Give an educational gift
Program lends helping hand in teaching process
By GEORGIA PURDY Newsboy Correspondent

As Texas shifts more of the burden for school finance onto the shoulders of local districts (local taxpayers), creative teaching that enhances student learning gets left in the dust. There simply isn't money to allot for projects that keep students engaged and/or increase their knowledge through hands-on applications.

Jasper Independent School District has a unique program called Give A Gift, which is modeled on Donors Choice, first begun in a New York City school and now spreading across the country. Donors Choice matches donors with needs in the nation's public schools.

The Jasper Public Schools Foundation Give A Gift program does the same thing except that donors' dollars go toward projects in the local schools. And like the original program, donors are able to choose where those dollars go.

Teachers submit projects, with a description of how the money will be used and the cost. Those are detailed on the district's web site at www.jasperisd.net. where prospective donors can read the information and select a project to fund, either wholly or partially. The web site contains a list of projects that need funds. These are submitted by teachers and contain a description of how the money will be used and the approximate cost.

"Donors don't have to fund an entire project," JISD Media Liaison Tas McGraw said. "Their donation can go toward funding a specific project or they can direct their money to the foundation."

Donations are also tax deductible because it is administered through the Jasper Public Schools Foundation, a 301 C nonprofit foundation.

"Individuals or corporations can select for themselves how their taxfree contributions will be spent," McGraw said. "The JPS Foundation will send a letter of acknowledgment that will also serve as documentation for tax purposes. Donors will receive pictures of the project and can also visit schools to see how their dollars are used."

Started in 2005, the program has not enjoyed much success and McGraw had thought she would have to abandon it; however, that changed when recent contacts gave her encouragement to continue.

"The first year we received $3,332 in donations," she said. "Then after Hurricane Rita, we didn't even ask. Last year we only had one individual, one class and two businesses for a total of $1,355. I was going to abandon the project this year, and then I got an email from Shirel Womac, president of the alumni association, saying he wanted to help. I've also had an anonymous inquiry, so I'm encouraged to try this again."

The foundation is also trying two other avenues: teachers can donate through payroll deduction and tickets are being sold for the chance to win an 8- GB iPod nano with 2,000 songs and video. The drawing is Monday, December 3, just in time for Christmas. Tickets are being sold at home football games and in the office of the Career and Technology building. McGraw can be contacted for ticket delivery at 382-1389.

The following submissions have been received from teachers for the 2007- 2008 school year. As more are received, they will be posted on the web site.

Teacher Shannon Stott at Parnell has requested funds to establish reading and writing improvement centers for fourth graders at the cost of $90 each.

Stott said that it is a constant challenge to meet the different academic needs of students. These centers will provide materials to challenge and build skills for all levels of students.

Three requests have come from Jasper Junior High- one in language arts, one math and the third for seventh and eighth grade history students.

The language arts proposal comes from Becky Wilson who would like to set up book bags to increase reading literacy and are specifically aimed at students who are reluctant to check out books from the library. These would be "take home" items.

Each colorful tote bag would contain one book, the corresponding audio book and CD or cassette player. The cost for each bag is $60.

"These book bags will motivate students to read their favorite books in a fun way that they will enjoy," Wilson said. "Students who don't have books and CD players at home or who are reluctant to check them from the library will be more likely to check these out. Research shows that the more students read, the better readers and overall students they become."

The math request was made by Linda Greenleaf for a resource math project called "Unique Quilting".

"I teach my students how math can be used in everyday life," Greenleaf wrote in her request. "Students will gain knowledge of polygons, shapes and measurements."

The total cost for all materials is $180 and students will be able to take this home to use or to give as gifts.

Texas and U.S. History teacher Diane Pace already has a classroom equipped with computers. Her students do all class work, research and projects on the computer. However, they want to create a website, designed by the students, that will include a digital museum, oral history reviews, video reviews, and written histories of historic sites or people of Jasper. In order to do this, they need a more powerful computer. She has requested a Dell computer with digital editing software, a digital camera and memory card, blank CDs , and the money for a web-site subscription fee. The total cost is $1500 and the project will not only teach history but also give students real-life technology skills.

There are three requests at Jasper High School in math, theatre and Apparel I and II.

Math teacher Kenneth Simmons needs headphones and splitters for his engineering program. These are students that have completed Algebra II or are enrolled in the class and want to explore engineering as a possible career choice.

His students are learning how musical notes are converted to numbers using MIDI files. Students will develop musical sounds using only the computer.

Simmons says that for this to be effective, each student should have a set of headphones and a splitter for each pair of students working together. Headphones would allow them to hear only sounds coming from their computer.

The cost for 20 headphones sets is $280 and 10 splitters is $60.

Theatre Arts teacher Kim Hines needs the materials for her students to write and produce four original plays. These plays are public service projects in that they promote a positive social message and will be performed for younger children at the elementary and middle school. For example, a show's theme might be drug awareness or the importance of education.

The cost for fabric, notions, lumber, paint, hardware, and additional materials for each show is $200.

Melissa Moore teaches apparel classes and she says that clothing construction is a dying art. Many of her students have no experience in sewing; but when they leave her class, they have a new talent.

The per student cost for taking Apparel I or Apparel II where they make a skirt in one and a tailored shirt in the other is about $35. Part of that sum is the cost of a pattern and those typically run about $7 each.

She would like funds to purchase skirt and shirt patterns for 30 students. At $7 per student, the total cost is $210.

Persons interested in helping the foundation fund these or other projects, may go to www.jasperisd.net to thoroughly review teacher submissions, contact Tas McGraw at 382-1389 for further information, or send donations to Jasper Public Schools Foundation, Give A Gift, PO Box 2243, Jasper, TX 75951, with the project title and teacher's name specified.