Bullard Education Foundation awards more than $72,000 in grants to fund innovative learning

The Bullard Education Foundation (BEF) visited all six Bullard ISD campuses today, Sept. 3, to award teachers more than $72,000 in grants to fund 40 innovative learning programs and projects.

“We are thrilled to be able to donate more than $72,000 back to Bullard ISD campuses this morning, a testament to our dedicated fundraising efforts over the past year,” BEF President Courtney Willis said. “Watching the surprise and joy on our teachers’ and students' faces as they learn about new programs made possible by these grants is heartwarming. We couldn't achieve this incredible feat without our amazing community, and we are excited to see the positive impact these funds will have on our students and classrooms."

The 40 grants will benefit students of all ages and include projects such as sensory learning, class field trips, hoverboards, robotics, sign language, learning enrichment games, reading activities, and more!

First-grade teacher Merritt Stewart is excited to receive funding for flexible seating options to help support all learning styles in her classroom.  “We are also thrilled to be awarded a grant for each first-grade classroom to learn about animal lifecycles while using incubators to hatch baby chicks in the spring,” Merritt said. “Thank you, Bullard Education Foundation, for supporting us and making learning so much fun.”

To add to the morning's excitement, the BHS Panther Band drumline and BHS cheerleaders joined BEF members and district administrators as they made their way through hallways to surprise grant winners. 

“It is always a fun day when the Bullard Education Foundation delivers grants on campuses,” Bullard ISD Superintendent Dr. Jack Lee said. “These innovative classroom projects and opportunities would not be possible without BEF grants, and we can’t wait to see our teachers put them to use in their classrooms. In Bullard ISD, we have a strong support system in our community. Days like Grant Delivery Day remind us how much our community cares about our students’ success.” 

2024 Bullard Education Foundation Grants Winners

Bullard High School 
Helmerich & Payne STEM in Education Grant - Brad Harden, “Voltage Vision”
Brad Harden, Ag Mechanics - “Paint the Town Blue,” “Blast Off,” “Voltage Vision” 
Health Sciences - “Piecing Together the Human Body” 
Elaine Hageman, Math - “Graph it Out”
Sara Register and Alyssa Flora, ASL - “American Sign Language”
Life Skills Team - “Meals on Wheels,” “Let’s Grow Some Dendrites,” and “Sensory Symphony”
BHS/BMS Plant Sciences - “Cha-Ching is a Nice Ring” and “The Mustard Seed Community Composting”
Family Consumer Sciences - “Learning is Loads of Fun”
Jamie Dildine, Floral Design - “Seeing is Believing”

Bullard Middle School 
Helmerich & Payne STEM in Education Grant - Dylan Fox, Robotics - “Taking It to the Next Level, One Robot at a Time”
Lawren Phillips, Senoya Driskel, and Amanda Stork, Campuswide - “The House System”
Amanda Enright, Life Skills - “Work Readiness Skills”
BMS Graphic Design and Yearbook Class - “Panther Prowl Project”

Bullard Intermediate School
Lori Kotzur, Kelly Stevenson, Social Studies - “Family Social Studies”
Jennifer Whitehead, Carey Powell - “WIN Games
Mindy Simon, SPED - “Getting Students on Board to Learn Math”

Bullard Elementary School 
Kathy Sleeper Innovation in STEAM Grant, Breanna Prince, STEAM Lab - “Dancin’ with Marty”
4th Grade Reading Team - “Camp Tyler”
4th Grade Math Team - “Camp Tyler”
4th Grade Social Studies Team - “Kilgore Museum Field Trip”
Kayla Allen, Gifted and Talented - “Hoverboards”

Bullard Primary School 
1st Grade Team - “Egg-citing Incubators”
Sarah Breedlove, Stacy Reschke - “Ready, Set, Boogie”
Kristi Pudwill - “Versatility with Versatiles”
Merritt Stewart - “Wave Hello to Active Learning Seats and Centers” and “Smart Halls” 
2nd Grade RLA Team - “Books for Powerful Panther Readers”  
Krystal Blubaugh, Emily Smith, Life Skills- “Adaptive Adventure” and “Sensory Splendor”
Emily Smith, Adrian Saenz, Reading/Math - “Flexible Seating”

Bullard Early Childhood Campus
Kalen Kite, Speech - “Freedom of Speech”
Lindsey Durant, Shelly Vickers - “Cosmic Bowling Expansion”
PreK Team - “Talking Tonies for Terrific Tots”
Cecilee Walker, Life Skills - “Embarking on Independent Learning with Task Boxes”
Amanda Goode, PreK-2 - “PBIS: Digital Rewards for Promoting Positive Behaviors”
Special Education Team - “See us Rollings as We’re Learning”

Congratulations, grant winners! Check out all the fun photos on the Bullard ISD Facebook page!