Plano ISD teachers were gifted over $127,000 in grant money on November 3. The money is to support various on-campus initiatives that promote student enrichment.
The district announced the 101 teachers across 54 schools in Plano were awarded between $300 and $3,000. The grant will go toward enrichment such as books, science-based learning, gardens, music equipment and more.
“I love getting to see how excited the students are for their teachers, especially those younger students who don’t bother to hide their excitement,” Plano ISD Superintendent Dr. Theresa Williams said in a statement. “All of them will have a story to tell – their teacher is a winner, and those lucky students will find out in the grant presentation what their teacher has planned for them.”
The grant process began weeks ago and educators around Plano ISD were encouraged to apply. Grant applications were judged by volunteers who completed a scoring rubric that rated applications on important elements like expected outcomes and how the grant money will be spent. Details such as research behind the requests as well as how the projects support the district’s strategic plan were also required in the applications.
“Whatever the grant is intended for, we know that it is something special that was only made possible with the generous support of the Education Foundation and their partners,” Williams said.
The foundation’s portion of the grants was 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 and the Plano ISD employee campaign.
These grants are funded annually by the Plano ISD Education Foundation and business sponsors. This year's event was sponsored by Park Place Lexus, H-E-B and the CoServ Charitable Foundation.
Additional information about the grants can be found at pisd.edu.