Owensboro Public Schools employees donated $21,522 to the Foundation for Excellence during the school 2021-2022 school year. This includes contributions from teachers, aides, administrators, and School Board members, as well as many cafeteria, maintenance, and office employees – most from regular payroll deductions. The OPS district has a 25 percent employee participation in Foundation contributions which is a very high rate for K-12 schools according to the National School Foundation Association. This shows the depth of caring from our employees and the needs involved. At least that amount is given back each year in the form of mini-grants to the schools and the district.
Presentations of the mini-grants were made to the teachers and staff by Foundation Board members at the OPS Staff Opening Day Celebration Tuesday, August 8, 2023. The recipients of the mini-grants for school year 2023-24 are as follows:
Foundation mini-grants awarded for 2023-2024 school year:
Cravens Elementary School - $1,402 for “Parent and Family Engagement for Bilingual Families.”
Cravens Elementary School - $500 for “Sensory Path”
Estes Elementary School - $232 for “Opinion Writing Materials”
Estes Elementary School - $1,050 for “Lego Robotics Club: Bulldog Bots”
Estes Elementary School - $610 for “Inquiry Based Student Learning”
Foust Elementary School - $4,000 for “MakerSpace with 3D printer”
Hager Preschool - $1,000 for Sensory Project”
Newton Parrish Elementary School - $2,397 for “Finch 2.0 Robots for Technology Special”
Newton Parrish Elementary School – $1,500 for “Ukuleles”
Sutton Elementary School - $1,500 for “Lightspeed Voice Amplification System”
Owensboro Middle School - $600 for “Calming Center/Sensory Space”
Owensboro Middle School - $800 for “Community Based Instruction”
Emerson Academy - $1,000 for “Life Beyond the Classroom”
Owensboro High School - $205 for “The OHS Calming Area”
Owensboro High School - $500 for “Book Incentives”
Owensboro High School - $500 for “Credit Recovery Incentives”
Owensboro High School - $1,000 for “2024 Bradshaw History Tour to NYC”
Owensboro Innovation Academy - $2,200 for “Pneumatic Power”
Owensboro Innovation Academy - $300 for “Holocaust Education Trunks”
Owensboro Public Schools District - $750 for “OPS Short Story Collection”
Owensboro Public Schools District - $5,250 for “Grow Your Own Staff”
21 Mini-Grants for a Total of $27,296