The School Foundation grants to Florence 1 Schools now exceed $2.1 million
Trisha Caulder, chair of The School Foundation’s grants committee (TSF) announced the foundation will distribute a total of $166,940 in grants to Florence 1 Schools (F1S) for the 2023-2024 school year.
The grants committee funded six grants submitted by F1S educators. $12,350 was awarded to Briggs Elementary for their “Empowering Instruction” grant, which will continue the FranklinCovey Leader in Me program designed to aid in the personal and academic growth of all students at Briggs; $36,353 was awarded to F1S’ REACH program for their “Makerspaces for Tomorrow’s Innovators” grant, which will purchase 12 Makerspace carts (portable carts that are fully equipped with the materials to complete hands-on, collaborative STEM activities) for each elementary school that houses a REACH classroom; $45,831 was awarded to F1S for their “STAR Lab’, a mobile planetarium that will allow all students in F1S schools to learn about the stars, planets, constellations and many other fascinating S.T.E.M. topics; $23,200 was awarded to West Florence High for their “Florence 1 Achievers – Phase II” grant, which will give a cohort of up to 45 academically gifted students with barriers to learning the ability to take unique advanced classes each of their four high school years; $32,585 was awarded to John W. Middle School for their “Immersed in Innovation with CLASSVR!” grant which will expand the STEAM program through the use of Class Virtual Reality Headsets (CLASSVR), which will integrate virtual reality in their current curriculum; $16,621 was awarded to Southside Middle School for their ”Bringing Virtual Reality to the Science Classroom” grant, which will fund virtual reality (VR) headsets and software access that will reach approximately 1200 students across three grade levels.
“We are very excited about the caliber of grants we received for the upcoming school year,” Trisha stated. “It is inspiring to see our educators submit creative and innovative grants that will afford exciting opportunities for our students.” Debbie Hyler, executive director of TSF stated, “We are thankful for our outstanding F1S educators and their vision to improve the lives of their students. Our students can only excel from the innovation and creativity displayed by these educators who are committed to helping their students excel.”
To date, TSF has awarded $2,137,512.78 in grants to F1S. This funding would not be possible without the support of the community and their donors.
For additional information, please contact Debbie Hyler, Executive Director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (843) 662-9996.
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