Tech Dominates in BCEF Fall Grant Awards

This semester’s grants all featured technology to help students learn.

(Batesville, Ind.) - The Batesville Community Education Foundation (BCEF) is pleased to announce the recipients of its fall grants to the Batesville Community School Corporation (BCSC). This biannual program by BCEF allows up to $5,000 to be awarded each fall and spring to projects selected by a committee of foundation board members, according to executive director Anne Wilson.

Grants awarded were:

• Approximately $1100 to Batesville High School (BHS) teacher Sidney Howard and the yearbook staff for a new Nikon camera with an extra lens. While yearbook is a class at the high school, it also is a business and has a very limited budget. The other cameras the staff has are nearly 10 years old. This new camera will impact all BHS students, as it will produce high quality photos for the yearbook.
• $1500 to Batesville Middle School (BMS) science teacher Tara Mills for a SkyDome Planetarium school assembly. This portable, inflatable planetarium visit will provide all 165 sixth graders a chance to explore the solar system in an in-depth way. Students will witness the night sky in different seasons and from different global perspectives.
• $1,375 to occupational therapist Brandi Hofer through a collaborative funding partnership with the Joan and John Hillenbrand VISION Fund to bring The Listening Program (TLP) to Batesville Primary School (BPS) and Batesville Intermediate School (BIS). TLP is a therapeutic program that supports increased self-regulation skills within the academic setting through music. Therapeutic listening helps improve students' ability to manage sensory input, increases attention span and working memory, and develops communications skills and other cognitive functions. BCEF’s donation rounds out the total Hofer needed to get the program off the ground.
• Approximately $1,000 to BMS principal Dave Strouse for materials to expand the new Esports Club at the school. Esports is a new and growing area of interest nationally, where students compete on video game teams in a tournament. This new program, part of a state-wide initiative of the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP), also involves team building exercises, employs marketing strategies, and offers students a chance to present their organization to a panel of judges to win prizes.

“This semester’s grants all featured technology to help students learn,” Wilson noted. “A new digital camera for student use, a virtual visit to the planets, using listening software to self-regulate, and Esports—our grants committee was impressed by the different uses of tech in the schools. What’s more, our grants will impact all four school buildings this time. Through broader financial support and donations from the community, we can hopefully expand our budget for grants each year so that more projects can be funded.”

The Batesville Community Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to provide additional funding for innovative learning opportunities that go beyond the basics in academics, athletics, and the arts in the Batesville public schools, enhancing the educational environment for all BCSC students. In addition to the classroom grants, BCEF supports larger projects, such as the Art on Main mural project in downtown Batesville and the new STEAM Lab at BIS. For more information, visit the BCEF website at BatesvilleEducationFoundation.org or email director Anne Wilson at awilson@batesville.k12.in.us.