Granbury Education Foundation announces $88,000 in district grants

The Granbury ISD Education Foundation Party Bus drove around the community on Nov. 15, announcing the district winners of more than $88,000 in innovative teaching grants and special awards.

The new grants will fund several innovative teaching and school initiatives during the second half of the 2022-23 school year. The funding will help provide equipment and innovative learning for engineering, leadership, math, music, outdoor learning, science, technology and video broadcasts.

“What the teachers do is they write a grant and then it's just for, like, whatever they think they might need,” said Stacy Mitchell, president of the GEF Board of Directors. “We bought a new camera and some headsets for the group that's doing the Pirate production. We bought some health science simulators. They're starting a program called Pirate Pups and they're going to start their own grooming business working on teachers’ pets and then probably open it up to the public.”

The H-E-B Tournament of Champions sponsored a grant for three campuses: John and Lyn Brawner Elementary School, STARS Accelerated High School and Granbury Middle School. The grant for Brawner will provide science lab equipment, the grant for STARS will sponsor learning experiences through iconic Texas experiences and the grant for GMS will sponsor outdoor furniture for a reading area in the campus courtyard.

“The GMS grant is called Reading in the Round,” Mitchell said. “They're putting hammocks out at GMS and picnic tables in their little center areas for kids during lunch, so they can kind of hang out and read. It's all glassed in, and they have a little area in the middle just to give them extra space.”

According to a press release from Granbury ISD, funds from Willie Crossland Memorial will help American Sign Language teachers at Granbury High School create course content with access to quality tools and technology to teach language development.

Wolf Hollow sponsored outdoor learning areas at Emma Roberson Early Learning Academy, providing pre-K students a space to build cities and roads during recess. Funds from EECU Credit Union will also help assist in funding a field trip for STEAM Academy at Mambrino students as they experience the abstract world of science through investigation and guided tours, according to the press release.

“For Mambrino and Brawner, they received a grant for Drumming Our Way to Fitness, where it focuses on the brain and the body and strengthening that together with the beating of the drums,” Mitchell said. "We also do CTE (Career and Technical Education) certifications if students are getting their EMT, vet tech or auto tech certifications and the only reason they’re not getting to go is money, then we pay for those. We usually give about $7,500 to the CTE department for those kids. It’s just anything we can do that they need.”

A total of $4,000 was donated to GHS and STARS to fund college visits to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas State Technical College in Waco and Weatherford College in Weatherford.

A $5,000 donation from an anonymous donor was used to purchase new band instruments for the district.

In addition, the grants will be used to purchase grooming coats for students involved in Pirate Pups, to fund a leadership camp at the Marine Military Academy in Arlington and to purchase a new camera for a graphic design class.

“The teachers love it when we give grants out because 50 Fellas brings in that money and then we're able to put it right back into the school,” Mitchell added. “We give the teachers the money and to GISD to pay for these extra things that they need.”

In the spring, GEF will give away nine $2,000 scholarships. Three will be given to children of GISD employees, three will be given to students attending a college or university, and three will be given to students who are wanting to attend trade school.

“We had a kid that he was wanting to go to the auto trade school, and they have to have their own tools, so he wasn't gonna go because they're about $1,000, so we ended up buying those. We fill in on some of that if needed too for these kids, because that's such a huge expense,” Mitchell said.

The GEF grant totals for each campus for the 2022-2023 year is listed below:

• Granbury High School: $239,808

• Granbury Middle School: $96,957

• Acton Middle School: $61,528

• Acton Elementary School: $68,595

• Oak Woods School: $58,396

• John and Lyn Brawner Elementary School: $78,689

• STEAM Academy at Mambrino: $80,975

• Nettie Baccus Elementary School: $60,038

• Emma Roberson Early Learning Academy: $57,278

• Little Buccaneers: $1,000

• STARS Accelerated High School: $18,483

This year’s funding brings the GEF’s nine-year total to about $821,747 in money raised for grants and innovative learning projects, according to Mitchell.

“The Granbury ISD Education Foundation is hoping to give away a few awards this spring to bring the overall total up,” Mitchell added. “We have set our goal for after our 10th 50 Fellas Foodfest to have awarded $1 million to our schools.”

For more information about GEF, visit granburyisd.org/foundation.