The Frisco Education Foundation is investing in teachers’ dreams through the annual Grants for Great Ideas program.

Educators who want to make an impact on their campuses were surprised recently as FEF visited campuses to hand out Grants for Great Ideas, an annual celebration and check distribution. Every fall, educators pitch their idea and the money they need, then they wait until November to learn if they’ve won.

Thanks to the generosity of FEF donors, students across Frisco ISD are winning, too.

Theater students at Lebanon Trail High will get a lighting control board for their classroom thanks to a $2,000 grant.

At Wilkinson Middle, a $1,500 grant will provide students with a motor lab addressing physical, sensory and behavioral needs.

And a $11,000 grant will pay for a District set of drones to teach coding, STEM concepts and robotics at secondary campuses.

Grants will pay for college tours for at-risk juniors and seniors District-wide; an art and tactile center for students with special needs at the Early Childhood School; a mail delivery program at Scoggins Middle; and classroom wellness kits to help Memorial High students manage stress, reset and reengage in learning.

That’s just a sample of the Grants for Great Ideas awarded this fall by the Frisco Education Foundation. Access a complete list of the winners.

This year, the foundation gave away over $90,000 for special program supplies, learning opportunities and classroom materials. That number represents 54 grants awarded across 36 FISD schools, with 54 educators and 32 co-applicants receiving funds. Two District-wide grants were also awarded.

Grants are made possible thanks to Frisco ISD payroll contributions, CoServ, the Frisco Women’s League, H-E-B, Texas Health Resources, the Frisco Garden Club, the Stacy Simmons Memorial Teacher Grant Endowment, Leadership Frisco Class of ’28 Grant Endowment and other community partners. Since 1999, 944 grants have been awarded, for a total of more than $1.42 million.

“Grant delivery day is one of my favorite days of the year,” said Ashley Sine, director of Community Relations and the Frisco Education Foundation. “There’s nothing like seeing teachers get excited about the ideas they’ll bring to life in their classrooms. This is what it’s all about — supporting teachers and investing in students.”

The Frisco Education Foundation is a 510(c)(3) nonprofit. Its mission is to provide financial resources to maximize student potential in FISD through educational programs, student scholarships and grants for innovative educators.

To support foundation initiatives such as Grants for Great Ideas, donate to the Frisco Education Foundation.

Congratulations to all the recipients!

Elementary school grant recipients

• Megan Farber - Allen Elementary School

• Kristen Whittaker and Alisa Matherne - Ashley Elementary School

• Jamie Geer - Boals Elementary School

• Vanessa Lupo - Boals Elementary School

• Chiquatia Ross - Boals Elementary School

• Sandy Wirwahn and Allyson DiFeo - Boals Elementary School

• Rita Gonzalez - Bright Academy

• Amy Chalfant and Kacie Cartier - Corbell Elementary School

• Amy Marr - Corbell Elementary School

• Kristine Seale, Amy Hicks and Michelle Chapa - Corbell Elementary School

• Kristy Krampitz - Fisher Elementary School

• Ingrid Warren - Gunstream Elementary School

• Lisa Hockenberry - Hosp Elementary School

• Jessica Powers - Hosp Elementary School

• Misty Lewin - Liscano Elementary School

• Ashley Stratton - McSpedden Elementary School

• Madiha Akbany and Susan Reasor - Minett Elementary School

• Mary Noll - Mooneyham Elementary School

• Micheon Brackens and Mary Noll - Mooneyham Elementary School

• Amanda Bond - Nichols Elementary School

• Carly Vanderford - Phillips Elementary School

• Orczy Yerkie - Rogers Elementary School

• Amy Grieser - Rogers Elementary School

• Tiffany Adkins - Scott Elementary School

• Danielle Morales - Sem Elementary School

• Kelly Straub - Shawnee Trail Elementary School

• Kimberly Near - Shawnee Trail Elementary School

• Kimberly Near, Kelly Straub and Amy Christian - Shawnee Trail Elementary School

• Erin Topp (2 grants) - Sonntag Elementary School

• Michelle Schmidt - Talley Elementary School

• Ashley Wingfield and Bethany Bowers - Taylor Elementary School

• Kylee Pojtinger, Jenna Likes, Amy Ryan and Ellie Medina - Taylor Elementary School

Middle and intermediate school grant recipients

• Christopher Mapp - Cobb Middle School

• Niki Blake - Scoggins Middle School

• ReshmaRaj Siji - Scoggins Middle School

• Sarah Selvarengaraju - Scoggins Middle School

• Christopher Sayen - Trent Middle School

• Holly Cotten - Vandeventer Middle School

• DaQuita Hardeman and Divya Robert - Wilkinson Middle School

• Asiya Roland, Laura Mastin, Behnaz Bahrampour, Jennifer Ferguson and Mikayla Braun - Wortham Intermediate

High school grant recipients

• Brittany Kiekhoefer, Katie Andersen, Ninfa Loera, Victoria Leal and Andy Mayer - Centennial High School

• Pamela Beckman - Heritage High School

• Christina Anderson, Erin Fox, Linda Riley and Amy Jones - Independence High School

• Jordan Barrett - Lebanon Trail High School

• Jamie Berendt, Kelli Duckworth, Chelsea Hamilton and Kelli Anderson - Liberty High School

• Rachel Duke - Memorial High School

• Ashley Luhrs - Memorial High School

• Matthew MacVeigh - Reedy High School

Districtwide and special programs grants

• Chikyra Crabbe - Early Childhood School

• Jamie Slawski and Ashley Doyle - Student Opportunity Center

• Lauri Keck - Student Opportunity Center

• Katie Puente, Heather Mayfield and Elma Montenegro - District-wide

• Penney Matos and Kristy McCoy - District-wide

A full list of recipients and their programs can be found online.

- Rachel McReynolds