Latest Grants Awarded

ZEF 2024 Spring Grants Announced

The Zionsville Education Foundation (ZEF) announced a record-breaking total of $61,010 in grants to Zionsville Community Schools (ZCS) educators. Teachers across the district were awarded a combination of Classroom Grants and Imagine Professional Development Grants. Special thanks to the Barth Family Fund, Lilly Lebanon Manufacturing, and Lilly Lebanon Project, comprising Eli Lilly and Company and Fluor, for their support of this grant cycle.

ZEF Classroom Grants provide much-needed funding for innovative projects that directly impact students. The $31,412 awarded this cycle for Classroom Grants will provide unique learning experiences for students in all nine ZCS schools. These grants will enhance instruction in Music, Wellness, STEM, Literacy, and Robotics classrooms.

ZEF’s Imagine Professional Development Grants provide growth and renewal opportunities for experienced educators. ZEF is excited to award $29,598 in Imagine Grants giving ZCS teachers the opportunity to gain additional expertise in their areas of instruction, connect with colleagues through the shared experience of learning, network with peers from across the country, and bring back new ideas for their classrooms.

ZEF has awarded more than $1.8 million in support of ZCS since its founding in 1995. ZEF Classroom Grants are awarded twice a year in the spring and fall; ZEF Imagine Professional Development Grants are awarded each spring.

2024 Spring Classroom Grants
Total Awarded: $31,412.39

Foundational “Fit”nastics ($10,178.48)
Alyssa Jackson, Laurie Wanser, Deb Torrance, Angie Fritz, Garrett Stephens, Fred Powell, Jarrod Gatlin, Christine Squier – All ZCS Elementary Schools
Provides equipment for safe and effective gymnastics instruction in all six ZCS elementary schools to help students learn to manage their bodies in space and meet the state standards for balance, flexibility, and strength.

 Investing in Students: Creating a Classroom Economy for Math and Life Skills ($1,638.64)
Bailee Newton – Zionsville Middle School
This grant will create a classroom economy that teaches real world math and budgeting skills, engages students, and hones their executive functioning skills. Students will learn financial responsibility through fun, experiential learning.

Author Visit-Harvesting Stories from Experiences ($850.00)
Randi Schreiner – Zionsville West Middle School
This project will bring in a local Indiana author, Laura Martin, to share with the students her stories behind creating her popular literary adventures.

 The Courtyard: From Blank Canvas to Outdoor Learning Oasis ($3,000.00)
Jessie Showalter, Bronson Lickliter – Zionsville Community High School
Improves a Zionsville Community High School Courtyard for outdoor learning in the adjacent science classrooms and to provide a student outdoor workspace.

Building Blocks of Learning ($9,051.00)
Joey Hewett, Callie Surface, Jennifer Sautbine, Joy Morris – Eagle Elementary
Provides the Eagle Elementary Kindergarten team with tools to enhance STEM learning with blocks and light tables for play with magnetic tiles and other translucent building materials and organizational tools to give students a place for their work to live. The new tools will help promote multi-dimensional learning where students and teachers work together to hypothesize, research, share, and continually assess student growth.

Flipping into Fitness ($855.92)
Trisha Smart, Steve Simmons, Kristina Comer, Gabe Diederich – Zionsville West Middle School
The Zionsville West Middle School Physical Education department will utilize panel mats purchased by this grant to teach new fitness and motor skill development activities to 5th – 8th grade students.  The mats will enhance safety, help make students comfortable trying new things, and enable new activities.

School Ukulele Experience ($3,057.39)
Andrea Wentz – Eagle Elementary
Through this grant’s purchase of ukulele instruments for Eagle Elementary, students in kindergarten through 4th grade will learn to play a string instrument and develop fundamental musical skills such as rhythm, melody, harmony, and ear training. 

ZWEST Robotics Training Club ($2,780.96)
Michael Murphy and Michael Deland – Zionsville West Middle School
Provides ZWMS with Robotics materials to launch a “Junior” VEX IQ educational training club and to teach design and modeling in the 6th grade PLTW classes.

______________________________________

2024 Imagine Professional Development Grants
Total Awarded:  $29,598.21

Christine Milligan – Zionsville West Middle School ($3,000.00)
Trish Shera – Zionsville West Middle School ($3,000.00)
Allison Smith– Zionsville West Middle School ($3,000.00)
Patriot Pilgrimage- A Colonial Quest through the American Revolution
This experience will deepen the educators’ understanding of the American Revolution and renew their passion for teaching history by seeing first-hand Boston’s rich historical sites and resources available in the area. They will create a virtual tour of the historic landmarks for use throughout their American Revolution classroom lessons to help students connect the history they teach to the site or artifact, making concrete memories.

Terri Brown and Sidney Warnke – Stonegate Elementary ($3,000.00)
Leslie Frobig and Nikki Hartsock – Stonegate Elementary ($3,000.00)
House Mania at the Ron Clark Academy
Attendance at the House Mania at the Ron Clark Academy conference will give Stonegate Elementary’s fourth-grade team a chance to learn ways to enhance, expand, and energize their successful House System. They will participate in workshops, see, hear from, and observe, the educators and students at the Ron Clark Academy. They will also build a collaborative community with other districts that also have House systems.

Nick Noel – Boone Meadow Elementary ($350.00)
Hoosier Educational Computer Coordinators (HECC)
Provides Mr. Noel the opportunity to not only attend but also present at the 2024 Hoosier Educational Computer Coordinators conference. This teacher technology integration and digital learning conference will provide key training that will impact both students and educators at Boone Meadow Elementary.

Brittany Moon – Zionsville Middle School ($1,798.21)
We Are Not The Ones That Sting Because It’s Our War, Too!
Assists with funding for an experience in Sweetwater, Texas where the Women Air Service Pilots (WASP) of WWII trained. The last weekend in April hosts “Homecoming” in which living WASP and their relatives pilgrimage to Avenger Field to honor and celebrate these unsung heroes of WWII. The second part of this professional development opportunity is a visit to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana to tour the museum and their exhibit Our War Too: Women in Service.

Kara Benson and Liz Ferrand – Zionsville West Middle School ($1,390.00)
The Superbowl of Mathematics
Provides an opportunity for these ZWMS teachers to educate themselves on research-based, high-quality mathematics instruction. The three-day conference allows them to continue learning best practices in mathematics education and deepen their love of teaching math.

Evan Schroeder, Chris Murray, Josh Weirich – Zionsville Middle School ($2,280.00)
Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference – Chicago, IL
Through their attendance at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference, the ZMS band instructors will have the opportunity to immerse themselves into a community of educators who share similar obstacles and victories. Attendance at conference sessions will help them improve their craft and continue to innovate inside and outside the classroom.

Terry Rowe and Andy Seward – Zionsville Middle School ($2,981.00)
Michael DeLand and Michael Murphy – Zionsville West Middle School ($2,799.00)
Jason Donkersloot & Gary Werner – Zionsville Community High School & ZMS ($3,000.00)
PLTW Summit for Professional Development and Networking
Enables attendance for ZCS Project Lead the Way educators at the National PLTW Summit. This bi-annual conference gives educators valuable insights, updates them on the latest advancements in the PLTW field, and provides knowledge and skills that will directly benefit their students and the community. Breakout sessions are led by peers and professionals from across the nation.

Past Grants Awarded