Aumsville Elementary gets nod from Blazers
Aumsville Elementary School received a boost recently after beating out several hundred other schools for a slice of a $100,000 grant given by the Trail Blazers Foundation and Well Fargo.
AES scored $7,500 in funding support for sports and activity equipment along with repainting court lines and upgrading the grass field and bark path.
The grant came through the “Take it to the Court for Education” program. AES was one of 20 schools selected out of 328 applications from 140 zip codes throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Take it to the Court for Education was formed via a Trail Blazer Foundation partnership with Wells Fargo. Representatives from the program said recipients were chosen from an open application process to request funding support for academic, art, athletic or community programs.
"We are super excited to have been part of this partnership with Wells Fargo and the Trailblazers Foundation," Aumsville Elementary Principal Cyndi Ganfield said. "We had a great afternoon meeting C.J. McCollum and the group from Wells Fargo to receive the grant.
"We wrote the grant particularly to add some inclusive playground pieces, as we house four special-education programs on our campus," Ganfield added. "We also emphasized our open campus that serves as a community park as well."
Applicants pitched for a variety of educational support tools, from books to sports jerseys, to fitness equipment to hummingbird robot kits. The Aumsville pitch registered with the foundation.
“Overall we’re looking for programs that will impact underserved programs and youth,” said Trail Blazers Vice President of Social Responsibility Christa Stout, the foundation’s executive director. “One thing we look for is geographic diversity; so we find communities that might not get as much attention if, say, they are a small community outside a bigger city.”
Aumsville fits that classification, but so do a lot of others.
Stout itemized the Aumsville edge:
“There were three bullets (highlights) that caught my eye with Aumsville: they wanted to increase access to play and physical activity for all students, including physically handicapped students; they were investing in improving play, walking and running for the school and the surrounding community; their investment in increasing equipment for youth to have more opportunity to play.”
From hop-scotch to basketball hoops, Stout stressed, play is a vital part of the educational objective. She cited research such as the Aspen Institute’s “Project Play” that underscores how physically active kids perform better in the classroom.
Aumsville was among only a few schools in the mid Willamette Valley receiving a piece of the pie: Ash Creek Elementary in Monmouth received a grant for take home books to support the SOAR Into Reading Program; Falls City High School for new basketball, football track and volleyball jerseys; North Marion High School for a dual-credit automotive and tech program.
jmuch@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 769-6338, cell (503) 508-8157 or follow at twitter.com/justinmuch
Take it to the Court for Education school grants recipients:
• Ash Creek Elementary School (Monmouth, OR) – Take home books to support the SOAR Into Reading Program;
• Astoria High School (Astoria, OR) – New basketball hoops for the school’s main gym;
• Aumsville Elementary School (Aumsville, OR) – Sports and activity equipment along with repainting court lines and upgrading the grass field and bark path;
• Centennial High School (Gresham, OR) – Fitness training equipment, soccer goals, benches, nets and flags;
• Echo Shaw Elementary School (Cornelius, OR) – PE equipment and storage units to encourage physical activity;
• Falls City High School (Falls City, OR) – New jerseys for volleyball, basketball, track, and football teams;
• Gaston Jr./Sr. High School (Gaston, OR) – Update the weight room equipment to be utilized by students and the community;
• James John Elementary (Portland, OR) – Tools for Schools backpack giveaway for students at the beginning of next academic year;
• Jefferson Elementary (Medford, OR) – New PE and playground equipment;
• Malin School (Malin, OR) – Upgrade playground equipment for current students and local pre-school children;
• Marrion Elementary (Vancouver, WA) – Books for reading intervention program;
• Mazama High School (Klamath Falls, OR) – Build a greenhouse and compost structure on campus to be used by the Science Department and their STEM&M program;
• Merrill Elementary School (Merrill, OR) – New gym floor to replace original from 1935;
• Naas Elementary (Boring, OR) – Funding the Right Brain Initiative to integrate art into the school’s academic curriculum;
• Newport Middle School (Newport, OR) – Materials to build underwater remotely operated vehicles and hummingbird robot kits to support STEM curriculum;
• North Marion High School (Aurora, OR) – Student participation in a one-term dual-credit Automotive Career and Technical Education program;
• Reynolds Learning Academy (Fairview, OR) – Books to build a school library for this alternative high school;
• Seth Lewelling Elementary School (Milwaukie, OR) – Ecotour of Oregon for 4th and 5th graders to learn the history of Mount Hood through Native American sources and apply learnings to advocacy;
• Sunset School (Coos Bay, OR) – Equipment for high school students to learn math, science, and language arts standards while growing their own food to be given to local elementary school students and farmers markets;
• Yoncalla Elementary School (Yoncalla, OR) – STEAM classroom kits, science camp materials and supplies, and Ipads to support academic curriculum.
Related stories:
Chinese students get taste of Aumsville life
Aquarium brings ocean of fun to local schools
Summer program turnout, itinerary has Aumsville stoked
