Port Townsend Education Foundation (PTEF) has awarded $40,000 in grant funding to Port Townsend School District teachers for the 2023-2024 school year. Grants were awarded to teachers from Salish Coast Elementary, Blue Heron Middle School, OCEAN, and Port Townsend High School. The classroom enrichment and curriculum-based projects supported by these grants are expected reach hundreds of students this year.

“The projects that PTEF has funded are my daughter’s favorite and most memorable experiences in school,” said Nelia Swayze, PTEF Board member and parent. “They are such a crucial part of how our teachers can inspire and educate the kids.”

Large grants of up to $5,000, and micro-grants of up to $700, were awarded to 26 projects at area schools. One grant will help fund a pilot program for Japanese language learning at OCEAN school. Another supports the Salish Coast annual Family Math Night. The Editing Bay and Recording Booth, proposed by David Egeler of PTHS, will convert a large closet space at the high school into a designated editing bay that can also serve as a sound booth, useful for both video production and radio/podcasting production purposes.

We are Team Blackfish, lead by Tim Behrenfeld of PTHS, provides support to the high school’s ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) team, which consists of a cohesive gropu of students from all grade levels.

Writers in the Schools (WITS) for PTHS, proposed by Chris Pierson, provides opportunities for published writers to come into classrooms to empower students, with local professionals providing writing tools and life experiences to aid students with their creative writing.

Some of the other grant-winning proposals include a program providing PSAT funding for lower-income students; a series culinary studies classes; real-world maritime and wilderness skills instruction; lessons in sustainable forestry; a multicultural music workshop; development of an advocacy-focused library; a Japanese-language pilot program; and field studies in gothic literature.

This year’s grant requests ranged from $300 to $5,000. The Education Foundation was able to fund or partially fund 26 requests, some of which are already in action.

Since inception, PTEF has awarded more than half a million dollars directly to support innovative projects such as these, seeking to reach students on all points of the learning spectrum. The foundation was created in 2007 by concerned community members, as a way to bridge funding gaps in the school district. PTEF raises money to support students and teachers, and utilizes a formal grant review process to allocate money to Port Townsend public schools for classroom enrichment and curriculum-based projects.

For more information about this year's PTEF grants, or how to get involved, visit www.pteducationfoundation.org online.