Lexington One Educational Foundation awards $15,000 in innovation grants for K-8 schools for 2021-2022 school year

The Lexington One Educational Foundation recently awarded a total of $15,091 in Innovation Grants for K-8 Schools to four schools in Lexington County School District One.

These Innovation Grants, valued at up to $5,000 each, advance existing or future cutting-edge educational efforts at the elementary or middle school level. Each school had to commit to a 10% match in order to apply. This Educational Foundation investment will positively affect 3,567 students in Lexington District One during the 2021-22 school year.

Congratulations to the following Lexington District One schools for their 2021-2022 Innovation Grant award:

• Carolina Springs Middle School – $5,000 Innovation Grant Award – The “Free Afterschool Tutoring” project will ultimately improve student achievement in literacy, English language and mathematics by providing teacher training via AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Tutor Training Modules. The training includes the inquiry process and Socratic dialogue to address points of confusion, so that teachers learn how to facilitate an active tutorial session with their students.
• Meadow Glen Elementary School – $2,091.42 Innovation Grant Award – The “Portable Building Brick Lab” funds a portable STEM learning lab using Lego-like bricks and large portable building walls, which enables MGES to meet traditional classroom needs while overcoming coronavirus pandemic challenges. The project will reinforce students’ critical thinking, creativity, perseverance, risk-taking, and STEM skills.
• Pleasant Hill Elementary School – $4,372.07 Innovation Grant Award – The “Places We Will Go” project will create a virtual reality experience for students with the purchase of equipment, annual licensing, and training for teachers. Immersive learning develops creativity, imagination, technology skills and the understanding of many educational concepts that students would not normally be able to experience in a traditional classroom setting.
• Rocky Creek Elementary School – $3,627.15 Innovation Grant Award – The “Makerspace To Go” grant will create monthly makerspace/STEAM activities that correlate with monthly read aloud books in order to develop personalized and project-based learning. This grant project will develop students’ listening skills, imagination, creativity, collaboration, and hand-eye coordination using science, technology, engineering, art and/or math, depending on the student’s age.

Foundation Executive Director Julie Anderson Washburn stated, “Each year the Lexington One Educational Foundation Board of Directors encourages innovation in the classroom by offering these grants. Over the past seven years, the Educational Foundation has awarded 33 Innovation Grants worth $140,585 for a total investment of $162,000 in Lexington District One. These Innovation Grants have created some amazing learning experiences at sixteen of our schools, which have benefited almost 21,500 students. We are thrilled to support such leading-edge educational opportunities for our elementary and middle school students. We are also very thankful to individuals and businesses that invest in Lexington District One through charitable gifts to the Educational Foundation.”

About Lexington County School District One Educational Foundation

Established in 1994 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, the Lexington One Educational Foundation is a source of growth and support for Lexington County School District One. Its mission is to support the district’s educational programs and enrich the quality of life in the Lexington community by raising and managing funds. Annually, the Foundation works to build partnerships with individuals and corporations in order to benefit Lexington One students, teachers, and schools. We plant seeds in our district that bloom into amazing educational opportunities for our students! To learn more about our mission and how to give, visit: www.lexington1.net/educationalfoundation.