Spring Grant Recipients
Passport Club Geography Enrichment Program
This grant supports starting a Passport Club for elementary students, beginning with second graders at Wildwood Elementary School.
The Passport Club will help kids learn about the world by:
Studying maps and countries
Reading stories from different cultures
Participating in cultural activities
Memorizing country locations and earning “passport stamps” as rewards
The goal is to make learning geography and social studies more fun and engaging while helping students become more aware of the world around them.
WipeBooks and Correctable Pens
This grant provides funding for reusable writing tools called WipeBooks and erasable pens for a high school English classroom.
These are reusable notebooks and writing surfaces that students can write on, erase, and reuse instead of relying only on computers or paper. Students can use them to:
Brainstorm ideas
Outline essays
Create graphic organizers and mind maps
Participate in discussions and classroom games
Show understanding during lessons
The WipeBooks will allow students to do their early planning and brainstorming offline, while still allowing them to upload their work into the Google Drive later using an app.
The WipeBooks also provide an environmental benefit by replacing disposable chart paper and reducing paper waste.
Whiteboard Desks and Chairs
This grant provides funding to purchase whiteboard desks for a high school math classroom to create a more collaborative and interactive learning environment.
Instead of students quietly working alone on paper, the whiteboard desks will allow students to work together directly ON their desks, using them like giant whiteboards. This would allow students to:
Share ideas more openly
Solve problems together
Easily erase and revise mistakes
Discuss different problem-solving strategies
Participate more actively in class
Many students are afraid of being wrong in math, which can make them hesitant to participate. Whiteboard desks help reduce that fear because students can quickly change their work, making mistakes feel like a normal part of learning rather than something permanent. The desks would also help the teacher quickly see student thinking and provide immediate support when students are struggling.
Another benefit is increased movement and engagement. Students would be able to stand, move around, and interact more actively with classmates and math problems instead of sitting passively.
Overall, the grant is focused on creating a classroom culture where students feel safe taking academic risks, learn from one another, build confidence in math, and become stronger problem-solvers through collaboration and discussion.
Heart Rate Monitors, SMARTBoard, and Tablet
This grant provides funding to create a new 8th-grade Physical Education elective class focused on lifelong fitness, mental wellness, and social-emotional learning.
The new class is designed for students who may not feel successful or comfortable in traditional competitive PE classes. Instead of focusing mainly on sports competition, the course would emphasize:
Personal fitness
Mental health and stress management
Lifetime physical activities
Goal setting
Self-awareness and emotional regulation
The grant will fund heart rate monitors and a rolling SMARTBoard interactive display.
The heart rate monitors will allow students to track their exercise intensity and better understand how physical activity affects their bodies and emotions, while the SMARTBoard would be used to display live heart rate data and support interactive lessons.
The class is planned to begin in the 2026-27 school year. It will initially serve about 55 eighth-grade students at the middle school, with hopes to expand in future years.
Overall, the grant is focused on creating a more supportive, personalized, and wellness-centered PE experience that helps students build lifelong healthy habits and improve both physical and emotional well-being.
Interactive Health Technologies Spirit System
This grant provides funding for wearable heart rate monitor technology to support student mental health, emotional regulation, and physical education learning for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) support for students at Wildwood Elementary School.
Some students struggle to recognize emotional stress before it escalates into behavioral issues. The heart rate monitors would help students become more aware of their emotions earlier and practice healthy coping skills before problems occur.
Students would wear wrist-based monitors that show how their bodies are reacting to stress, emotions, or physical activity in real time. The monitors use color-coded signals so students can easily recognize when they are calm, stressed, or physically exerting themselves. Students would practice calming strategies and self-regulation techniques to help them return to a “ready to learn” state.
Fall Grant Recipients
Early Childhood Education Music Project
The Early Childhood Education program will be instituting a Preschool Ukulele Integration Project, which will include ukuleles and virtual, on-demand lessons for Early Childhood teachers serving 150 preschool students ages three to five at Wildwood Elementary School and the District Education Center. The training equips educators with musical skills to enrich circle times, transitions, and daily classroom community-building through engaging, multisensory experiences aligned with the Creative Curriculum. These early learners benefit from music’s well-documented impact on cognitive, language, motor, emotional, and creative development.
