Xenia Community Schools Foundation Announces Classroom Grant Awards and Sponsorships for the 2021-2022 School Year

The Xenia Community Schools Foundation (XCSF) recently awarded $25,000.00 in grants to the Xenia Community Schools. The grants will fund projects that are innovative and provide enhancements to the standard school curriculum.

One group of awards focuses on science, including funds for a Chemistry Club project at Xenia High School geared towards science experiment instruction in the elementary schools. Funds are also being provided to Warner Middle School to create a Pond Ecosystem Learning Lab and to purchase supplies for a 7th grade Dissections course. A variety of science-focused grants were approved for elementary schools including: the Boonshoft Kindergarten Traveling STEM Program at McKinley Elementary and Butterfly Life Cycle at Shawnee Elementary. Most of the science grants are being sponsored, in full or in part, through the Dr. Jenene Washington-Stepter Science Grant. The Chemistry Club “ Teaching that Science is Fun!” project is also receiving support from the W.A. Hammond Drierite Co., LTD.

A variety of “Superhero “ books will be purchased for the preschool and elementary school libraries and new genre books will be added to the Warner Middle School library collection.

The Foundation is funding several grants focused on improving school climate, leadership skills, citizenship and student behavior. These include “WEB - Where Everybody Belongs”, “Project Linus” and “Responsible, Respectful Resilient- We are the X Factor!” at Xenia High School. Support for these initiatives comes from the Edwin Cox Family Legacy Grant.

The Muse Machine will once again perform at Warner Middle School. Grant funds will be used for several interactive performances. This will provide arts learning to connect students and teachers to artistic experiences. Included will be dance, theater, and music companies and independent artists. Xenia Rotary is a sponsor of the Muse Machine grant.
Barbara Stafford, Executive Director of the Xenia Community Schools Foundation, is sponsoring “Making Literacy Accessible”. This grant will provide funds to create and house a multisensory interactive library for MH students at Warner Middle School.

The grants awarded by the Foundation would not be possible without the help of the community. The Foundation announced a new “Sponsor a Grant Program” four years ago. Individuals, organizations and businesses commit to providing funds to cover a portion of or an entire grant for a minimum of $500.00. Grants available for sponsorship have been selected by the XCSF Board of Directors from staff-submitted applications and an extensive application review and selection process conducted in conjunction with Xenia Community Schools.

The Xenia Community Schools Foundation awards grants to teachers and staff of the Xenia Community Schools. Any Xenia Community Schools’ staff or community member can apply to the Foundation to fund special projects in classrooms. Projects are geared towards enriching student learning. Some applications represent district-wide initiatives. All the grants for Xenia Community School students and teachers are beyond what regular school funding can provide.

Xenia Community Schools Foundation, formerly known as the Xenia Educational Endowment Fund, is an Ohio non-profit 501(C) (3) corporation. Gifts made to the XCSF qualify as tax deductible charitable contributions. The Board of Directors includes both local residents and staff of the Xenia Community Schools District. For information about the XCSF, visit the website (xcsfoundation.com), check them out on Facebook (Xenia Community Schools Foundation) or leave a message at the Chamber of Commerce at 937-372-3591.