GRANTS
This grant year has been amazing
thanks to our community of donors, educators, and students!
Your Support is Making an Impact
See how our educators are getting creative, meeting students’ needs, and expanding opportunities for all.
Over two years of unprecedented challenges and changes, the community continued to show outstanding support for Ashland Public Schools! Our supporters have opted to strengthen Ashland’s educational resources with their donations. These gifts allowed ASF to pivot and revise grant programs to be responsive to the immediate needs of administrators, teachers, and students. Below is an account of how your donations have made a positive impact in the Ashland Schools – and even beyond!
Classroom Impact Grants | $32,790
Project | Amount Awarded |
---|---|
For Marissa Watson purchase plywood for her AHS math and algebra students to use a laser engraver to turn linear equations into art pieces. |
$94 |
For Timaree Joe’s AHS business students to have access to flexible seating options to increase focus and meet the varied needs of students. | $899 |
For the purchase of 3-D models to teach hands on learning of each of the body systems in McKael Kenfield’s Anatomy & Physiology classes at AHS. |
$692 |
For electric instrument pickups for Ian Miller’s AHS jazz band students. | $970 |
For Andrea Royse, James Johnson and Amy Merwin to purchase supplies and hire music and technical directors to put on the AMS spring musical theater production of Starmites. | $2,500 |
To start a Free Choice Reading Program in Jennifer Gonzalez’s 7th and 8th grade Spanish classes at AMS, in which students can select reading materials from a variety of leveled Spanish language books. | $500 |
For John Stroud’s AMS art students to have access to quality paper, paints and ceramics supplies throughout the school year. | $2,000 |
To supply Amy VanKuiken’s AMS homeroom and language arts classes with hands-on games and puzzles to serve as collaborative activities for students to rebuild social skills, promote team building, and encourage camaraderie and laughter as students re-enter the classroom. |
$500 |
To replace older, worn-out copies of The Outsiders as AMS language arts teachers Austin Wallace and Amy VanKuiken prepare to read this classic novel with their 7th and 8th graders. | $978 |
For Wendy Werthaiser to purchase a set of copies of The Parker Inheritance to add to her collection of BIPOC-written novels for her AMS sixth graders to read and learn about anti-racism. | $659 |
To purchase diverse reading materials for Ellen Gayton’s 2nd grade class at Bellview to create opportunities for students to learn about different cultures. |
$383 |
For every Bellview student to have their own mat to use during Angela Johnson’s K-5 PE classes. |
$507 |
For Bellview kindergarten teacher Lauren McGowne to stock her classroom library with a variety of new reading materials for students. | $500 |
For Sheri Preskenis and Cory Carnes’ Bellview fourth graders to have access to hands-on, tactile STEM projects to encourage critical thinking and problem solving across all subject areas. |
$588 |
To purchase a variety of flexible seating options for Helman first graders in Ashley Schwedes and Toni DiMaggio’s classrooms to support the learning and focus needs of all students. |
$1,512 |
For James Bowers to start a rain gear library at JMOS so every K-8 student has access to quality weather-appropriate clothing for all outdoor activities. | $1,096 |
To purchase a PA system for Sage Meadows’ music classes at JMOS inorder to amplify students’ singing voices during performances. |
$1,604 |
For David Wasserman’s 7th grade math students to participate in a creative project to apply their math skills by creating cement stepping stones for the new JMOS site. |
$300 |
For AHS teacher Adrienne Fox Hillman to teach Econ to her students using the Settlers of Catan board game. | $340 |
To update the sewing machines in AHS teacher Jill Carrigan Britt’s Fiber Arts studio. | $1,395 |
To support Betsy Bishop in taking AHS theater students to the State Festival Showcase with their production of Bright Star. |
$2,800 |
For Amy VanKuiken and Austin Wallace to purchase mats and speakers to create spaces for mindfulness practice in their homeroom and Language Arts classes at AMS. |
$710 |
