Warren County Educational Endowment Awards $75,062 to Warren County Public Schools

The Warren County Educational Endowment (WCEE) has awarded seventeen (17) grants for 2024 totaling $72,973 to the Warren County Public Schools system. The Endowment presented a check to the Warren County School Board at its regular meeting on November 6, 2024, for the grants awarded through the 2024 grant cycle.

Endowment Vice President Ray Bramble stated, “The Warren County Educational Endowment was founded in 1996 to provide seed money for creative learning ideas developed by Warren County teachers and staff. Since our inception, we have awarded 223 grants totaling $817,438 and are pleased to continue to support Warren County Public Schools for the 2024-2025 school year with grant awards totaling $72,973.”

According to School Superintendent Dr. Chris Ballenger, “The Warren County Educational Endowment continues to be a great partner of Warren County Public Schools. Without this partnership, many programs and opportunities for our students may not be possible. The funding provided by the Endowment enables our school system to create exciting learning opportunities and creates a supportive learning environment. I am happy to partner with this dedicated group of people who have the vision and the desire to see our schools succeed. The Endowment’s direct impact on our division is immeasurable. We are thankful for their support.”

The WCEE Board approved an additional grant later in November, bringing the total awarded for 2024 to $75,062.57.

The Endowment approved funding through the 2024 grant cycle for the following programs/projects: 

• American School Counselor Association National Conference Attendance – Kristin Frankel and Jamie Charles/RJES – $4,680 – The project goal is to enhance school counseling knowledge, improve Ressie Jeffries Elementary School’s school counseling program and network with other professionals to discover best practices in the field. The conference will also offer the opportunity to receive acknowledgement of earned national certifications for the RJES school counseling program and school counselor Ms. Frankel for creating a data-driven school counseling program that focuses on improving student attendance outcomes, behavior/discipline and academic achievement.

• Lilcat Sensory Room Renovation – Jennifer Cameron/LFK – $4,402 – The goal of this program is to revitalize the current sensory room at Leslie Fox Keyser Elementary School. Sensory rooms in schools provide a controlled environment that offers various sensory experiences and tools to help students manage sensory overload, focus better and self-regulate their emotions. They can be particularly beneficial for improving concentration, reducing anxiety and supporting overall wellbeing, which can enhance learning and behavior in the classroom. Sensory rooms provide an essential support system for students who face challenges with sensory processing, including those with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD and other related conditions. The funds will go toward purchasing new equipment, sensory activities and placing a sensory path in the hallway.

• Student Leadership Club Curriculum Training Conference – Raychel DeArmitt and Rachael Younkins/EWM – $4,000 – The goal of attending training for the Leader In Me curriculum is to acquire essential skills and knowledge that will empower students in PK-12th grade to take on leadership roles effectively. The research-based Leader In Me program is a school-wide initiative designed to develop leadership and life skills in students in areas such as communication, teamwork, problem solving and decision-making. Attending the training will allow school counselors from E. Wilson Morrison Elementary School to implement an effective student leadership program as well as share their knowledge base with fellow WCPS school counselors to help launch of their own student leadership programs.

• Wildcats LIVE! School-Based Enterprise Technology Enhancements – Richard Gardner/WCHS – $3,475 – A school-based enterprise (SBE) is a student-managed business that provides them with hands-on learning experiences, enabling them to apply theoretical knowledge from subjects like business, marketing, finance and management in a real-world setting. The Warren County High School marketing education program operates Wildcats LIVE!, an SBE marketing communications business dedicated to live streaming of home athletic events (at no charge) and producing videotaped daily morning announcements for the school community. The program has been using borrowed equipment. The funds will go toward purchasing necessary equipment to continue the live streams/videotaped service, including high-definition cameras, microphones, video editing software, live streaming tools and other media hardware.

• New Computers for Computer Programming and Project Lead the Way Architecture and Engineering Program – Vince Gregg/BRTC – $20,000 – Project Lead the Way is a hands-on, innovative curriculum used for the engineering and architecture courses offered at Blue Ridge Technical Center. The courses use advanced software comparable to what students will encounter in future university study and/or industry. With the current computer hardware, start-up time for the software programs is slow, and certain software steps cause lag, forcing students to wait for the computer to process their input. The computer programming courses at BRTC are facing a similar situation, relying on increasingly outdated hardware that is unable to keep up with modern software demands. The funds will go toward purchasing new computers powerful enough to run the requisite software for these courses. 

• Large-Scale Printing – Dee Pheister and Keith David Reeves/SHS – $2,000 – Skyline High School’s graphics lab and art department lacks the ability to translate the many digitally-designed art, marketing and created materials into physical materials at a large scale. The funds will be used to purchase a large-format printer. The goal of this project is to provide students with hands-on experience in designing tangible products to support and enhance their classroom learning and school environment. Students will create a variety of items including posters, banners, signs and other visual materials that meet specific needs and criteria, offering them the opportunity to gain real-world experience in a collaborative setting. 

• Cricut for Student Creations – Dee Pheister and Keith David Reeves/SHS – $500 – The goal of this project is to teach students to design tangible products to promote their work and lessons completed in class and to collaborate with other Skyline High School teachers to have students design materials for their needs. Students would have the opportunity to gain real-world experience working with clients, a set list of criteria and guidelines. The funds will be used to purchase a Cricut machine. The machine will be used for activities such as printing student-designed t-shirts, decals, stickers, creating and printing classroom décor, and printing classroom signs, decals, templates and bulletin board materials.

• Mandt Train the Trainers – Carla Scott/WCPS – $11,250 – The Mandt System® is a relationship-based behavioral crisis interaction “train the trainer” program that focuses on building trust in and supporting students, not just their behaviors. The training program provides tools for educators to manage themselves first before attempting to manage the behaviors of students. By recognizing early warning signs of potentially aggressive behaviors, educators at all levels of the school can interact appropriately. The primary focus is on prevention rather than de-escalation. The grant will fund training to recertify two current Warren County Public Schools Mandt trainers and provide first-time certification for three additional staff. 
  
