In a heart-warming move that surprised educators across the district, the Liberty Hill ISD Education Foundation handed out 72 grants totaling just over $127,000 in December.
Overview of the Grants
The foundation distributed 72 different grants to teachers, a cumulative amount of a little over $127,000. These funds were given in December, during the last week of the winter semester.
The Foundation’s Mission
“We’re a nonprofit that supports things for the district that don’t fall within the teacher’s budget,” said Mike Bowles, president of the Liberty Hill ISD Education Foundation. “So many of these projects and these ideas these teachers have normally wouldn’t go funded. Or a lot of times the teachers will go pay for it out of their own pocket. So, we want to bring their ideas to life.”
The Surprise Delivery
In the final week of the winter semester, Bowles and the foundation went classroom to classroom, surprising teachers with the grants. “The surprise, the excitement-it just makes it all worthwhile,” Bowles said. “When they get back in January, they can start implementing those projects right away for the spring semester.”
Impact on Teachers
The grants allow teachers to purchase resources that would otherwise be out of reach. One recipient, librarian Jolie Jennings at Bill Burden Elementary School, plans to buy Ozobots-programmable robots that enhance learning in coding and robotics.
A Quote from Jolie Jennings
“It’s just a way to make learning fun and to see these concepts in action-to actually program a robot and use those skills like sequencing, writing an algorithm or a program and see it in real life,” Jennings said. “This grant is going to make more of that possible.”
Looking Ahead
With the funds in hand, teachers can begin implementing their projects in January, ready for the spring semester. The foundation’s support ensures that innovative ideas move from planning to practice.
How to Support
To learn more about the Liberty Hill Foundation, or if you would like to donate to help fund future teacher grants, you can click here.
Gratitude from the Foundation
“We’re just grateful for the support of the community that supports us and sponsors us at all of our events. And that allows us to do all of these wonderful things for the district,” Bowles said.
