Did You Know? Davey Jackson Elementary School is the only school in the state to offer a dual immersion program? In 2010, 80 Kindergarten and first grade students completed their first year of this innovative program.
Did You Know? Every year Colter Elementary 5th graders and staff raise thousands of dollars for local and global charities through apple sales. Past fund-raising provided almost 25% of the costs for a girls’ school in Afghanistan.
Did You Know? All 6th and 7th graders at Jackson Hole Middle School are learning a second language as an integral part of their academic experience. JHMS consistently scores as one of the highest achieving middle schools in the state on the Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students in reading, writing, and mathematics.
Success Showcase
The Teton County Education Foundation supports educational and creative programs that require additional funding outside of the core school budget. The Foundation only supports programs which have been approved by the School District administration. To assist with a particular project, the Foundation may provide organizational resources, grant-writing services, or financial support. The Foundation also works with education-minded donors to help them achieve their charitable intentions while working within the goals and framework of the school district.
Most Foundation projects and partnerships have been offered comprehensively, either to an entire grade, or district-wide. This year we will provide support to teachers through our Collaborative Classroom Grant Awards.
Collaborative Classroom Grants: 2011
This year the Teton County Education Foundation is partnering with New Initiatives in Public Education, the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, the Rotary Breakfast Club, and all elementary parent/teacher groups to provide over $22,000 in support of our district teachers and classrooms. All teachers in the district may now apply for a Collaborative Classroom Grant. Single classrooms, teams of teachers, grade-level or entire school applications will be accepted. The award amounts will be based on $100 per teacher applying. Principals must approve and sign the grant application before the TCEF will provide funding. The intent of the grants is to give district teachers quick access to small amounts of funding that are not available through classroom budgets. These enhancement grants will provide money for projects and supplies through a streamlined application process. The TCEF has grown the amount of the funds available to all district teachers by partnering with organizations that have provided classroom enhancement funding in the past.
Promethean Boards for Alta, Kelly, and Wilson Schools: 2011
The establishment of the 21st Century classroom continues to be a prominent goal of the TCSD’s Strategic Plan. The Board of Education and the school district leadership teams have implemented a program that prepares 21st Century Learners through assistive and emerging technologies that help teachers deliver effective curriculum. To further this effort, the TCEF has been working with the Raciborski Family Foundation, the LOR Foundation, and the school district to provide Promethean Boards (also known as ActivBoards) to Alta, Kelly, and Wilson Elementary schools. Promethean Boards are interactive white boards that combine the functionality of a chalk board and overhead projector with the capacity and efficiency of a laptop computer and touch screen. Promethean Boards are already in use at Moran, Davey Jackson, and Colter Elementary schools. The TCEF is very grateful to our funding partners for their charitable vision. Thanks to these donors and to the school district administration, all our elementary students and their teachers will benefit from this advanced technology.
Live Performance Initiative
The TCEF established this fund in 2008 to promote the performing arts and to offer district students the opportunity to see at least one live performance per year. Live theater offers a unique way for students to learn and open their eyes to the vibrancy of the performing arts. For many students, these performances have been their first visit to the Center for the Arts Theater. Over 3,100 students have attended at least one of the following performances.
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, 2010. Nearly 500 kindergartners and first-graders saw one of their favorite books come to life on the Center Theatre stage at the Center for the Arts. The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences presented “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical” based upon the Caldecott award-winning book. Through support from Off Square Theatre, the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, New Initiatives in Public Education, Wells Fargo Bank, the Cultural Council of Jackson Hole / Arts for All, and the TCEF many young students had their first experience with live theater, and they were enthralled. The children prepared for the show by reading the Knuffle Bunny books as part of their studies.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 2010. Another 800 students were able to attend Dancers’ Workshops Holiday Performance of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” thanks to the Live Performance Initiative. The TCEF hopes that these live performances will be the catalyst for students’ involvement with many of the performing arts organizations in the community, and they will gain a lasting desire to attend more live theater at the Center for the Arts and beyond.
A Christmas Carol, Macbeth, Man of La Mancha, the Wizard of Oz, and Alice in Wonderland, 2008 – 2010. Thanks to generous funding from New Initiatives in Public Education and the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, more than 1,800 district students attended a performance at the Center for the Arts during the 2009/10 school year. Since its inception in 2008, the Live Performance Initiative has allowed students to attend plays and musicals based upon the works of Shakespeare, Dickens, Cervantes, C.S. Lewis, and Lewis Carroll.
Teacher Training and Curriculum Camps: 2008 - 2010
For two years, the Foundation co-sponsored a summer Teacher Curriculum Camp. The Camps allowed teachers to learn new instructional strategies and integrate those strategies into unit plans; delve into the district resources for teachers; collaborate with a team of teachers by grade level, content area or cross-curricular; and rewrite or create new unit plans.
Old Bill’s Fun Run: 2007 - 2010
The Foundation serves as the source for Old Bills Fun Run fundraising and organizing for district schools. All donations to this community event go through the TCEF, and then are given to the schools for which they are designated. By being a conduit for this key fund raising event, the TCEF provides critical administrative and promotional support to all our public schools. In 2010 approximately $40,000 was raised to support Teton County School District #1. Match funds and individual gifts to TCEF provide the mainstay for the Foundation’s operating budget.
Project Lead the Way: 2008 - 2009
Partnering with Warren Potash and the KOH Foundation, we developed funding resources through Old Bill’s Fun Run to support this engineering curriculum at Jackson Hole Middle School and Jackson Hole High School. Project Lead the Way gives students with an interest in engineering the opportunity to engage in rigorous, hands-on classes that prepare them for post-secondary education in science, math, engineering and technology. As a result of KOH funding, three engineering classes in the middle and high schools give students a good head start in a competitive profession.
JHHS Microsoft Campus Tour: 2008
Seven students from JHHS, who had participated in Julie Tanabe’s hardware repair class or the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician class, were selected to visit the Microsoft Corporate Campus in Redmond, WA. A key goal of the tour was to provide the students with a robust experience of a tech company’s work environment and to learn about the skills, knowledge, and characteristics needed to succeed in our global economy.
Creation and Maintenance of TCEF Website: 2007 - 2008
With guidance from teacher Barbara Sanchez, JHHS seniors Alex Fillmore and Mason Davis designed and developed this website in 2008. Fillmore, now employed by the school district, continues to maintain and update the site. The website allows us to communicate our mission and work while also providing local young people with more professional experience.
Colter Winter Sports Program: 2007
With the generous support of the TCEF and Rotary Foundation of Jackson Hole, the winter sports program provided lessons in alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, ice skating, and hockey at an affordable price as well as covering the start-up costs of some basic equipment. The goal of the program is to encourage recreation in an active lifestyle during the winter months. Colter joins the outlying schools of Moran, Kelly, Alta and Wilson in having a winter sports program!
