The Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation is awarding $100,000 in Public School Proud Grants to 49 educators in the Sioux Falls School District. Any teacher can apply for up to $10,000 to purchase creative, inventive, and hands-on materials that are not financed by tax dollars.
This year, the Education Foundation has awarded grants at all grade levels and in multiple subject areas. Garfield Elementary received four grants, and the funds will be used to purchase coding materials (circuits and robots), a sensory path, and social emotional learning materials. Garfield staff members also received a grant to start an Art Club, Book Club, Cooking Club, and Science Club. Elementary students with disabilities at JFK, Susan B. Anthony, and Terry Redlin will use adaptive musical instruments like ukuleles, desk bells, light up tambourines, lollipop drums, and rain sticks to keep a beat, produce echo, and learn rhythm. Middle school students at Axtell Park will assemble microcomputers, and science students at Edison Middle School will use technology tools to access Citizen Science apps, explore augmented reality programs, and uncover fossils using 3D scans. English learners at Washington High School will use podcasting equipment to research, storyboard, record, and edit stories for publication.
The Education Foundation awarded 32 grants that will affect students in 25 buildings. The average grant award was $3,102. The largest grant award was $9,126.96 and the smallest grant was $349.50.
Below is a list of the 2020 Public School Proud Grant Winners:
| Educator Name | School | Grant Name | Grant Award |
| Carol Beldin | 10 Elementary Schools | Be in the Zone: Take 2 | $1,329 |
| Rise Jongeling | Axtell Park | Moving Mechanics for Middle School | $2,969 |
| Lindsey Rohde | Terry Redlin | Operation Osmo | $2,793.19 |
| Alison Labaire | Garfield | Makey Making Innovators | $1,060 |
| Heidi Reynolds | Renberg | It’s All About Engagement | $3,115 |
| Michelle Dykstra | Memorial MS | Morning Newscast | $3,790 |
| Anna Stambach | Washington HS | LifeSkills—Science Through Exploring | $4,600 |
| Mikki Haskell/Megan Hannemann | Hawthorne | Dashing to Success | $9,126.96 |
| Lara Hanson/Michele Blair | Washington HS | Podcasting for English Learners | $2,914 |
| Alyssa Vandeputte/Libby Bossman | Anne Sullivan | Hallway Pathways | $1,500 |
| Emma Nelsen | Garfield | Spectacular Sensory Strategies | $2,323.69 |
| Feterl, Weigand, Christopherson, Schildbauer | Garfield | Cultivating Leaders Through Clubs | $2,228.33 |
| Mara Colter | Jane Addams—EIC | Speak to Me! | $8,897.46 |
| Margi Orris | Patrick Henry MS | Sensory Room | $4,837.05 |
| Tyler Beisch | Edison MS | Science Beyond 4 Walls | $4,834.99 |
| Chris Coughlin | New Tech HS | Free Voluntary Reading Library | $1,129 |
| Kelly Pankratz | Roosevelt HS | ELD Annotated Novel Engagement | $349.50 |
| Kempf, Davenport, Monlux, Nelson | JFK, SBA, and Terry Redlin | Making Music Meaningful | $4,549.47 |
| Stef Hage and Cindy Breen | John Harris | Sustainable Outdoor Classroom | $2,500 |
| Terrin Haggerty | SBA | Sensory Path | $1,500 |
| Casie McFarlane | Anne Sullivan | Let There Be Light | $942.40 |
| Laura Preheim | Eugene Field A+ | Every Minute Counts | $847.95 |
| Leloux, Bertram, Lundquist, Williams, Pike, Rausis | Jane Addams—ACE | Working Together to Build Learners | $5,976.93 |
| Kendra Kooiker | Pettigrew | Hands-On Learning with Osmo | $650 |
| Brooke Weigand | Garfield | Healthy Hip Hop Hallways | $1,500 |
| Bierle, Freeman, Haddican | CC, LHS, RHS, WHS | Transition 180 | $4,990.88 |
| Jennifer Pagán | Sonia Sotomayor | Connecting Our Learning | $1,500 |
| Cait Haug | Discovery | Hands-On Literacy | $650 |
| Levi Tvedt | Axtell | IHT System: Heart Rate Monitors | $2,566 |
| Rickie McCaulsky | CTE Academy | Engine Assembling/Rebuild | $8,665 |
| Jillian Thomas | Washington HS | Enhancing Engagement in English | $5,422.84 |
| Nicole Highby | Pettigrew | GPS—Finding Our Way in Education | $1,199.50 |
Generous individuals and businesses support Public School Proud Grants. Corporate donors include: Verizon; Graham Automotive Group; Independent Insurance Agents of Sioux Falls; Sammons Financial Group/Midland National; Sanford Health; Avera; The First National Bank in Sioux Falls; First PREMIER Bank/Bankcard; Raven Industries; Scheels; SDN Communications; Anthony Pizer—Thrivent Financial; Architecture Incorporated; CorTrust Bank; Cutler Law Firm, LLP; Dakota Sports; Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP; Eide Bailly, LLP; First Bank & Trust; Hy-Vee; KELOLAND Media Group; Marsh & McLennan Agency; Omnitech; POET; Reliabank; School Bus Inc.; Scooter’s; Sioux Valley Energy; Vance Thompson Vision; Wells Fargo; Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith; Closet Pros Inc.; Dakota Vision Center; First Dakota National Bank; and Kouri Insurance. The Education Foundation also receives financial support from the Mary Chilton Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution Foundation; the Sioux Steel Company Foundation; the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation; and the Midco Foundation.