The Bulloch County Foundation for Public School Education awarded more than $20,000 in grant funding to 16 classroom projects earlier this week.
Twice each year – in the fall and the spring – the Foundation solicits Bulloch County Schools' educators to submit applications to its innovation grant program with funding amounts up to $1,500. This fall, 35 applications were received, according to a release from the Bulloch County Schools System.
After a thorough review by the Foundation's grant committee, which is made up of five members from its board of trustees, the committee scored the applications based on a rubric to determine its 16 awards.
Here are the recipients of $20,462 for Fall 2025:
• $1,450: Powered by Pod & Pen by Amanda Jackson & Peyton Carter of Langston Chapel Middle
• $715: Lights, Bubbles, Pop: Illuminating the Path to Literacy by Joanna Akins of Portal Elementary
• $415.28: Every Seat Counts; Promoting Self-Regulation by Katherine McCombs of Sallie Zetterower Elementary
• $1,150: Empowering Our Odyssey by Macy Tankersley of Mattie Lively Elementary
• $1,270: The Power Cycle Challenge by Matthew White of Southeast Bulloch Middle
• $1,500: Read, Reflect, Relate: Counseling Book Clubs for Literacy and Social & Emotional Learning by Diedre Anthony of Langston Chapel Elementary
• $1,400: Expanding Musical Opportunities Through Technology: A Synthesizer by Lee Collins & Sergio Arreguin of Statesboro High School
• $1,100: Recording Device – Scoring & Receiving by Chris Wickstrom of Statesboro High School
• $1,490.44: Cooking Up Confidence – A Recipe for Learning bu Kaylin Brockman, Rachel Boggs, & Jinci Evans of Portal Elementary
• $1,485: Animals & Authors Applying Science Standards Through Expository Text: A Hands-on Approach by Ciara Sims of Brooklet Elementary
• $1,124.67: The RESET Project: Regulate, Empower, Soothe, Engage & Thrive by Melanie Thatcher & Shana Richey of Julia P. Bryant Elementary
• $1,472.60: Plastic Practice Makes Perfect People by John Gleissner of Portal Middle High School
• $1,450.00: Increasing Scores in Advanced Placement Mathematics by Jenny Scott & Tiffany Ward of Statesboro High School
• $1,440: Hands-on Learning Building Background Knowledge for Literacy & STEM by Lauren Oglesby & Katie Rushing of Sallie Zetterower Elementary
• $1,500: Living Systems Lab: Connecting Engineering, Biology & Environmental Science by John Hendrix, Alecia Woods, & Maggie Dent of Portal Middle High School
• $1,500: Community Coffeehouse Concert Series by Hannah Bowers of Mattie Lively Elementary
Since 2006, the Foundation has funded more than 316 innovative teacher grants totaling more than $406,000 to fund learning experiences for Bulloch County children.