Lemont Educational Foundation Provides Nearly $22K In Grant Funding

LEMONT, IL — Four Lemont High School initiatives designed to enhance the total educational experience of students have received grant funding totaling nearly $22,000 after the projects were recently approved by the Lemont High School Educational Foundation.

Each of the grant proposals was submitted by Lemont High School students, faculty, or staff members with the goal of creating an opportunity to improve student life for the school’s 1,400 students, school officials announced this week.

The Educational Foundation said it will be providing total grant funding of $21,615 with the stipulation that the money must be used by the end of the 2022-23 school year, officials said. A total of six grant proposals totaling $38,000 were submitted by high school teachers to the foundation.

Since 2007, the foundation has supported more than $500,000 in grant funding that benefits Lemont High School students.

The projects selected for funding over the next school year include:

Blue & Gold Fridays

Funded at $1,200 — proposal by Denise Dalton & Mark Tomczak

During the 2021-22 school year, Lemont High School piloted “Blue & Gold Fridays” in an effort to encourage enthusiasm and school spirit among the school community. Each week, the name of one freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and faculty or staff member was drawn, and anyone who was wearing blue and gold that day was given a free Lemont High school t-shirt. This grant will expand that effort to the 2022-23 school year, with winners having the choice between the 2022-23 themed shirt or a $5 gift card, school officials said. School pride and school spirit should continue to increase as students continue to wear gear from their clubs and sports, or other Lemont High School spirit wear.

Breakfast Buddies

Funded at $2,300 — proposal by Krissy Bergles, Meagan Drummond & Kelsey Eisele

Since 2006, Breakfast Buddies has helped with socializing for both students with diverse abilities and students who wish to be mentors. Breakfast Buddies is held before school on Wednesdays and attracts dozens of students, officials said. Through the program, Special education students gain confidence and acceptance, helping to make them feel more a part of the Lemont High School community, while their peer mentors gain expertise in working with individuals with diverse abilities. Acceptance, respectful and polite behaviors, and appropriate social interaction skills all are learned and incorporated within the kitchen and classroom setting.

Creative and Innovative With a Marker

Funded at $15,015 — proposal by Kathy Young

A previous Educational Foundation grant allowed for an ‘Extreme Classroom Makeover’ in which two tables with writable surfaces were included in that grant, and the Mathematics Department learned this change of furniture provided an optimal learning environment and enhanced teaching and learning, officials said. The proposal said that when students have writable surfaces, they explore and wonder freely since any errors can be eliminated with a swipe. Students also collaborate more, and teachers can view a variety of approaches to problems and identify potential errors. This grant will provide a classroom of 30 individual student tables with writable surfaces, as well as unattached chairs. As many as 240 students each semester will benefit from the improvements in this one classroom.

Honoring the Class of 2022

Funded at $3,100 — proposal by Megan Idell

When Lemont High School closed for in-person instruction in Spring 2020, it partnered with the Lemont High School Alumni Association to purchase a senior t-shirt and graduation sign for each member of the Class of 2020, school officials said. These items were delivered to students’ homes with the goal of instilling pride in their school even though they were unable to be on campus. The Lemont High School Educational Foundation stepped in a year later and purchased t-shirts and signs for the Class of 2021. Though their senior year has been closer to “normal”, the Class of 2022 has been affected by the pandemic as much as those two classes. This grant will aid in the purchase of t-shirts and graduation signs for the Class of 2022 and provide a gesture of goodwill for all seniors and their families as the new graduates move on to the next chapter in their lives.