  
• Language Acquisition Through Motor Planning (LAMP) Online Trainings – Jason Gilkerson/Special Services – $1,128 – Language Acquisition Through Motor Planning (LAMP)™ is a therapeutic approach using motor learning principles and a voice output communication aid to give non-verbal individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities a method to develop independent and spontaneous communication. The project goal is to provide training for WCPS speech-language pathologists to assist students, parents and teachers in using the LAMP communication app on the school system’s iPads. This will help non-verbal students interact with peers and school staff, in turn creating better learning and social opportunities.
  
  
• Supplies for Hands-On Learning – Craig Robertson/Non-Traditional and Brighter Futures – $4,500 – The goal of this project is to increase student involvement with a hands-on, SOL-based learning approach. The funds will go toward the purchase of pre-made lab kits for Biology, Earth Science and Environmental Sciences.
  
  
• Driver Education Simulations – Marjorie Sims and Ben Bailey/SHS – $6,540 – The goal of this project is to provide Skyline High School students with simulated driving situations that incorporate real-world variables before getting behind the wheel of an actual vehicle. Students will conduct simulated driving situations in a controlled environment to practice proper procedures, special situations and teacher/class demonstrations of proper techniques. The funds will go toward the purchase of a software package including a steering wheel, pedals and shifter, a computer, smart TVs and related equipment.
  
  
• Fill the Kitchen – Katie Priest/Elements Transitional Program – $600 – The goal of this project is to provide students with disabilities, ages 18-22, essential life and job skills in the areas of cooking, kitchen safety and smart comparison shopping. By equipping a fully functional kitchen to which the Elements transition program now has access, the program will create an inclusive, hands-on learning environment that prepares students for independent living and entry-level food service positions. The kitchen provides an opportunity for students to engage in meal planning, budgeting, cooking and maintaining food safety The funds will be used to purchase basic kitchen supplies including pots, pans, bakeware and utensils. 
  
  
• Focusing on a Cleaner Future/Renewable Energy Kits – Faith Falkenstein and Ginger Newton/WCPS Elementary GATE – $2,000 – This project’s goal is to create learning experiences about renewable energies to spark scientific curiosity and offer opportunities for scientific exploration and discovery for fifth-grade GT/high achiever enrichment groups. The program will involve activities and lessons focused on a range of clean energy sources. Students will apply their knowledge and resources to produce presentations and build 3D models showing how these clean energies could be integrated into their local community. The funds will go toward the purchase of renewable energy learning kits.
  
  
• Recycling Paper – Emma D’Angelo/WCMS – $220 – The goal of this project is to teach students at Warren County Middle School about recycling and our impact on the environment. The project will provide students with hands-on experiences with recycling materials into new things that can also be used. The funds will be used to purchase equipment to recycle old paper and create new paper.
  
  
• The Use of Happy Atoms to Support Kinesthetic Learners – Emma D’Angelo/WCMS – $550 – The goal of this project is to facilitate Warren County Middle School students’ exploration of atomic structure through the use of Happy Atoms, a chemistry educational manipulative. Many students are visual and kinesthetic learners. These sets of magnetic atoms (funded by a previous WCEE grant) are paired with tablets to create an augmented reality, game-structured scenario. More than 200 molecules can be built on one Happy Atoms set alone, and the app on the tablet has information on every molecule that is made, giving students a real-life application to talk about as a class. The funds would be used toward the purchase of tablets and cases.
  
  
• Inclusive Play/Communication Boards – Kaitlin Erdman/Special Services – $5,000 – The goal of this project is to create inclusive playgrounds for elementary school students who are non-verbal or may have difficulty communicating with their peers. These students will be given a voice through the use of an enlarged communication board on the playground. These boards will allow access to universal communication in the form of visual pictures that represent words. They will allow staff to model and encourage peer interactions, ultimately leading to independent peer interactions. The funds will go toward the costs for making and installing communication boards.
  
  
• Adobe Creative Suite – Dee Pheister/WCHS – $2,128 – The goal of this project is to teach fine arts, graphic art design and photography students how to use industry-standard applications for design, photography, video and web so they can design both tangible and digital products. The funds will be used to purchase the Adobe Creative Suite to enhance student learning and create expression. The software will be used for activities such as student-designed t-shirts, decals and other tangible products as well as classroom décor, signs and templates. Students will learn how to use programs to create their own designs and edit their own photos and digital artwork. 
   
• Criminal Justice Program Equipment – Timothy Wolfe/BRTC - $2,089.57 – The Criminal Justice Program at Blue Ridge Technical Center is growing fast. This grant will be used to purchase equipment to instruct and train students on the tools that law enforcement officers use daily. Students learn to use equipment such as training weapons (non-functioning), batons, belts and holsters, handcuffs and radio equipment to gain knowledge of criminal justice and associated programs. The students also use the equipment in SKILLSUSA competitions at the local and state levels, competing against students at other schools that teach criminal justice.

The Warren County Educational Endowment is a catalyst for improving the education and learning environment in Warren County Public Schools. Sometimes it takes private support of public efforts to incubate an idea or a new approach that helps students compete in a global marketplace, instills passion for life-long learning, and sparks a vision to strive for success. Programs funded by the WCEE are sponsored by our school system and are consistent with its mission and direction. They are intended to initiate sustained improvement in the fundamental capability of the school system and enhance the attractiveness of the community through the promotion of educational excellence.

Persons interested in supporting the Endowment can contact the Endowment or make a donation by CLICKING HERE.