Latest Grants Awarded

ZEF 2024 Fall Grants Announced

The Zionsville Education Foundation (ZEF) is excited to announce $42,512 in Fall Classroom Grants to Zionsville Community Schools (ZCS) educators. Students at every level will benefit from the unique learning experiences funded by these grants. ZEF grants are made possible by the generosity of our community, with special thanks to Duke Energy Foundation and the Barth Family Fund for their steadfast support of ZEF and, specifically, this grants cycle.

The 2024 ZEF Fall Classroom Grants will bring to life projects in every discipline including literacy, STEM, the social sciences, and the arts. They provide elementary students with quality musical instruments, books for 3rd Grade enrichment, 3D printing equipment for middle schoolers, cutting-edge lab equipment for high school Science students, and the Zionsville Community High School S.O.A.R.S. program with equipment for job-skill training and entrepreneurial endeavors. These and other grants funded will give ZCS students new ways to explore the curriculum for years to come.

The Metallophones, Xylophones, & Mallets…Oh My! grant awarded to Lauryn Tooley at Stonegate Elementary gives students an amplified music experience by creating and exploring with a variety of timbres on new instruments. This grant is funded in part by the Michael A. Shafer Memorial Fund, created in 2021 in memory of Zionsville Community Schools’s long-time Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Shafer’s passion for music will live on through the Shafer Memorial Fund and in the student experience made possible by this grant.

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 Fall Classroom Grants
Total Awarded: $42,512.42

Metallophones, Xylophones, & Mallets…Oh My! ($15,212.22)
Lauryn Tooley – Stonegate Elementary
This grant is funded in part by the Michael A. Shafer Memorial Fund.
Gives students an amplified music experience by creating and exploring with a variety of timbres from new Xylophones, Metallophones, proper Glockenspiel Mallets, and Bass Bars!

Author Visit ($5,070.00)
Krista Westfall – Pleasant View Elementary
Author Yamile Saied Mendez will visit students to discuss how she integrates her writing about immigration and illustrations to tell a complete story.

Innovative Tools for Tomorrow: Enhancing Advanced Science Education with Cutting-Edge Equipment ($4,700.00)
Jessica Showalter – Zionsville Community High School
Provides advanced life science classes with modern, efficient, and comprehensive laboratory resources, leading to a more effective and engaging educational experience.

Cricut Explore 3 ($500.76)
Spencer Cassin – Zionsville Community High School
A Cricut Explore 3 will allow ZCHS SOARS program students to design different merchandise and items to support students’ career interests and the program’s community partnerships.

Extending our Inspiring the Next Generation of STEM Professionals Grant ($3,668.00)
Erin Manifold, Emily Smith, Maggie Smith, Amber Krizmanich – Zionsville Middle School
This grant builds on a past successful ZEF Classroom Grant by giving students the ability to explore how engineering impacts their lives by creating their own life-sized transportation and inspire more students to pursue STEM careers.

Tossing Z-West into Fitness ($1,239.92)
Trisha Smart, Kristina Comer, Steve Simmons, Whit Keadle – Zionsville West Middle School
Adds Corn Hole to the Zionsville West Middle School Physical Education curriculum. This is an activity all students can do and benefit from throughout middle school, regardless of their athletic ability. This interdisciplinary activity is inclusive with benefits for students in the 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th and adaptive PE classes.

Novel Novels ($2,598.12)
Alexis Larson and Kellie Valentine – Union Elementary
Funds additional books to enrich Union Elementary’s Third Grade reading curriculum, enhancing volume reading opportunities including fiction and nonfiction texts that align with the first two modules’ themes.

The Future of Art is Inclusive ($2,400.00)
Tom Hundley, Jennifer Trinosky, Laura Nolan – Boone Meadow Elementary
This project is dedicated to providing students of all abilities with adaptive art equipment, facilitating inclusion in art education.

Taking Modeling to Another Dimension! ($5,800.00)
Michael DeLand and Michael Murphy – Zionsville West Middle School
Expands the Project Lead the Way portfolio of 3D printers to offer more flexibility for enhancing hands-on learning, enabling students to create physical prototypes and develop essential STEM skills.

Encouraging Life Long Civic Participation ($120.00)
Allison Tripolitis – Zionsville Community High School
Offers pocket constitutions to AP Government students to promote lifelong civic engagement and appreciation of the United States government.

Middle School Math Made More Manageable ($203.40)
Amanda O’Donnell and Erica Patty – Zionsville West Middle School
Gives Resource Teachers and Instructional Assistants for 7th/8th graders a math notebook study guide to enhance concepts learned in general education math classes.

Dressing Through the Decades ($1,000.00)
Brandon Mooradian and Allison Tripolitis – Zionsville Community High School
Funds costumes for US History students to use during detailed and memorable role-playing learning experiences throughout the year.