Through generous, tax-deductible donations, the Foundation has funded projects such as - Oklahoma! our first School/Community musical, Innovation Grants for classroom enrichment opportunities, and scholarships.

Wayland Union Education Foundation
Teacher Innovation Grant Awards 2007/ 2008

Innovation Grants make a difference

Students at Baker Elementary School are excited to see the work that has been done on their playground. Volunteers have resurfaced and painted colorful designs on what used to be plain old pavement! The playground area behind the school is being renovated with multiple designs that have been painted onto the blacktop. Musical notes, colorful fish with numbers and bubbles, a racetrack to play with cars and trucks, four-square, and a map of the United States are now the focal points of the play area.

This project received its wings from the Wayland Union Education Foundation, when Karen Hunter, School Social Worker, submitted an application for an Innovation Grant for these renovations to the playground. Now, community members, Voice of Hope Church and Baker Elementary staff have all come together to make Karen’s innovative ideas come to fruition.

Thank you to Karen Hunter for having a vision, and to the many volunteers and staff for making this a reality for the children at Baker Elementary School.

Wayland Union Education Foundation
Teacher Innovation Grant Awards 2006/ 2007

Connie Scheel
Baker Elementary – 4-Yes Program
The 4-Yes students visited Bysterveld Park, in Dorr three times during the School year to observe the changing seasons. The children enjoyed a variety of opportunities including art and science activities, as well as fishing, snowshoeing, photography of a changing environment, and writing/dictating related stories and poems. The children were also able to take part in gross motor activities. This was an opportunity for increased participation by parents in the 4-Yes program while providing experience that these children might not otherwise have.

Julia VanderMolen
Baker School Technology Specialist
Julia asked for a “starting point” of introducing the Classroom Performance System” at Baker & Steeby Elementary Schools. This system promotes active student engagement, discussion and collaboration among students during class, encourages participation from each student in class, immediate check of understanding and feedback. This project will benefit elementary students at all levels K-6th ( over 1000 students).

Karen Hunter
Baker Elementary “Learning Landscapes”
Enhances the playground experience for all Baker Elementary students. It also provides for Wayland Union High School art students to participate in a school based project.

Children at Baker have playground equipment – however some do not, or are unable to use it. Learning Landscapes provides exceptional opportunities to engage in playful learning through markings painted on the hard top surface of the Baker Playground. Benefit to all Baker students as well as WHS Art students who drew & painted the ‘landscapes’.

Betty Onopa
Dorr Elementary –Physical Education
“Pedometer Partner Fitness Fun”
The use of pedometers coincides with the Wayland Union Schools Physical Education Philosophy of providing students with knowledge, skills, fitness and attitudes necessary to lead healthier lifestyles, and life-long activities. This program was used with 3rd & 4th graders.

Rexanne Francis
Dorr Elementary – Kindergarten
The phrase “children learn by doing” is particularly true with math. Rexanne proposed that her kindergarten students catch “math fever” through the use of math tubs filled with math games or manipulatives that focus on specific math concepts. To catch this fever the children sang about math, read about math, cooked with math concepts, moved to math and played meaningful & purposeful math games at school and at home. The population in her room is very diverse. She has two special needs children and one child’s home language is Spanish. She also has students who are slow to progress and who need to have their learning accelerated. This program helped to increase the level of experiences as students move from concrete to abstract thinking. The math activities are meaningful as they relate to real life experience.

Lisa Cross
Pine Street – 5th Grade
Lisa was awarded an Innovation Grant in 2005/2006 for her Math & Science Lab. She proposed adding to the popular and successful math & science lab. “Our school is working toward differential learning. Students love the lab and show results in their attitude toward school and learning.” The additions included: Math: Mastering Math games, assorted “Fractions” activities, library items in electricity, matter & science, light & sound, solar system, plants, chemistry, math. Her project also included dry erase marker board sets.

Janet Johnson with Scott Gunderson & Principal Greg Rutten
Pine Street Elementary
Guest Artist – Wendy Popko
All staff and students at Pine Street were able to benefit from this project. In conjunction with Barnes and Noble, Janet organized a free visit from a published illustrator (paid for by Barnes & Noble). However, this illustrator was able to see only one grade level for free. They wanted to include all grade levels, which was three additional sessions. The project linked literacy and art education, while giving the students the opportunity to meet a professional illustrator. Janet worked with Art teacher, Scott Gunderson to develop an integrated lesson to reinforce the information provided to the students during the visit.

Lori Howell
Pine Street Elementary – 5th Grade
Mechanical Engineering Sets from Lego Education.
Goal: To encourage students in math, science and technology.
Using motorized Lego sets students learned mechanical design, construction, teamwork skills and career opportunities in engineering. This is a 6-8 week after-school motorized Lego course followed by a 6-8 week mechanical engineering course.

