District 128 projects win grants from community foundation
Fourteen innovative projects at Libertyville High School and sister school Vernon Hills High have received grants totaling more than $18,771 from a local community foundation.
The money will fund engineering projects, scientific experiments, classical music demonstrations and other efforts.
The grants, which were announced this week, come from the District 128 Foundation for Learning, an independent nonprofit group that supports programs and activities at the two schools.
The foundation has awarded more than $187,781 to 127 projects since 2008.
Foundation project chairwoman Mary Ann Eiserman said the grants give students "memorable and enriching opportunities beyond the classroom curriculum and state standards."
Six of the new grants will fund projects proposed by Libertyville High teachers, six went to projects proposed by Vernon Hills High teachers and two will be shared by teachers at both schools.
Grant winners include:
• Libertyville science teachers Mark Buesing and Kim Holder, who received a $1,940 grant so students can design, build and launch weather balloons carrying scientific equipment.
• Libertyville career and technology teacher Andrew Thomson, who received $1,950 to teach students how to build and operate a quadcopter drone.
• Vernon Hills orchestra director Dana Green and choir director Jeremy Little, who received $600 so a string quartet from Northern Illinois University can demonstrate classical performance practices for the school's symphony orchestra.
• Vernon Hills science teacher Elissa Gong, who received $1,920 to teach students how to collect electrical power from soil and to explore the potential for using bacteria as an energy source.
District 128 Superintendent Prentiss Lea is grateful for the foundation's efforts.
"We are so fortunate to have such committed and dedicated volunteers working so hard to ensure that District 128 teaching is on the cutting edge," Lea said.
"As result, our students have world-class learning opportunities."
To learn more about the foundation, visit d128foundation.org.