Canton Education Foundation Awards Grants

A group of adults with balloons and oversized check in the hallways of drew a little attention this week. 

The group was a “prize patrol” from the Canton Education Foundation, on a mission to surprise teachers whose grant requests were being funded from the $6,000 the group had committed to the school system for this year.

Earlier this year the foundation committed the amount to the school system to fund ideas not funded in the town’s budget. 

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jordan Grossman screened the proposals to ensure they were ones the school district felt were sustainable and would not impact future budgets. 

The foundation was able to fund 4 of 9 proposals it received, two of which will take advantage of a fiber optic project this summer that will make the school a Wi-Fi capable building. 

All the grants are deeply appreciated, Grossman said. 

“We want to thank the Canton Education Foundation for supporting independent projects,” he said. 

Grossman joined members of the foundation as they went to surprise the teachers earlier this week. 

The first stop was to a music teacher Brett Gotthiemer’s chorus class to announce the foundation was funding $2,000 worth of iPads for use in chorus and AP Music next year. 

The next stop was also iPad related. Special Education teacher Melissa Cook plans to use them for mathematics classes she co-teaches, special education work as well as Canton’s Academy Alternative School, which she coordinates. 

She was also awarded $2,000. 

Chemistry teacher Betty Hagymasi received $600 from the foundation for her plans to organize a joint inquiry-based learning science fair with her Conceptual Chemistry and 6th graders at Canton Intermediate School. 

During the stop in Hagymasi’s class, principal Gary Gula took the chance to tell students that there are organizations like the Canton Education Foundation that fund good ideas. He also told them that sometimes it takes awhile but not to give up. 

“There’s a whole lot of foundations out there — people who are willing to give you money for good ideas,” Gula said. 

He also told students that the funds from the foundation were in addition to the $85,000 in various scholarships recently awarded to seniors.

“This is just another example of the generosity of the Canton community,” he said. 

The final grant from the foundation was for something a little different. School counselor Seth Korn proposed a “Boys on the Move” club at the school, which will pair seniors and freshmen in outdoor activities. 

The club will involve adventure and mentoring similar to the Outward Bound organization.