The Partners in Education Foundation (PIE) funded six teacher grant requests totaling under $3,800 for the Fall 2025 grant cycle. Some of the projects and initiatives that were awarded funding include:
Bouncy bands as an outlet for excess energy enabling improved focus and attention.
Phonic based instructional support materials for at-risk students
Games, puzzles and other hands-on activities that bring the alphabet to life for curious kindergarteners.
Using grade school students' sized individual white-boards to improve and simplify engagement while providing real-time teacher feedback in a way paper/pencil methods cannot replicate.
Using conflict resolution mats as a new approach for conflict management. These grade-schoolers can foster a cooperative classroom environment by reducing distractions via the use of specific language and steps in role playing and practice.
Phonological awareness, (PA), materials for Pre-Kindergarten classes that offer hands-on, interactive experiences that help students isolate, segment, blend, and manipulate sounds in words.
Fall 2025 Cantrell Grants
Jeanette Rudy established the Felix Alton Cantrell Memorial Fund in memory of her brother, Alton, to support the needs of the handicapped, needy, or “at risk” students of USD 490. This fund is supported by a separate committee to review, evaluate and recommend grant awards. PIE received three requests totaling about $2,400.
Sensory and regulation tools to help students with emotional and attention regulation.
Hands-on, play based tools for Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) students, many of whom are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and developmental delays.
Items that allow
ECSE students to benefit from activities
promoting gross motor skills, coordination, and balance
, which are foundational for overall development and can support academic participation.
For more information about PIE or to make a donation, please visit their website or contact PIE Development Director Rod Blackburn at rod.blackburn@pie490.org.