Stories
Clark County Community Foundation Provides Funding for Intermediate School Classrooms
Following the 2019 On the Table student conversations on inclusion and belonging, 5th and 6th grade students at Baker Intermediate School in Clark County said that bullying and mental health issues were prevalent. Students noted in particular that bullying often centered around students with differences and mental or physical disabilities.
With two in-school counselors and hundreds of students, it was clear students were seeking additional one-on-one resources. The Clark County Community Foundation board of advisors knew that additional funding would be required for the schools to provide these needed resources. $25,000 in funding was set aside for the public schools On the Table response.
School principal Josh Mounts, and counselors Cindy Whiteside and Emily Daniels reviewed the report and knew they had to respond to their students. The team approached the Clark County Community Foundation with their plan for “Bulldog Boxes;” an in-classroom toolbox to help students with their social-emotional needs.
According to the grant application, the boxes would keep students learning in the classroom, allowing students the opportunity to practice using coping strategies to reduce their barriers to learning and overall success. The counselors stated that the boxes could help “a student with ADHD and struggling to focus, a student with Autism in need of a sensory break, a student with a traumatic history that needs coping strategies, a frustrated/angry student that is struggling academically and needs a time-out or calm-down period, and many more.” All teachers will receive special training around the use of materials provided in the boxes.
The Clark County Community Foundation board is thrilled to provide a grant of $15,220 to Baker Intermediate School to assist all 5th and 6th grade students and their teachers.
This grant will enable each classroom to receive a box with the following materials: tangle fidgets, sensory bottle supplies, noise cancelling headphones, foot bands, balance disk, weighted pencils, blue reading trackers, fidget and sensory kit, thinking putty, liquid bubble timer, stress ball supplies, Hoberman sphere, stress balls, calm-down cards, coloring books, colored pencils, breathing boards, grounding strategies cards, colored pencils, stress balls and coloring books. Additional items purchased and shared among school teams include a weighted blanket, pedal machine, adjustable desk and weighted vest.
The Clark County Community Foundation is able to provide grants such as this, and initiatives such as On the Table, thanks to generous donors who have contributed through lifetime and estate gifts to the Clark County Community Foundation endowment fund. Each year more than $300,000 in grants are awarded to help Clark County nonprofits and charitable causes.