The project ‘comes from the heart.’ Ray-Pec’s grants help teachers work together

Creativity in the classroom is at the top of the list for the Raymore-Peculiar Public School Foundation. The group recently awarded $10,359 in classroom impact grants to teachers in district schools.

The foundation typically dispenses grants twice a year. In awarding the money, it considers how many students are affected by each proposal and how it would aid in learning. Teachers and other district employees can request up to $750 for each specific project.

“We always have a very good response. It’s a very competitive process,” said Jodie Huston, the foundation’s executive director.

Teachers can work together to make a project cross a whole grade or even an entire school.

“We like variety. The process is really meant to step in above and beyond. The school district does a great job of funding projects, but these are just something new and innovative,” Huston said.

A request has to go through several committees to gain approval. One checks that it meets academic targets, another makes sure that technology is appropriate. If it’s an ongoing project, the requester must show how it would be maintained.

The pandemic has affected this year’s requests. One teacher asked for portfolios so students could carry artwork home more easily.

Although virtual field trips were already a thing before the pandemic, they’re especially vital now. That’s why digital learning teacher Tammy Novak requested $725 to fund such field trips for her virtual instruction students.

She’s previously done field trips where kids get to meet with an author or even pay a virtual visit to the Kansas City Zoo.

“I think we’ve gone to the Galapagos Islands before. There’s just so many things kids can experience,” Novak said. “Some of our kids never really leave the Kansas City area, so it’s cool for them to be able to ask (far away) scientist questions.”

Some virtual field trips also allow the kids to interact with other children in classrooms across the world. Depending on the organization, some field trips are free, while others have a fee of $50 to $75.

“It is just amazing. Their eyes sparkle or twinkle. They are very engaged to learn new things or see new things. Higher level thinking is happening,” Novak said.

About 500 students are in the virtual learning program.

Other virtual requests included e-books for a middle school library.

“They want more people to be able to read and have access, and it’s hard when you’re sharing books, with the sanitization process and quarantining process,” Huston said.

Leesa Wiseman, a teaching assistant at Raymore-Peculiar Academy, wanted to highlight the good in a very difficult year with her project.

“It’s been such a year of change and adjustment, we really should celebrate the fact that everyone came together as a team,” she said. “We’re looking outside our comfort zone and rising above that.”

She envisioned a school art project, about 2 1/2 half-feet-square, to hang on the walls, where anyone could contribute to the painting work.

“We serve students that struggle in the traditional setting, help support them educationally and try to meet them where they’re at,” Wiseman said. “…(The project) comes from the heart. Everyone who wants to be involved can be involved.”