Tech dominates BCEF Fall Grant Awards

This semester provides all featured technologies to help students learn.

(Batesville, Ind.) – The Batesville Community Education Foundation (BCEF) is pleased to announce the fall grant recipients for the Batesville Community School Corporation (BCSC). This annual BCEF program allows up to $5,000 to be awarded each fall and spring to projects selected by a committee of foundation board members, said Executive Director Anne Wilson.

The gifts are:

• Approximately $1100 to Batesville High School (BHS) teacher Sidney Howard and the yearbook staff for a new Nikon camera with an extra lens. Although the yearbook is a high school class, it is also a business and has a very limited budget. The crew has about 10 other cameras. This new camera will have an impact on all BHS students as it produces high quality photos for the yearbook.
• $1500 to Batesville Middle School (BMS) science teacher Tara Mills for the SkyDome Planetarium school assembly. This portable, inflatable planetarium tour gives all 165 sixth graders a chance to explore the solar system in depth. Students witness the night sky in different seasons and from different global perspectives.
• $1,375 for Occupational Therapist Brandi Hofer to partner with the Joan and John Hillenbrand Vision Fund to bring funding to the Partnership Listening Program (TLP) to Batesville Elementary School (BPS) and Batesville Middle School (BIS). TLP is a therapeutic program that supports self-regulation through music in an academic setting. Therapeutic listening can help improve students’ sensory processing skills, increase attention span and working memory, and develop communication skills and other cognitive functions. The BCEF donation will cover the total amount Hofer needs to get the program off the ground.
• About $1,000 to BMS Principal Dave Strause to expand the new esports club at the school. Sports is a new and growing area of ​​interest where video game teams compete on a national level. Part of a statewide initiative by the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP), this new program includes team-building exercises, uses marketing strategies and gives students the opportunity to present their organization to a panel of judges to win prizes.

“This semester provides all the featured technology to help students learn,” Wilson said. “A new digital camera for student use, a virtual tour of the planets, using listening software for self-monitoring and eSports – our grant committees have been impressed by the various uses of technology in schools. Moreover, our grant will now impact all four school buildings. Funding and Donations We are able to expand our grants budget each year to fund additional projects.

The Batesville Community Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to provide additional funding for creative learning opportunities that go beyond the basics in academics, athletics and the arts in Batesville Public Schools to improve the learning environment for all BCSC students. In addition to classroom grants, BCEF supports larger projects, such as the art capital mural project in downtown Batesville and the new STEAM Lab at BIS. For more information, visit the BCEF website at BatesvilleEducationFoundation.org or email director Ann Wilson at awilson@batesville.k12.in.us.