From Staff Reports

With balloons and a giant check, the Prize Patrol visited 20 teachers or groups of teachers in Demopolis public schools September 17 to award a total of $45,000.21 in grants from the Demopolis City Schools Foundation.

The Grants Committee, headed by Betty Richardson, reviewed 45 grant applications, which requested a total of $94,454.95.

Of the applications submitted, 13 grants received full funding, and 13 received partial funding.

Westside Elementary teachers received $15,671.85 in grants; U.S. Jones School, $12,361.67; Demopolis Middle School, $10,375.60; Demopolis High School, $4,729.09, and the Alternative School, $1,863.

Richardson was especially pleased that many of the applications this year requested funds for projects, programs and equipment that are based on how children learn, all part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Many of the grants focused on math and science.

The Foundation also earmarked $5,000 this year to help pay for professional development, as part of its mission to foster and promote excellence within the Demopolis public school system. Since the DCSF awarded the first grants in 1994, it has distributed some $425,000 in grant money among teachers in Demopolis public schools.

Presenting the checks were the teacher representatives on the DCSF Board of Directors.

They were Amy Hasty, Westside; Anita McKinstry, U.S. Jones; Dana Hill, Demopolis Middle, and Lucinda Mason, Demopolis High.

Grant recipients are:

Demopolis High School

Leslie Gibbs, "In Depth Analysis of Literature, Part 4" $600, partially funded, for classroom sets of books.

Cynthia Phillips, "All Eyes on the Microscopic World," $1,632, fully funded, for a microscope camera.

Nancy Tyson, "Videos for Leaders," $700 partially funded, for Principles of Leadership course on conflict resolution.

Cynthia Whitlock, "A Return to the Classics," $796.09, fully funded, to increase the fiction inventory of the school library.

Cynthia Whitlock, "Power of Print 2004," $1,000, partially funded, supplies for visual aids.

Demopolis Middle School

Leigh Ann Coleman, and others, "SMILE," $4875.60, partially funded, for classroom microscopes and other science equipment.

Leigh Ann Coleman, and others, "M&Ms for Sixth Graders!" $2,000, partially funded, math manipulatives.

Geneva Howard, and others, "www.math.edu," $3,500, partially funded, for laptop computer and projector.

U.S. Jones

Elementary School

Julie Harrison, "Hands-on, Minds-On Resources for Language Arts," $502.45, fully funded, for skill-building games to master reading skills.

Diane Farnham, "Read&Math: High-Tech," $846.24, fully funded, books, listening centers, electronic tools to foster reading and math skills.

Amanda Miller, "Ready, Set Read!" $800, partially funded, 100 hard back chapter books for classroom library.

Reatha Ray, and others, "SMARTer Kids!" $3,508, fully funded, smart board and LCD projector for Powerpoint presentations by students.

Beth Lindsay, "Around the World in 175 Days," $285.73, fully funded, for atlases and globe.

Shelby Cox, "Colonial Newspaper," $67, fully funded, to publish a newspaper as part of the student of 18th Century U.S. history.

Tia Lawrence&James Pope, "Learning with Technology," $1,000, partially funded, for listening stations, books on tape, science videos and software.

Tia Lawrence&James Pope, "Word Power!" $877.25, fully funded, for dictionaries.

Annette Gwin, and others, "Facts and Fun with Science," $4,475, partially funded, for hands-on science activities and experiments.

Westside

Elementary School

Elizabeth Renner, "Let’s Find Out," $883.35, fully funded, for hands-on science activities.

Elizabeth Renner, and others, Word Matters!" $2,376, fully funded, for materials to work with words.

Terri Speegle, and others, "Literacy is for Everyone!" $4,250.20, fully funded, for kindergarten literacy centers.

Tracy Stewart, "Mysteries, Inc." $500, fully funded, for chapter mystery books.

Debbie Butler, "Fundamental Phonics in Action," $2,850, partially funded, for phonics instruction.

Debbie Butler, "Guiding Students through Guided Reading," $4,000, partially funded, books to increase fluency and comprehension.

Jane Watson, "Hands on Math," $400.20, fully funded, for Math Instant Learning Centers and easel.

Jane Watson, "Individualizing Learning in Language Arts," $412.10, fully funded, individual and small-group literacy centers.

Alternative School

Jennifer Lay and Fred Moore, "Carreling At-Risk Students," $1,863, partially funded, for study carrels to provide individual workspace and security.