SRP awards nearly $75,000 to 19 schools

Whether it involves studying wildlife in a school yard habitat or participating in a summer robotics camp, projects supported by SRP grants in 2008-09 have the promise of exciting young minds through a variety of methods.

Learning Grants by SRP will fund endeavors, programs and activities that promote and support innovative math and science education at 19 Arizona schools. SRP awarded $74,971.98 in grants as part of its new Classroom Connections educational funding portfolio.

In addition to Learning Grants, Classroom Connections also includes Applied Science Grants and Powering Our Future Mini-Grants; funding for all three programs is earmarked at $135,000.

Schools receiving 2008-09 funds include:

  1. Burk Elementary School, Gilbert, ($1,835): Burk's STEM Club will be enabled to greatly improve the exposure of students to science and engineering concepts, with the purchase of machine components, robotics, and software.
  2. Cholla Elementary, Casa Grande, ($2,472.70): Cholla staff will be able to stock their GEMS (Great Explorations in Math and Science) with the SRP grant. The kits address a wide variety of state standards in science, including physical science, energy, magnetism, earth and space science and more.
  3. Circle Cross Ranch K-8, Florence, ($4,995.65): SRP grant funds will support two Parent Math and Science Nights for parents of kindergartners through 8th graders. In addition, math and science centers will be upgraded, and quarterly intercessions will be enhanced for students struggling with math and science.
  4. Connolly Middle School, Tempe, ($5,000): Middle school students will create a multi-media scrapbook rich in academic vocabulary during an investigation of the properties of plant growth. The final product will be a report in the context of new media.
  5. Copper Rim Elementary School, Globe, ($5,000): The entire school community will participate in "Exploration University," a full day of activities for preschoolers through 4th grade. SRP funds will provide the materials necessary for hundreds of students and parents to explore the tools necessary for students to function in a scientific community.
  6. Countryside Elementary School, Surprise, ($4,834.65): Countryside pupils in the schools STEM club will use math and science knowledge to gather data and report on meteorology and local weather. Daily data will be collected, analyzed, and quarterly reports compiled.

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  7. Country Place Elementary, Littleton, ($4,774): Students in 5th through 8th grades will design robotic devices, developing spatial thinking, measurement and geometric math skills, practical applications, technology skills, and logical thinking.
  8. Desert Mirage Elementary School, Pendergast, ($4988.94): Fifth Graders will participate in the Desert Mirage Building Engineers Science Project, engaging students in investigations of the science of gears, levers, pulleys, wheels and axles. The students will also investigate alternative energy sources from water, wind, and solar power.
  9. Desert Star School, Goodyear (Avondale Dist.), ($4,989.48): "Making Math Come Alive" will become a cross-curricular approach, integrating math, technology, reading and writing. New technology will enhance math centers, developing numerous avenues to reach an answer.
  10. Desert Winds Elementary School, Deer Valley, ($5,000): The first grade teachers will establish themed environments to address the math and science standards. "Data in the Deep Sea," "Geometry in the Jungle," and "Rulers in the Rainforest" are a few of the habitat centers where young children will encounter both nature and math/science proficiencies.
  11. Excelencia Elementary School, Creighton District, ($4,998): Fourth graders will work together to construct electric circuitry, presenting their findings to other students, faculty and parents. Students will develop a fundamental understanding of the science of magnetism, electrical technology and energy usage.
  12. Frye Elementary School, Chandler, ($5,000): The Frye Math Resource Library will expand to house a wide variety of math manipulatives for staff, students, and the community. Students will gain a deeper understanding of each math standard, increasing achievement. The program at Frye has a proven track record; the SRP Learning Grant will enable a master teacher to expand her offerings.
  13. Garden Lakes Elementary, Pendergast, ($5,000): SRP grant funds will enable Garden Lakes to purchase and implement the "Content on Wheels" program, making it possible for this excellent program to serve many classrooms and students - putting science and technology at their fingertips.
  14. Hendrix Junior High, Mesa, ($4,876.82): Junior high students will engage the foundations of physical science through the acquisition of simulators, smart boards and "airliners." Students will engage in discovery learning on the Laws of Physics throughout the year.
  15. Maricopa Wells Middle School, Maricopa (Pinal County), ($4,999.90). Students in this rural school will learn 7th and 8th grade math standards in a challenging context of Aerospace Science. For 9 weeks, students will be challenged to apply their math and science knowledge to specific problems in the design and performance of airplanes.

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  16. Peralta Trail Elementary, Gold Canyon, ($325): SRP grant funds will enable the students to perform practical experiments in the changing states of matter, chemical properties, and investigations of force.
  17. Sierra Verde Elementary School, Deer Valley, ($2,783): Fourth grade students will build and manipulate electronic circuit boards, demonstrating properties of sound, motion, and light. Durable kits will enable students to replicate the discovery learning for years to come. Students will design their own studies.
  18. St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School, Casa Grande, ($325): Students at St. Anthony will learn microbiology through the purchase of monocular microscopes. Students in grades 6 through 8 will be able to do more sophisticated science through the acquisition of these tools.
  19. Weinberg Elementary School, Chandler, ($2773.75): Weinberg will establish a math resource program, similar to the one at Frye Elementary School. Weinberg staff plans to lift decreasing scores by enabling staff to engage students with individual, differentiated instruction.

Find out more

For information about how to apply for a Learning Grant by SRP, please visit our Learning Grant page, or call (602) 236-2484.

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