The foundation, started in 2007, collects donations throughout the year to provide resources to support programs and resources throughout the school district.
Gloria Gonzales, the foundation’s executive director, said teachers submit grant proposals for a variety of initiatives each year. The foundation then goes out three times a year on “grant patrol” to deliver checks to grant recipients.
“It’s just so fun,” Gonzales said. “It amazes me because a lot of times, [the grant] is for an after-school project or some additional project they want to do. They are in tears jumping up and down so excited that they’re going to be able to provide this opportunity.”
Sharon Yero, the supplemental reading teacher at Cypress Elementary School, was part of the team that received the school’s $2,500 check Friday. She said the school was awarded a grant last year to start a summer book bag program, and this year’s money will be put toward books as well.
“We purchase books so that kids in the summer can come up and get books once a week,” she said.
Yero said many students would not have books to read over the summer without the program and that she and the staff are grateful to LEEF.
“LEEF provides a huge amount of support for all of these schools across Leander ISD,” she said. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have all these different programs.”
Recipients of the grant patrol included teachers and faculty at the following LISD schools:
- Camacho Elementary School
- Bagdad Elementary School
- Glenn High School
- Whitestone Elementary School
- Running Brushy Middle School
- Mason Elementary School
- Westside Elementary School
- Vandegrift High School
- Cypress Elementary School
- Cedar Park Middle School
- Faubion Elementary School
- Reed Elementary School
- Leander High School
- Block House Creek Elementary School
- Rouse High School
- Wiley Middle School
