Foundation for Allen Schools

Foundation For Allen Schools Funded Classroom Grants at

Bolin Elementary

2022-2023 Classroom Grants

Reading LARGE at Bolin!

This grant under Library / Makerspace Curriculum was awarded to Julie McGary and will benefit 542 students at Bolin Elementary.

Bolin Blazers LOVE to READ! Large print books provide another tool for all readers, especially our striving readers to use. We are excited to expand our large print collection!

Fitness Fun Day

This grant under Physical Education Curriculum was awarded to Jacinda Owen and Stacy Palmertree and will benefit 550 students at Bolin Elementary.

Fitness Fun Day allows students to try new fitness classes that are fun and exciting for children their age.  It allows the students to see regular games played in different forms and lets students work on team building skills in a fun setting.  It also allows these students to try new snacks with foods they may already eat or even food they would never have tried before.

Bolin’s Ninja Training Academy

This grant under Physical Education Curriculum was awarded to Stacy Palmertree and Jacinda Owen and will benefit 540 students at Bolin Elementary.

Bolin Ninja Training Academy will allow our students to practice skills that make up the components of fitness that are oftentimes overlooked.  By using a ninja course, we are able to bring these components of fitness to our students in a new and fun way.

Kodaly Training for Elementary Music Teachers

This grant under Fine Arts Curriculum was awarded to Jeff Turner and will benefit 10,000 students across all AISD Elementary Schools.

Two Allen ISD elementary music teachers will attended 3 weeks of intensive Kodaly training at SMU. The strategies, techniques, and resources from this training will be an incredible asset to the teacher to better deliver the elementary music curriculum and will be shared with all our our elementary educators across AISD.

ALLen Reads 2022

This grant under Library / Makerspace Curriculum was awarded to Kelly Clewell and will benefit 20,000 students across AISD and benefits every campus in Allen. 

ALLen Reads encourages the entire Allen community to read the same book or the grade-level appropriate companion book. The grant provides copies of the selected books to all campuses in Allen ISD, and the students have access to community events related to the books, such as author and illustrator speakers, writing presentations, and musical performances.

Math by the Book

This grant under Math - Elementary Curriculum was awarded to Michelle Stewart and Katie Snider and will benefit 2,898 students in Kindergarten and 1^st grade at EVERY Allen ISD elementary campus.

This grant will provide read aloud sets of books that link literary and math skills.   We know many students love stories but may have a fear of math or even math anxiety.  Students are able to connect concepts to context providing an increased level of engagement and retention. Stories bring math to life!   House Bill 3 puts a focus on early literacy and math skills. This resource would be helpful in integrating math and literacy in the early grade levels. An integrated experience creates deeper learning connections for students. Science and Social Studies have already embedded read alouds for K- 3 curriculum documents and this grant will support integration in math as well.

BRAINball

This grant under Physical Education Curriculum was awarded to Geoben Johnson and Katie Snider and will benefit 16,500 students across Allen ISD in grades K – 9^th.

BRAINball is an innovative and unique physical education learning system that merges physical activity and academic learning through play. In addition to the physical benefits, significant improvement will be seen in gross and fine motor skills, cooperative and cognitive learning.  Brainball has proven to produce positive changes in letter recognition,  students read better, improve mathematical skills, movement and writing skills. Research also shows positive changes in graphomotor skills, eye-hand coordination, and temporal-spatial orientation improvement when used on a consistent basis. The Brainball set includes 100 premade games/activities for K-6 that can be adapted for grades 7-9. Training will be provided to allow easy integration into district curriculum and to academic classroom teachers that want to use it for enhancing learning in their class. The brainball set is appropriate for Kindergarten through High School and can be adapted for students with special needs and learning deficits.

I Can See Clearly Now!

This grant under Special Education Curriculum was awarded to Patricia Reyna, Sherri Idbeis, Karen McCrary and Colleen Dunphy and will benefit 45 students across Allen ISD who have a visual impairment.

Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments serve students throughout the district and provide consult and direct instruction for teachers and students with blindness or visual impairments. An iPad Pro is a tool that makes accessing learning material possible for students that struggle with seeing on a regular iPad screen. An iPad Pro also serves as an evaluation tool for TSVI's and our Orientation and Mobility instructor in the district.

ByrdseedTV

This grant under Advanced Academics - AP/IB/GT Curriculum was awarded to Kari Lockhart and will benefit 1,474 students that are in our GT programs in years K-6.

ByrdseedTV provides gifted and talented teachers and learners with resources that foster deep and complex learning. Activities from Byrdseed are designed and used by a teacher of gifted students, and facilitate critical and creative thinking, inductive and deductive thinking skills, as well as encourage creative individual investigations.

2021-2022 Classroom Grants

It's a Small World-Bolin Multicultural Night

This grant under Fine Arts Curriculum awarded to Paula Till along with Stacy Palmertree, and Melissa J. Wilson will benefit 600 students.

The Specials Team will work together to create a diverse performance that highlights music, movement, and art from the many cultures represented at Bolin.

Fitness Fun Day

This grant under Physical Education Curriculum awarded to Stacy Palmertree along with Jacinda Owen will benefit 550 students.

Fitness Fun Day allows students to try new fitness classes that are fun and exciting for children their age. It allows the students to see regular games played in different forms and lets students work on team-building skills in a fun setting. It also allows these students to try new snacks with foods they may already eat or even food they would never have tried before.

Marathon Mania

This grant under Physical Education Curriculum was awarded to Jacinda Owen and will benefit 550 students.Marathon Mania helps to provide a quick and easy way to track Bolin Jogging Club laps. It will also allow all students to participate in a fun running event during the school day if they are unable to stay after school for the Jogging Club.

Little Explorers

This grant under Science /STEAM Curriculum awarded to Alison Coe along with Jennifer Craig, and Laura Pecina will benefit 66 students.

As kindergarten teachers, we are continually trying to find ways to engage students in their learning by providing hands-on experiences. This grant gives students the opportunity to explore their curiosities along with the natural world around. It also encourages collaboration and conversation among our students while incorporating content vocabulary.

DT - Leveled Readers

This grant under English Language Arts (Elementary) & Dyslexia Curriculum awarded to Ella Jones along with Jill Jaska, Susie Barlow, Deb Scott, Carli Burke, Dena Goddard, Amber Arnold, Candice Frazier, Janice Harrop, Maria Burnes, Julieta Henderson, Angela Lunde, Shia Valdovino, Janell Cook, Tami Everett.  The grant will benefit 900 students at the following campuses: Anderson, Bolin, Boyd, Chandler, Cheatham, Evans, Green Kerr, Lindsey and Ford Middle School.

Connected texts are decodable books that use predictable words and word patterns through engaging stories. The Dyslexia Therapist can use these books, in combination with other materials, to address the student?s fluency and comprehension skills. The Allen ISD Dyslexia Department wants to enhance its program by giving its students the opportunity to read these books so they can become stronger readers.