TCSD Foundation to Make Teaching Grants

The Trumansburg Central School District (TCSD) Foundation has sent students to Street Survival Driving School, sponsored special speakers for both students and parents and brought a brain gym program to Trumansburg. After reaching the $10,000 mark during the summer, the foundation is back to fundraising and is soliciting grant proposals for its 2009 winter awards schedule.

Lindsay Hart, foundation board member and public relations chair, said the foundation gives out three types of grant throughout the year: teaching grants, blue and gold grants and new technology initiative grants. A grants committee awards the money during each cycle. The committee decided to focus on teaching grants this time around.

“That’s open to anybody in the area that teaches or instructs, so it doesn’t have to be a teacher per se,” Hart said. “It can be a dance instructor or a blacksmith who wants to do a class on blacksmithing.”

Teaching grants are designed to fund innovative educational programs. Blue and Gold grants fund special projects for instructors, administrators or students. The new technology initiative is used to purchase new equipment and related items, such as a $1,300 laptop storage cart recently bought by the third grade with the foundation’s help.

So far the foundation has raised $4,000 to award during this cycle and is working toward another $10,000 goal. The awards for the winter cycle will be announced in February.

“Right now we expect to give out $2,000 in increments of $500,” Hart said. “We’ve actually given out $10,000 to date. Our last big grant cycle was around this time last year and we gave out around $5,000.”

The TCSD Foundation was formed in 2006 and received its not-for-profit status in 2007. Trumansburg residents came up with the idea and worked to make it a reality.

“It started from a couple of local people just getting together,” Hart said. “They were chatting about the community in general and being involved with the community.”

The number of applications during each grant cycle and donations during fundraisers have been increasing as more people become more aware of the foundation and its work, Hart said.

“Last year was an awareness year, ‘07 we were still getting the ducks in a row, but ‘08 was an awareness year,” she said.

Grants are open to all community members who may be students or instructors. People applying for grants do not have to be affiliated with Trumansburg Central Schools. Money awarded for technology initiative grants often to go buy equipment that is available to any school-aged child who lives in the district. Last grant cycle, the foundation helped purchase several sets of balances and scales for the use of second grade students in all of Trumansburg.

“[It's] not just in the school but home schoolers too,” Hart said. “It’s reaching out to everyone.”

Foundation members are also reaching out to people who graduated from Charles O. Dickerson High School or grew up the area to help with fundraising. The group’s Web site tracks fundraising accomplishments, lists the most recent grants awarded and has a donation tab for people to donate online. Hart said the foundation has also found a way to keep younger graduates connected to their hometown.

“Not only do we have our own Web site, but we’re on Facebook,” she said. “It’s a great way to connect to alumni and to younger alumni. It’s a nice way to connect people who may not live around here anymore.”

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