The Bainbridge Schools Foundation has selected 21 proposals that will be funded this year as part of its 2017-18 Classroom Innovation Grants.
The foundation’s grant committee reviewed 30 proposals before awarding more than $55,000 to projects for funding this year.
Foundation officials said grants were awarded to every school in the Bainbridge Island School District.
The winning projects include:
• A new portable kitchen at Captain Charles Wilkes Elementary, to allow for more hands-on cooking experiences that bring the core curriculum to life;
• Literary graphic novels at Bainbridge High;
• Standing desks in the science classroom at Sonoji Sakai Intermediate School;
• A field trip for every seventh-grader at Woodward Middle School to take a guided tour of the visitor’s center at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to learn about current world concerns on topics such as hunger, water issues, global health and education; and
• Otter’s Helping Others, an all-school community service project at Ordway Elementary.
The funded grants support reading, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning, art, special education and more.
Each year, the foundation invites educators to submit grant proposals for special projects. A committee made up of board members focuses on projects that are creative, offer new ways of approaching teaching and learning, pilot projects that could scale to other classrooms, and opportunities for collaboration among teachers, community partners, and departments.
“The best ideas in education come from teachers, and BSF supports these ideas with classroom grants,” said Mairead Shutt, executive director of the foundation.
“This spring we will host our first ever Innovative Grant showcase to give teachers an opportunity to exhibit their creative projects, share their projects with their peers around the district, and showcase the work to our donors and school communities,” she added. “It will be held in the spring and open to all. We look forward to sharing more soon.”
BSF is an independent nonprofit that works in partnership with the Bainbridge Island School District leadership, principals, teachers, parents and community members to raise funds and galvanize the island community around public education.
