Funding for 18 projects aimed at enhancing student learning throughout the Enumclaw School District was authorized recently by board members of the Enumclaw Schools Foundation.

Students in every district school will benefit from at least one project, as the ESF allocated nearly $28,000 to be used during the 2015-16 academic year.

District staff can apply for ESF “Innovation and Enrichment Grants” of up to $2,500 every spring.

The 18 projects range from purchasing books for elementary book clubs; Kindle Fires for a resource room; a trip to tour the capitol in Olympia for fourth- and fifth-grader students; literacy software program for English Language Learners; a tour of University of Washington campus for all eighth graders; materials for STEM related classes and much more.

The mission of the Enumclaw Schools Foundation is to “Enhance educational opportunities for all students in the Enumclaw School District.” One way the ESF does this is by funding grant requests. ESF board members began funding these grants in the fall of 2010 and have allocated more than $113,000 to 90 projects. These projects provide district staff with funds to teach students by exposing them to curriculum, materials and hands-on experiences that teachers are excited about, but the district doesn’t have funds to support.

“Dancing Classrooms” is an example of a grant ESF has helped fund for Sunrise Elementary students and will fund again next year. Fifth-grade students learn ballroom dancing during this multi-week program. But, like a lot of projects funded by ESF, it’s about much more than dancing. It’s about encouraging students to take a risk to learn something completely out of their comfort zone and learn to conquer their discomfort one box step at a time.

Enumclaw Schools Foundation is supported through its Jazzing Up Education luncheon, GiveBIG and employee giving programs like United Way.