Last weekend, the Tecumseh Education Foundation awarded nearly a dozen “mini-grants” to teachers in what the TEF President considers the district’s “best-kept secret.” This annual program provides funding for special classroom projects, most of which are tailored to provide hands-on experience in a wide array of subjects. Through sponsorship from the New Carlisle Rotary Club and New Carlisle Optimist Club as well as private donors, the TEF handed out a total of nearly $6,000 in grants Friday night.
Since 1993, the Tecumseh Education Foundation has been responsible for obtaining and awarding the Mini Grants in the program, and while no one is certain of when the program first started, they believe it to have been operating for more than 30 years. TEF President Kevin Harmon said the New Carlisle Rotary Club donated $3,000 in Mini Grant funds this year, and that the New Carlisle Optimist Club donated $750. The remaining $2,000 was garnered through private donations.
Of the 23 applicants, 11 Mini Grants were awarded this year to teachers throughout the district for the development of special projects, which range from news production and targeted reading strategies to ladybug habitats and professional development.
Tonya Back and Angela Greene of Tecumseh Middle School, who were awarded a Mini Grant this weekend, received a Mini Grant last year for their Pond Day program as well. Pond Day is a week-long event for all eighth graders to study the district’s small pond. Back and Greene said they would use the funds from this year’s grant to purchase more supplies inclusing walkie-talkies and water testing equipment. They said they’re very appreciative of the Mini Grants they’ve received, and noted that their pond still required some much-needed improvements in order to continue to operate. They said that they envision many other projects revolving around the shallow pond, but pointed out that they’d really like to install a memorial bench for Jeffrey Allsup, the eighth grader recently killed in a tragic accident. They said Allsup was involved in their Ichthyology Team as a fisherman—noting that he was known for his ability to reel in Bluegill after Bluegill.
The teachers said they are now also in dire need of a new rowboat for Pond Day activities—saying their former boat cannot be salvaged anymore after holding it together with “broomsticks and duct tape.” They also feared the health of the pond’s Benthic Zone, or bottom, saying it needs dredged badly due to feet of muck at the bottom.
Harmon noted that Karen McCorkle of Tecumseh Middle School had received a Mini Grant eight years ago, and still continues to use the materials she purchased with the funds. Scott Griffith of the New Carlisle Rotary Club said his organization has been proud to sponsor the Mini Grant program since its inception nearly 30 years ago. Griffith said McCorkle was a fine example of why New Carlisle Rotarians felt confident in being regular supporters of Mini Grants. He said McCorkle purchased hand-held GPS devices with her grant eight years ago, and still continues to use them in her class’s geocaching activities.
The 2015 Mini Grant recipients include: Stacie Anderson, Kathy MacAlpine, Cindy Hillard, Heidi Kottmyer, Teresa Gray, Deb Jones, and Beth Hetzel of Donnelsville Elementary; Tonya Back, Angela Greene, Kristan Runyan, Kimberly Snodgrass, Sheli Randall, and Mike Mastin of Tecumseh Middle School; Melinda McKibben of Park Layne Elementary; and Gary Smith and Laura Wright of Tecumseh High School.
