Gallery: Plano ISD Education Foundation awards grants to teachers across the district

Grants to Educators, a program run by the Plano ISD Education Foundation, provided $125,000 in grants to more than 100 teachers across the district. To present these grants, the Grant Patrol visited winning classrooms the morning of Nov. 12.

“It's such a great day because you have no idea until you've done this how much it means to the teachers for their thoughtful innovation to be honored by the foundation and supported,” Plano ISD Superintendent Sara Bonser said. “They really, really believe, and that does make such a difference in the teaching and learning that our students are receiving at Plano ISD.”

Grant applicants can be submitted by individual teachers, groups of teachers, grade levels or entire schools. Winning amounts range from $250-$1500 and provide funding for projects demonstrating instructional excellence, according to a Nov. 8 release by PISD.

“We did have a little bit of a different twist on this year's application—is that every teacher who submitted a grant had to connect it back to the new strategic plan,” Bonser said. “Every grant that was submitted and that was granted today will move us closer to meeting the pillars of the strategic plan.”

Armstrong Middle School received 6 grants—the largest amount awarded to one campus this year. Principal Melissa Blank said she encourages her staff to apply every year.

“We encourage every department to submit as many grants as they can, so I'm so glad this year,” Blank said. “This is really a great example for them [students and teachers] to see and to know that there are so many people who care about Armstrong, who love us and support us.”

The Grant Patrol was made up of district and community leaders, sponsors, parents and volunteers. The patrol was sponsored by Medical City Plano, Huawei and Park Place Lexus Plano, who provided eight cars for travel between campuses.