Teachers Awarded Funds for Creative and Innovative Classroom Projects

Students in Nancy Shreve’s kindergarten classroom at Selma Elementary School worked together to plan and implement projects with a variety of building materials, including tree blocks (pictured). Constructive play requires students to use math, science, and engineering skills while practicing cooperation, perseverance, questioning, problem-solving, imagination, and strengthening motor skills.Students in Nancy Shreve’s kindergarten classroom at Selma Elementary School worked together to plan and implement projects with a variety of building materials, including tree blocks (pictured). Constructive play requires students to use math, science, and engineering skills while practicing cooperation, perseverance, questioning, problem-solving, imagination, and strengthening motor skills. Photo provided

May 5, 2021

By Kallie Sulanke—

Muncie, IN—Seven local teachers will receive $2,749.87 in Robert P. Bell Education Grants from The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. Across the county, 1,000s of students benefit from Bell Education Grants each year.

Awards of up to $450 are available through the Bell Grants program. Teachers in public and private K-12 schools in Delaware County, Ind., are invited to apply for this competitive funding throughout the school year to enhance learning in their classrooms. Teachers may apply for as many unique, creative classroom projects as they can imagine during each of the four application cycles. Grant applications are reviewed blindly by a committee of fellow educators. Funded projects are creative or innovative classroom projects designed to stimulate learning in students.

Awards for the fourth and final cycle of this school year include:

Teacher School Project Name Grant
Lance Brand and Adam Lennon Delta High School Marching Band Murder Forensic Investigation $443
Lauren Hatch, Cameron Miller, and Kayleigh Waters Cowan Elementary School Sensory Hallway $265
Diane Kallmeyer Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities Exploration of Drawing and Painting $450
Barbara Miller Yorktown High School Haunted History Tour $450
Libby Ritchie Wapahani High School Depression, Stress, and Anxiety $294
Sheri Watson Muncie Central High School Young Entrepreneurs $450
Melissa Zimmerman Muncie Central High School Tackling Racial Injustices in Our Community $396

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 show their support for K-12 education in Delaware County.

The first deadline for Bell Grants in the 2021-2022 school year is September 1, 2021. Applications are available online at cfmdin.org. For more information about Bell Grant 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.