Teachers in all four Demopolis schools have been pleasantly surprised this week when the “prize patrol” showed up in their classrooms.

The patrol, made up of Demopolis City Schools Foundation executive director Amanda Barnes and other board members, went around the past few days telling teachers they received classroom grants this year.

In all, the Foundation awarded $50,000 this fall. The money will fund everything from smart boards to books, math materials to physical education equipment.

“Seeing the excitement on the faces of students and teachers was a great experience,” said Bill Meador, Foundation board member.

Teachers were encouraged at the beginning of the year to apply for the grants. The Foundation received 37 requests for more than $124,000.

This year, Demopolis Middle School received $25,082 in grants, Demopolis High School received $18,873, Westside Elementary received $3,000 and US Jones Elementary received $2,994.

“The Demopolis community has a history of generosity,” Barnes said. “The funds to support the Foundation are raised through our year-round membership campaign as well as fundraisers we hold throughout the year — SchoolFest, a turkey sale, and a pancake supper. This community understands the importance of our local school system and is tremendously supportive of the Foundation’s efforts to make sure our students have the ‘extras’ they need to be successful.”

The Demopolis City Schools Foundation is an independent nonprofit established in 1993 to encourage private charitable support of the Demopolis public school system. Governed by a 32-member Board of Directors, the Foundation has provided more than $900,000 in classroom grants since its inception.

2012 grants were awarded to the following teachers:

Demopolis High School

•Leslie Gibbs, $687 for books and audio copies of “Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” for use in the 11th grade English department

•Kim Browder, $533 for a laptop for use in your social studies classroom

•Cynthia Whitlock, $2,301 to increase the contemporary collection of books at the Demopolis High School Library

•Brooke Thorn, $13,875 for five Smartboard systems for the high-school math department

•Michael I. Shenk, $1,475 for two laptops and seven digital recorders for use in the foreign language department

Demopolis Middle School

•Dianne McNeill , $1,538 for a projector system and Elmo unit

•Susan Browder, $3,358 for a Smartboard, projector and laptop

•Ashley M. Brock, $2,825 for a Smartboard and projector

•Vicky Thorne, $2,121 for a projector system, Elmo unit and laptop

•Megan Edmonds, $2,740 for 75 copies of “Jacob I Have Loved”, “Alabama Moon” and “Where the Red Fern Grows”

•Deborah Brown, $533 for a laptop

•Jesse E. Bell, $3,286 for gym equipment at Demopolis Middle School

•Julie Massey, $530 for an iPad, case, Smartboard adapter and $50 voucher

•Matthew Fields, $2,825 for a Smartboard system for the Demopolis Middle School band room

•Ginger Godwin, $2,500 for library materials

•Carrie Goodman, $2,825 for a Smartboard and projector

US Jones Elementary School

•Beth Lindsay, $1,994.86 for the Every Day Counts calendar math program for all seven 4th grade classrooms

•Dana Hill, $1,000 for the purchase of tablet computers for use in the 5th grade math classroom

 Westside Elementary School

•Elizabeth Renner, $2,500 for tablet computers for use in the 2nd grade

•Trena Reynolds, $500 for a set of wireless headphones for use in the 2nd grade