Mini grants will fund these special projects in Topeka USD 501 classrooms

Rafael Garcia, Topeka Capital-Journal
Updated ·3 min read

Strictly speaking, the rules don't allow for the Topeka Public Schools Foundation to fund certain things like equipment that the school district could and should buy for its teachers.

But sometimes, the foundation comes across such awesome classroom projects that rules can be bent, at least a little, executive director Pamela Johnson-Betts told Topeka High art teacher Amy Cline.

Johnson-Betts, as well as representatives from the foundation's board, were in Cline's classroom Tuesday morning to present her with not one but two separate checks to fund above-and-beyond initiatives Cline is leading.

Topeka High art teacher Amy Cline right, reacts to receiving two grants Tuesday morning from Topeka Public Schools Foundation executive director Pamela Johnson-Betts, left. The bigger grant, for nearly $5,000, will be used for traveling printmaking labs for the district.
Topeka High art teacher Amy Cline right, reacts to receiving two grants Tuesday morning from Topeka Public Schools Foundation executive director Pamela Johnson-Betts, left. The bigger grant, for nearly $5,000, will be used for traveling printmaking labs for the district.

Cline's two grants were among 10 the foundation awarded around the district, meant to help spur above-and-beyond projects the foundation determined will make the most difference for USD 501 students.

"This provides dollars to fund projects that educators themselves say they want to help enhance the curriculum above and beyond what Topeka Public Schools can provide," Johnson-Betts said. "It gives students the opportunity to do some of these things, like printmaking, that they otherwise would not be able to do."

TPS Foundation grants will help provide above-and-beyond education

For the past 37 years, the Topeka Public Schools Foundation has awarded mini grants to classroom teachers around the district for projects and materials to provide educational opportunities that would not otherwise be available. To date, those awards have totaled more than $1.1 million, Johnson-Betts said.

This year, the foundation is awarding 10 grants, totaling more than $25,000.

They include, among others:

  • $500 to Kristin Jenkins of Ross Elementary for work to promote family engagement in the school's preschool classrooms.

  • $993 to Amy Cline of Topeka High School to continue the school's partnership with the North Topeka Arts District and other community art exhibition efforts.

  • A separate $4,882 to Cline, as part of a districtwide effort, to fund the Mary Huntoon Traveling Print Lab.

  • $987 to Tonya Foster and Jewel Oswald of Topeka High to support monthly de-stress and social events for students and teachers hosted in the school's library.

  • $483 to Lauren Westhoff at the Topeka Center for Advanced Learning and Careers to fund grooming training in the school's animal science pathway.

The 10 grants represent some of the most promising projects from a total list of about 30 applicants, Johnson-Betts said.

Topeka Public Schools Foundation executive director Pamala Johnson-Betts presents a grant check for $4,882.21 to Topeka High art teacher Amy Cline for a traveling print lab Tuesday morning.
Topeka Public Schools Foundation executive director Pamala Johnson-Betts presents a grant check for $4,882.21 to Topeka High art teacher Amy Cline for a traveling print lab Tuesday morning.

Grant will help more Topeka USD 501 students learn printmaking

Cline's grant for the traveling printmaking lab will help expose more USD 501 students, from a younger age, to a form of art that is often hard to experience in elementary school.

"I teach high school printmaking, and a lot of kids end up in my class who don’t even know what it is, which is fine — they still make a lot of great stuff," Cline said. "But I was thinking we could maybe give younger kids an opportunity to grow."

Topeka High students print work dries on a drying rack Tuesday morning in art teacher Amy Cline's classroom.
Topeka High students print work dries on a drying rack Tuesday morning in art teacher Amy Cline's classroom.

The nearly $5,000 will help buy three presses, paper and ink for elementary school teachers around the district to check out for about two or three weeks at a time. Cline said she hopes to lead a professional development training session in the spring to familiarize teachers with the techniques necessary to teach printmaking.

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"Printmaking is just one of those things that is expensive, but it’s not something you need to keep stored in the closet all the time," she said. "From my kids being in the district, too, I’ve known that sometimes they’ve done music labs through systems where teachers in the district share resources."

While Cline's is one of the biggest projects funded this year, Johnson-Betts, the foundation director, said no project has been too small over the past 37 years of grants.

Topeka High art teacher Amy Cline poses with a grant check for $4,882.21, given to her by the Topeka Public School Foundation on Tuesday morning.
Topeka High art teacher Amy Cline poses with a grant check for $4,882.21, given to her by the Topeka Public School Foundation on Tuesday morning.

"While these grants may be small potatoes to the district, we know that the individual teachers who receive these grants are over the moon that they get money to do these extra projects they couldn't do otherwise," Johnson-Betts said.

Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at ‪785-289-5325. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka Public Schools Foundation distributes 2023 classroom grants