By: Kallie Sulanke—
Muncie, IN—Delaware County teachers will receive $2,692.76 for 8 projects in Robert P. Bell Education Grants from The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. Across the county, 1,000’s of students benefit from Bell Education Grants each year.
Awards of up to $450 are available through the Bell Grants program. Funded projects are creative or innovative classroom projects designed to stimulate learning in students. All Delaware County teachers are invited to apply during any of the four grant cycles.
Awards for the fourth cycle of this school year include:
Thomas Arnold, Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, was awarded $447 for juniors and seniors to study the American landscape through sketching and drawing. Students will use basic sketching techniques to record the current landscape of Muncie and Ball State campus, in addition to imagining and reconstructing the landscapes from the past. This project will engage students to consider how American communities have changed over time, and how they continue to change while remaining vital and strong.
Ami Brown, Cowan Jr./Sr. High School, was awarded $138 for high school juniors and seniors to explore the American Dream while studying the novels “Great Gatsby” and “This Side of Paradise.” Students will create a photo essay that displays their interpretation of the American Dream in the modern era. The photo essays will be paired with argumentative essays that reinforce the statements made with the photos.
Ben Buehler, Yorktown High School, was awarded $433 to make the learning and problem-solving of computer science more creative and visible to high school students. Using microprocessors, motors, light bulbs, speakers, and devices, students will be able to create 3D projects that go beyond a computer screen. Students will be able to showcase their projects throughout the school to highlight student ingenuity and inspire others.
Becky Clark, Burris Laboratory School, was awarded $447 to enhance the study of science, math, and engineering for seventh-grade students through the construction of tetrahedral kites. Students will use a variety of materials including straws and tissue paper to construct 56 separate triangular pyramids that will be combined to build one large kite. In addition to studying geometry, students will learn about motions and forces, abilities of technological design, and energy in the earth system. The project will culminate in the students flying their handmade kites outside.
Courtney Crabtree, Cowan Elementary School, was awarded $300 to enhance kindergarten students’ social, speaking, and listening skills through designated play and STEM activity centers in the classroom. Students will utilize various everyday-items to stimulate their imagination while engaging in sensory and dramatic play, creative thinking, and problem-solving.
Sarah Hill, Cowan Elementary School, was awarded $300 to support social and communication skills in kindergarteners. Through a series of activity centers, students will practice following rules with games, explore their imagination and feelings with toys, and work through social strategies with their classmates while playing together.
Sarah Hill, Cowan Elementary School, was awarded $300 to incorporate STEAM lessons into storybook tales for kindergarten students. Students will use popsicle sticks, gears, magnets, pipe cleaners, tangrams, and other materials to complete a STEAM activity related to a specific storybook. Each lesson will incorporate vocabulary, sight words, phonics, and reading comprehension, as well as problem-solving, questioning, and collaboration.
Anna Spencer, Southside Middle School, was awarded $328 for seventh- and eighth-grade students to explore the connections between mathematics and the world. Honors Algebra students will study architecture in Indiana, Ireland, Scotland, and England, to create replications of their interpretations using glass mosaics. Students will explore their artistic abilities by allowing their geometric impressions to guide their design and be inspired by art and architecture throughout the world.
Bell Grants are funded through the Robert P. Bell Teacher Grants Fund at The Community Foundation. This fund ensures that teachers have access to grants to help engage their students in meaningful ways for years to come. Individuals can contribute to the endowment fund to memorialize a special teacher, honor a retiring teacher or teacher celebrating a work anniversary, or to simply show their support for K-12 education in Delaware County.
The first deadline for the 2019-2020 school year is September 1, 2019. For more information about Bell Grants applications and the Robert P. Bell Teacher Grants Fund, contact Carly Acree King, Program Officer at cacreeking@cfmdin.org. Information is also available at cfmdin.org/bellgrants.
