Earlier this month, the Plano Education Foundation surprised 102 teachers at 52 schools with grants. They received a combined total of $125,000 in funds to support various educational initiatives in all grade levels. Those initiatives include things like science, English language learning, special education, libraries, field trips and more. A complete list of grant recipients and the projects they will fund can be found here.
“This truly is a fantastic day because we love seeing our teachers’ exuberance and appreciation as we present them with these grants that really symbolize that we believe in them and in the work that they are doing for our Plano ISD students,” Education Foundation Senior Executive Director Jamee Jolly said.
The grant process began weeks ago as educators across the district were invited to apply. Grant applications were judged by a crew of volunteers who completed a scoring rubric that aimed to rate applications on important elements like expected outcomes and how the grant money will be spent. Details regarding the research behind the requests as well as how projects support the Plano ISD strategic plan were also required in the applications.
Among this year’s corporate sponsors were Toyota, Park Place Lexus, H-E-B and the CoServ Charitable Foundation.
The Education Foundation’s portion of the grants were funded through annual events and fundraisers, such as the SKI (Supporting Kids In) Plano event, Community Honor Roll Heros campaign, the annual North Texas Giving Day Campaign, as well as the Plano ISD employee campaign.
SKI Plano, the foundation’s largest fundraising event, is open to the public and will be held on February 5, 2022. For more information about this event, including sponsorship or donation opportunities, visit skiplano.org.