To bring creative, collaborative projects and reading support materials to Karl Pryor’s AMS Library, where students have been gathering and socializing since re-entering in-person instruction. | $902 |
To start a Free Choice Reading Program in Elisabeth Atanes’ 7th and 8th grade Spanish classes at AMS, in which students can select reading materials from a variety of leveled Spanish language books. | $500 |
To Student Support Specialist Allison Hass to plant a “Kindness Rocks” garden on the AMS campus for all students to contribute to. |
$403 |
For Jennifer Campbell and Lucinda Miftahittin to purchase specialty assistive technology calculators to support AMS students with varied learning abilities to have greater access to general education classes and curriculum. |
$502 |
For Andre Carvalhaes, Daniel Otte and Kristi Healy’s AMS science classes to acquire new binoculars to be used in a hands-on citizen science project in which they will collect real data to be used in bird conservation projects. | $1,000 |
For Kylie Patinio’s 7th and 8th graders to build 3-D cardboard utopian model cities for hands-on application of the geometry they have been studying during distanced learning at AMS. | $315 |
For Sage Meadows’ K-5 Bellview music program to purchase a set of quality, traditional instruments that are accessible to students of diverse physical capabilities. |
$1,200 |
To equip Karen Tkaczyk-Turner’s K-5 reading room at Helman Elementary with new flexible seating options to boost student focus and engagement. |
$632 |
To purchase materials in support of the Pond Restoration Project at Helman Elementary in collaboration with Tia McClean, Mia Driscoll, Kari Smith, and Mary Snowden, as well as Lomakatsi and the City of Ashland. | $1,070 |
To purchase tablets for Amy Merwin’s music classes at Helman Elementary to give students access to technology that will allow them to compose, record and practice music in class. |
$975 |
To purchase food for Ky Ferguson’s monthly take-home and at-school cooking classes for K-5 Walker Elementary students. |
$1,000 |
To purchase materials for Willow Wind’s food forest, led by Nicole Ferer, in which fruits, vegetables, edible shrubs and herbs will be grown to teach students about gardening, sustainability and community food access. | $952 |
To purchase materials needed to support Emily Bland and Kim Keoppen’s STEAM Academy at Willow Wind, which offers hands-on, project-based learning for middle school students in collaboration with math, science and language arts teachers. | $1,702 |
To purchase building materials for Mira Peterson Adams and Kim Keoppen to adapt outdoor learning spaces at Willow Wind to accommodate all students. |
$110 |
Education Support Grants | $42,500
Project | Amount Awarded |
---|---|
To hire music coaches to support students in Jennifer Carstensen’s AMS band program. | $4,500 |
To hire music coaches for Lauren Trolley’s strings classes at AMS and AHS. |
$8,000 |
To support the AHS Tutoring Center under the supervision of Tammy Anderson. | $8,000 |
In general support for Ian Miller’s AHS band program. | $2,500 |
For science equipment to be used in AHS science classes per Todd Hobein’s request (also supported by the Sharkey Foundation). |
$5,000 |
To support vocational programming at AHS as per the requests of Richard Britt and Mark Miller. |
$3,000 |
To support a student incentive program at AHS as per the request of Rebecca Gyarmathy. |
$800 |
To purchase curriculum and support facilitator training for district-wide staff to learn to lead social-emotional learning circles, as organized by Diane Berry and Karsten Peterson. | $7,015 |
To purchase fun learning materials for kindergarten readiness packets for all incoming Ashland kindergarteners, as organized by district-wide kindergarten teachers and Debbie Schaffer-Pew. | $2,000 |
To purchase supplies and materials for Bellview’s school-wide Earth Day celebration. | $700 |
To support the implementation of the Land & People Recognition canoe installation project on district property. | $1,000 |
Other Funds | $44,000
Project | Amount Awarded |
---|---|
Toward the purchase of dozens of brand-new, quality musical instruments to be used in the AHS and AMS band programs. | $35,000 |
To support district-wide student affinity groups, including (but not limited to) Black Student Unions (BSU), Latinx Student Unions (LSU), Gay-Straight Alliances and Gender Spectrum Alliances (GSA), and Native American Student Unions (NASU). |
$9,000 |