Elementary Music Aptitude Assessments
The O.H. Anderson Elementary School music department will be using the Music Aptitude Assessment Initiative to implement research-based tools that identify musical aptitude and guide instruction for students ages six to ten. This initiative addresses an important gap in gifted identification by recognizing students with high potential in music, not only those who excel in traditional academic areas. All O.H. Anderson 3rd–5th grade students will be assessed annually in music class, allowing teachers to tailor instruction, support student goal-setting, and track growth over time. The project strongly aligns with the district’s Strategic Plan by honoring diverse forms of excellence, and ensuring all students discover and develop their unique strengths.
A Mightier Feedback Tool
O.H. Anderson Elementary School will trial the Mightier Biofeedback tool to support Tier 2 self-regulation groups for 3rd–5th grade students providing real-time physiological feedback through a video-game format, helping students practice and internalize calming strategies so they can apply them during real-life stress. Success will be measured by attendance/behavior feedback and weekly data snapshots, adding to the district's achievement of alternative delivery of specialized instructional services.
Middle School and High School Music Enhancement
The Mahtomedi Middle School and High School music education staff will receive funding for Music Enhancement via the WAS Performing Arts Fund to aid in purchase of new timpani for the high school band and additional sheet music repertoire for the middle school choral program. Serving all middle school choral students and high school instrumental musicians, the grant further strengthens access to exceptional arts education across multiple grade levels and performance groups. This investment directly aligns with the district’s strategic plan by fostering innovative instruction, nurturing student interests, and ensuring all learners have the tools and opportunities necessary to achieve at their highest levels.
Culinary Lab HexClad Technology
The Mahtomedi High School Culinary Arts Department will equip all six kitchen stations with HexClad technology to replace outdated materials currently in use. This modern, industry-standard technology will enhance learning for students in grades 9–12 enrolled in Culinary 1, Culinary 2, Baking & Pastries, and Global Foods, giving them equitable access to high-quality tools. The new equipment will strengthen real-world skill development, support student passion and career exploration, and ensure safe, high-quality learning experiences. This request aligns with the district’s Strategic Plan by preparing students with practical skills that reflect modern professional environments.
Yoga and Mindfulness Equipment
The Mahtomedi High School physical education department will be adding Yoga and Mindfulness Equipment to enhance their course offerings with 30 long, high-quality yoga mats and storage racks for use in classes such as Beginning Weights & Yoga and Fitness for Life. This project enhances physical education by giving 9th–12th grade students safe, properly sized equipment that allows full participation in yoga, mindfulness, and stress-reduction activities, experiences that benefit both physical health and emotional well-being. With more than 100 students each year engaging in these courses, the new mats will support inclusive and developmentally appropriate instruction. The initiative supports students’ holistic growth through movement, mindfulness, and real-world coping skills.
Mahtomedi High School Supermileage Team
Mahtomedi High School students will now have a new extracurricular program, the Supermileage Team, that engages high school students in grades 9–12 by challenging them to design, build, and test an ultra–energy-efficient vehicle. As a startup team, students will learn engineering, fabrication, problem-solving, and data analysis while using grant funds to acquire essential tools and components needed to construct a Supermileage electric vehicle. Supermileage teams compete to create vehicles that achieve the highest possible efficiency, requiring students to apply STEM skills throughout a full design-to-competition cycle during the school year, culminating in a formal technical inspection and race event each May.
Garden and Agricultural Learning
The Passages Transition Program will be implementing a Garden and Agriculture Learning Project for students in their program. This initiative will provide meaningful, experiential learning in gardening, plant science, and vocational agriculture, supported through partnerships with 21 Roots Farm and local Master Gardeners. Serving transition-age students within Mahtomedi Public Schools, the project builds functional academic, employment, and independent living skills in an authentic, community-connected environment. Aligned with the district’s strategic plan, the program advances individualized learning, real-world skill development, and community engagement to prepare every learner for meaningful participation in school, work, and life.
The Page Turners Challenge
Mahtomedi Community Education will be launching The Page Turners Challenge, a 12-week summer literacy program for incoming 6th–8th graders (Mahtomedi Middle School) that encourages reading, critical thinking, and real-world engagement with Minnesota authors. Designed to be inclusive and accessible, the program builds on the proven “America’s Battle of the Books” model and aims to enroll at least 20 students, with room for up to 100. Through facilitated discussions, author visits, and interactive competitions, the program fosters a love of reading while strengthening partnerships with the Wildwood and Washington County Library systems.