trips to the State Capitol for high schoolers, to books that engage boys in reading, to science kits for 1st grade,” Fosberg added. In December 2014, The Highline Schools Foundation awarded $65,053 through 89 classroom grants! Because of events like the Burien Brat Trot and Oktoberfest, and the generosity of our community, the Foundation was able to fund 85% of the grant requests last year and every school within Highline Public Schools received at least one grant. “We have every intention of awarding even more grant dollars in 2015,” said Fosberg. HSFGrants15-3 Grants are just one of many ways the Highline Schools Foundation gets resources to students in Highline. They help fund sports participation fees for students in need, summer art camps, back to school fairs, college scholarships, and resources for our most vulnerable students and families. The Highline Schools Foundation’s mission is “to raise funds, gather resources, and build partnerships that support the students in Highline Public Schools.” To learn more about Highline Schools Foundation, please visit www.highlineschoolsfoundation.org.]]>

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