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By: Monika Spaulding

For the second year in a row, Salem Community Schools was awarded the STEM Integration grant. Totalling $44,582, STEAM Director Jessica Morgan is thrilled to have received the grant again.

“This year, the focus will be on computer science,” she said. “We will have training for 10 teachers to learn how to integrate computer science into core classes.”

Morgan has started using the funds already to purchase more supplies for the lab including robots and micro:bits that can be used at all three school buildings. She said a new 3D printer has been bought for Bradie Shrum and computer science building and design kits have been purchased for 6th and 7th grades, which will include coding.

“All of this falls in line with the conference that I went to this summer, along with Crystal Mikels and Casey Fields,” said Morgan. “We went to Computer Science Professional Development (CSPD) week in Bloomington in June. This grant will help us incorporate a lot of what we learned at the training into our classrooms.”

Some examples of ways computer science will be included in the classroom are for math class: using micro:bits to put on shoes and count steps, using different speeds and then taking the information and creating graphs.

In history class, students can make games by taking famous people in history and making informational links about the person for people to click on and learn more about them in presentations.

Morgan is looking forward to school starting and sharing these ideas with teachers to make learning more hands-on and fun for students at Salem schools.

“This grant will help us integrate technology into the classroom even more than we have already,” she said. “It’s going to be a great school year.”

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The Salem School Board approved earlier dismissal times for the 2024-25 school year. Superintendent Jill Mires explained that she, Transportation Director Ed Jordan and the school principals all worked together to make a plan for how to get the buses back to the bus compound earlier in the evenings because it starts to get dark early from about the end of October through the winter months.

Dismissal will start at Bradie Shrum Elementary School at 2:45 p.m., with late load buses being in the front of the fleet and loading beginning at 2:50 p.m. At the middle school, walkers and car riders will be held to let bus riders load first. Classes will end around 2:50 p.m. with buses being loaded from 2:57 - 3:00 p.m. The high school will hold student drivers until bus riders are loaded, dismissing at 3:00 p.m. with loading from 3:01 - 3:05 p.m.

Mires said early dismissal will also provide built-in PD time for teachers, as they will still be in the buildings until 3:30 p.m. She said all teachers will participate in the extra time after students have been released. Mires said this also allows the school to be more in line with the Prosser schedule. After school activities will also be able to begin earlier.

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Operation Back To School is back!

This program provides financial assistance to Indiana veteran families experiencing financial difficulty.

The program offers $500 per qualified dependent for back-to-school supplies and other school related expenses.

Families can begin applying on July 15. The application period closes on August 30.

Apply Now!

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Gina D. Walker, First Deputy of Election and Voter Services for the Washington County Clerk of the Courts. has released an abbreviated list of county school board candidates for the 2024 General Election, which will be November 5.

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Secured School Safety Grant

Application period now open

IDHS is accepting applications for the Fiscal Year 2025 Secured School Safety Grant (FY24 SSSG). The application period will close July 1, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. EDT. No late or incomplete applications will be accepted.

The Notice of Funding Opportunity for FY25 SSSG includes all the information necessary for a successful grant application for the SSSG program. Before submitting your application:

Be registered in IntelliGrants.
Have an active bidder number with the state of Indiana.
Have an active supplier number with the state of Indiana.
Sign up for Grant updates.

The period of performance for the FY25 SSSG will be Sept. 1, 2024, through Aug. 31, 2025.

Since 2014, Indiana has awarded more than $163 million in SSSG grants to support school security. Last year, 474 schools received more than $29.8 million in awards.

Click here for complete information on the SSSG program and the history of awards distributed.

What is an allowable expense for the FY25 SSSG?

The program supports a dedicated state grant fund that provides matching grants to school corporations, accredited non-public schools, charter schools or a coalition of school corporations and/or charter schools applying jointly to:

Employ a school resource officer (SRO) or law enforcement officer (LEO).
Conduct a site vulnerability assessment and/or critical incident digital mapping.
Purchase equipment, hardware, materials and technology to:
1. Restrict access to school property and classrooms; or
2. Assist with visitor management on school property; or
3. Expedite notification of first responders; or
4. Expedite access to school property for first responders; or
5. Provide school staff with information about the open or closed status of interior and exterior doors; or
6. Detect fire, chemical, visual or audible threats; or
7. Enhance emergency communications inside the building; or
8. Assist with emergency medical response on school property; or
Implement a student and parent support services plan.
Purchase or provide training for a canine trained to detect drugs and illegal substances, explosives, or firearms or to otherwise provide protection for students and school employees.
Provide funding for school employees to receive training, including expenses for per diem, travel and lodging related to eligible training.
Provide funding for school resource officer or law enforcement officer to receive training, including expenses for per diem, travel and lodging, related to handing a trained canine.
Design and construct additions or renovations on school property if the primary purpose is to enhance the physical security of the school building.
Implement a bullying prevention program.
Purchase a one-time non-matching grant to enable school corporations to work with their sheriff to provide the initial set up costs for an active event warning system.
Provide a response to a threat in a manner that the school corporation or charter school sees fit, including firearms training (curriculum now defined) or other self-defense training or securing funds for counseling in the event of a school shooting.
Purchase student management technology.