School Engagement Grants
The Foundation for VPS provides opportunities so all students have opportunities that spark their interests, connect them to their passion, and help them envision and plan for their future success in college, career and life.
Each year, the Foundation provides funding to bring unique enrichment activities and experiences to students at all VPS schools.
Since 1998, the Foundation for VPS has awarded more than one million dollars to fund innovative and exciting projects that enrich student learning.
The 2019-20 grant recipients include:
| All VPS Elementary Schools | Safety Patrol year-end celebration; after-school dance program; computer science for special education students |
| All VPS Middle & High Schools | Summer Shakespeare program; college readiness programs |
| Chinook Elementary | Books for family engagement literacy night |
| Columbia River High | Field trips to the Portland Zoo, Surgery-viewing, Misinformation Day at University of Washington, college visits and books for classrooms |
| Discovery Middle School | Ripsticks & badminton equipment; animal specimens for dissection; calligraphy pen sets; sensory tools for classrooms |
| Felida Elementary | Sensory tools to help students improve their proprioceptive and vestibular systems |
| Fir Grove | Cooking, baking, & woodworking supplies to promote project-based learning; family engagement nights |
| Fort Vancouver High School | Field trips to investigate the world – Portland Timbers for sports marketing, 3 plays at Port-land Center Stage, Bonneville Dam for environmental science, University of Washington Math Day, Teens Care 2 Summit at WSU-V and school orchestra performance at the Portland Music in the Parks Festival |
| Fruit Valley Elementary | Books for Family Literacy Night and end-of-school-year Book Swap |
| Hazel Dell Elementary | De Los Ninos (Day of the Children) Celebration |
| Hough Elementary | Entemology Rules! Workshops presented by The Bug Chicks |
| Hudson’s Bay High School | Black History 101 Mobile Museum; motivational speaker Erin Jones |
| iTech Preparatory | Physics students experience the High School Education Program at iFLY culminating in a zero-gravity flight experience |
| Jason Lee Middle School | “One Book, One School” – reading “Posted” by John David Anderson to encourage reading and build community through addressing themes of bullying, labels and friendship |
| Lake Shore Elementary | Sessions with award-winning singer-songwriter Ellen Whyte to write songs about the Lewis & Clark Corp of Discovery |
| Lieser Campus | OMSI assemblies; books to enhance STEAM library |
| Lincoln Elementary | Playworks Ball Pit |
| Marshall Elementary | Wacky Math and Science Show for school assembly; Math Family Engagement Night |
| McLoughlin Middle School | Operationalizing math through field trips to Multnomah Falls and Mt. Tabor |
| Minnehaha Elementary | School garden |
| Ogden Elementary | One School, One Book, One Dance through Wishtree and dance artist, Michael Galen |
| Roosevelt Elementary | Books for family engagement events |
| Sacajawea Elementary | Science enrichment for kindergartners through visits to the Oregon Zoo and the Oregon Children’s Theater “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” |
| Salmon Creek Elementary | Books to encourage literacy through the “Read Around The World Family Adventure” |
| Skyview High School | MEChA Cesar L. Chavez Leadership Conference; scripts and performance rights for D.W. Gregory’s play “Radium Girls”; busing for “Senior Graduation Walk” and BOLT (Building Our Legacy Together) |
| Truman Elementary | Social-emotional tools to help students self-regulate |
| Vancouver Flex Academy | Physics and Algebra students experience the High School Education Program at iFLY culminating in a zero-gravity flight experience |
| VSAA | Transportation for students to perform community service at various locations in Vancouver |
| Washington Elementary | Books for book clubs |
