Westfield Education Foundation funds 85 teacher grants

Submitted by Westfield Washington Schools

As the Westfield Education Foundation (WEF) celebrates 40 years of supporting Westfield Washington Schools (WWS), its 2026 Fall Teacher-Led Grant Cycle shows what can happen when a community comes together for students and educators.

WEF opened its Fall Teacher-Led Grant application on June 1 and received applications from educators across the district, representing more than $72,000 in classroom funding requests. Educators submitted ideas ranging from literacy resources and hands-on science experiences to STEM equipment, music and art materials, student wellness supports, career exploration opportunities, and creative projects designed to make learning more engaging.

Through the generosity of donors and community partners, WEF had $53,671.75 available for its Fall Teacher-Led Grant Cycle.

Collaboration across the Westfield community then helped extend that impact even further. The Advancing Westfield Foundation awarded a separate $28,000 grant to WEF specifically to support elementary schools through their PTOs. WEF, elementary PTOs, and school principals saw an opportunity to work together, review elementary Teacher-Led Grant requests, and identify classroom projects to support through those funds.

Approximately $18,000 of the $28,000 Advancing Westfield Foundation grant supported additional elementary classroom grants during the fall cycle. The remaining funds remain available to participating elementary PTOs to address future needs within their schools. That collaboration made an extraordinary difference.

All of the 85 Teacher-Led Grant applications submitted were ultimately funded.

“This is what makes Westfield special,” WEF Executive Director Ashley Knott said. “We began with the resources to fund 53 grants, but there were so many great ideas coming from our educators. By working together with the Advancing Westfield Foundation, our PTOs, principals, and community partners, we were able to say yes to 85. Those yeses translate directly into new opportunities for our students.”

 

From grants to classroom experiences

The numbers tell one part of the story. What students will experience because of these grants tells the rest.

At Maple Glen Elementary, the Discover the Magic of Science grant will bring hands-on science experiences to approximately 100 kindergarten students, encouraging curiosity and exploration through interactive learning.

At Monon Trail Elementary, Literacy for All Learners will provide kindergarten classrooms with hands-on, multisensory resources designed to strengthen letter recognition, phonemic awareness, and early phonics skills. The reusable materials can support students and educators for years to come.

At the newly opened Midland Crossing Elementary, Building Tomorrow’s STEM Explorers will provide reusable STEM materials for more than 120 second-grade students each year. Students will have opportunities to plan, build, test, and improve their designs while strengthening creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and perseverance.

At Shamrock Springs Elementary, Cut. Build. Create. will give approximately 500 students access to tools that transform recycled cardboard into sculptures, architectural models, and original creations while incorporating art, engineering, and problem-solving.

At Washington Woods Elementary, the All About That Bass grant will add new instruments to the music classroom, expanding opportunities for students to learn and perform.

At Cool Creek Elementary, Building Successful Learners Through Mindful Breaks will provide third-grade students with screen-free opportunities to recharge and refocus, supporting student wellness alongside academic learning.

The impact continues as students move through Westfield Middle School.

Through the A Street Through Time project, WMS students will use illustrated resources to visualize civilizations and better understand how people lived throughout history. The Career Exploration for All grant will help about 800 eighth-grade students participate in Junior Achievement JobSpark, connecting classroom learning with careers and future possibilities.

At Westfield High School, Teacher-Led Grants continue that investment, providing educators with additional resources to create relevant, engaging learning experiences as students prepare for college, careers, and life beyond Westfield Washington Schools.

These are just a few examples of the 85 educator ideas now becoming opportunities for students across Westfield Washington Schools.

 

Celebrating Grant Day

On Oct. 1, representatives from WEF, school PTOs, and district leaders traveled throughout WWS to personally surprise all 85 grant recipients. Classroom by classroom and school by school, educators learned their ideas would become reality.

Grant Day provided plenty of celebration, but the real impact happens next – as students read new books, conduct experiments, create art, make music, explore careers, solve problems, and experience new ways to learn.

Made possible by the community

WEF’s Teacher-Led Grant Program is possible because of the generosity of individuals, families, businesses, and organizations that believe in Westfield’s students and educators.

The Westfield Education Foundation extends special thanks to the community partners supporting the Teacher-Led Grant Program:

• Ann K. Gotwald Fund for STEM Education
• Community First Bank of Indiana
• CORE Construction
• CSO Architects
• Elements Financial
• Garmong Construction
• Hagerman Construction
• Meyer Najem Construction
• Performance Services
• Schmidt Associates

WEF also extends its sincere appreciation to the Advancing Westfield Foundation for its $28,000 investment in Westfield elementary schools and to the elementary PTOs and school principals who worked alongside WEF to identify classroom needs and maximize the impact of those resources.

Together, these partnerships show an important part of WEF’s work: bringing together the community’s generosity and resources and connecting them directly to the needs of students and educators.

40 years of investing in Westfield schools

Founded in 1986, WEF is celebrating 40 years of supporting Westfield Washington Schools.

For four decades, WEF has worked alongside educators, families, businesses, and community partners to invest in students through Teacher-Led Grants, scholarships and strategic programs that strengthen teaching and learning.

“Forty years of impact doesn’t happen because of one organization,” Knott said. “It happens because of community partners, donors, PTOs, educators, school leaders and families who believe in our students. This grant cycle is a wonderful example of that collaboration. We are proud of what our community has built together, and we are excited about what we can accomplish together in the next 40 years.”

For WEF, the focus remains where it has always been: students at the center, educators empowered to innovate, and a community working together to support its schools.