Lori has built on the Summer Enrichment Lego program and suggestions brought up by the Advisory Committee regarding robotics and other technology opportunities.

Michelle Foster
Middle School – Science
Audio Enhancement Program
One of Michelle’s goals is that this program in her classroom would become a model for future use in the district. The grant was used to enhance daily activities in her classroom (40 ft. deep). She believes that this system has a great potential to add to students overall understanding of science and other classes enhanced by improved listening, attention and overall understanding. Note: the award includes the entire system, installed, with a two year warranty.

Dana Omness
Middle School – 8th Grade “Classroom Jeopardy” with remotes accessible to all teachers in the Middle School.
Students were able to review for quizzes, tests, and the MEAP test. Two years ago, MEAP changed from the winter to the fall. Several teachers decided that their method of review, in such a short time, needed to be more meaningful. Through their research they found a Classroom Jeopardy game that brought the sights, sounds and excitement of the game into the classroom. They purchased the game with three controllers and scoreboards. They also purchased some games that focus on science, math and history. In addition, they have a link that allows them to make their own games using curriculum as the driving force of the game. The Middle School staff have used this system in the past two years to review for MEAP, as well as during the year to supplement lessons. It has been very successful, and student knowledge improvement is measurable. Dana requested additional controllers, scoreboards and cartridges to help to assess students’ knowledge even closer… with smaller groups, which benefited all.

Rebecca Black
WHS English/ Theater
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
The goal of “Got Shakespeare?” was to bring the works of William Shakespeare to the school and community in an approachable way. It is important to get students to feel confident in their abilities to understand and enjoy a higher level of literature.

The standard in the high school is that students need to be enrolled in an advanced theatre course in order to participate in theatrical productions. While this is a nice vessel for rehearsal time, it does exclude students who may have a solid conflict (band, choir, orchestra, etc) or thse who may need to focus on other academic courses.

Step 1 - “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, would be presented in April, and would be produced exclusively after school, giving more students the opportunity to participate in a play.

Step 2 – After A Midsummer Night’s Dream, casting has taken place for “Got Shakespeare?” The goal is to have a troupe perform throughout the 2007-2008 school year in various community and school settings. The project was designed to sustain itself, after the first year.

Robyn Robinson & Nathan Warsen
WHS – Special Education
Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program
This was a six-week riding program at Camp Manitou-Lin. The students who were able to benefit were students in the two Cognitive Impaired Special Education classrooms at the high school. There were 18 students enrolled in two classrooms. They ranged in age from 15-18 years – freshmen to senior. The program offered benefits in many areas including: physical, cognitive, self-care and self-esteem. Program included discussions and writing assignments, as well as math applications.

The session concluded with an open house at Camp Manitou-Lin for parents, family members, school administration, and Education Foundation members. Students shared their riding skills, as well as explained and demonstrated other skills they learned.

Kathy Jo Lough
WHS Teaching Consultant
“Technology Library”
Mainstreamed special education students were able to “level the playing field” and succeed in general education classes. Requested technology was placed in a “technology library” and enabled Teacher Consultant students to participate in general education classes as fully as other students. These devices were available for overnight loan to complete homework assignments. These devices will be tools that learning disabled students can learn to use, and then purchase themselves for success in college and adult life. Equipment requested included: • 3 Sony Voice recorders • 3 Graphing Calculators • 2 reading pens (Item suggested by Advisory Committee meetings)

Jan Laman
WHS Choir Director
2-Acoustic Guitar/case CD player, batteries, headphones 2-Keyboards
Almost 200 students participate in the WHS choral program. One class has 80 students. They do not have enough equipment to go around. The WHS choral program had several acoustic guitars however, only two of them were in decent, working order. The others were old and missing parts. They have one, working CD player. They had working keyboards, but not enough.

In Choral Explorations, there is an average of 10 students per trimester who want to learn guitar or use one for performance projects. All of the Regional Honors Choir and State Honors Choir pieces are practiced with CDs. All choirs in the WHS Choral Program were able to benefit from this grant.

Choral Exploration students felt the most benefit from the purchase of the guitar. SSA Choir, Concert Choir, Honors Choir and Select Choir benefited most from the keyboards and CD players.

Choral classes, competitions at the regional and state level, and an enhanced ability to learn and perform, was of benefit to all.

Note: Our “big” project this year is the musical OKLAHOMA. The music element in this years’ awards was important.

Debra Kemppainen
WHS Business School
“Classroom Performance System”
The Classroom Performance System created an interactive classroom environment. CPS allowed both the student and the teacher to use technology side-by-side with visual and verbal questioning, and provided immediate feedback for understanding. The instructional use of technology has changed from the occasional use of computer labs to conducting small projects, to multiple computers in a classroom, to multiple hand-held computers at the student’s finger tips. Students need to learn with technology. Students, teachers, staff and building administrators K-12, all saw the benefits from this program.