Pictured above, left to right: Kim Schmelz (BEIE advisory board); Rahni Kay Haverland (Creative Classroom Collaborative Creations!); Taylor Rand (A Blended – Cooperative Learning Classroom); Megan Sprague (Hands-On Exploration); Nikolas Werner (Distraction Free Listening Ability); Matt McKinley (iPad for Physical Education); Trevor Kattre (Physical Education iPad); Mary Demo (BEIE advisory board).

Mary Demo and Kim Schmelz, advisory board members of the Belmont EIE and Scholarship Endowment funds board, presented six grants totaling $2,744 at the April 12 Belmont Schools Faculty/Staff in-service. These awards were made based on applications developed and submitted by personnel in the Belmont Schools.

Mary Demo, retired Belmont teacher, noted, “This grant process gives our faculty and staff an opportunity to innovate in their classrooms. Our grant monies are to supplement what is being done in the schools; these monies do not replace tax dollars. I’m proud to be a builder of this endowment that enables our personnel to serve our students in new ways.”

Funding for the 2019 EIE grants was available through endowment earnings and the fall of 2018 Cars4Classrooms event, held through Ubersox Auto.

Presentations were made for the following projects:

• A Blended – Cooperative Learning Classroom – the addition of tables to the classroom to facilitate cooperative learning: proposed by Taylor Rand (MS/HS Mathematics) – $615;
• Creative Classroom Collaborative Creations! – the acquisition of equipment to record book talks and reviews: proposed by Rahni Kay Haverland (MS English/Language Arts Department) – $308;
• Physical Education iPads, proposed by Trevor Kattre (Elementary School – Physical Education) and by Matt McKinley (MS/HS Physical Education Department) – $876 for 2 units;
• Distraction Free Listening, the addition of MPOW H5 headphones to reduce outside noise while for students using a computer-based reader: proposed by Nikolas Werner (Special Education Department) – $500; and
• Hands-On Exploration, the addition of a camera attachment for a microscope plus speed/velocity recorders: proposed by Megan Sprague (MS/HS Science Department) – $445.

To date, and with the 2019 awards, funding has been awarded for 16 projects that have invested nearly $5800 in the Belmont Schools.
The initial funding to create the Excellence in Education Endowment was a gift from Derek and MJ Dachelet. In speaking of that gift and its work since 2014, MJ said, “Derek and I donated to the Belmont Excellence in Education Endowment to support special projects that allow teachers to imagine and implement innovative and creative ideas that inspire students. With limited budget resources available in education, it was important for us as educators ourselves, to give back in ways that help grow the future of Belmont.”

The Belmont Excellence in Education and Scholarship Endowment Funds are components of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity. For more information, contact advisory board member Kim Schmelz or Barb Daus, donor services representative with CFSW (608-778-3344 or [email protected]). Donations may be sent to the Belmont School Funds, PO Box 348, Belmont, WI 53510 or may be made online at www.cfsw.org/give-now.