Innovative Classroom Projects Receive Endowment Grant Support

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 5, 2025

Innovative Classroom Projects Receive Endowment Grant Support

JEFFERSON, NC — At its June Board of Education meeting, Ashe County Schools proudly honored 29 educators selected as recipients of 2025 Endowment Fund grants. Fourteen innovative classroom projects were selected for funding this year, representing a broad range of creative, hands-on initiatives that will enrich student learning across the district.

From podcasting and laser engraving to literacy, music, and STEM projects, these grants support bold ideas that fuel curiosity and inspire meaningful engagement in the classroom.

Congratulations to this year’s grant recipients:

• Stefan Kunz, Ashe Early College – From Concept to Reality: Visual Designs with Glowforge
• Amber Dillingham, Ashe County High – Pottery Wheel Replacement
• Savannah Libassi, Ashe County Middle – Drills, Thrills and Bulldog Skills: Marching Arts with Pyware
• Polly Bradley, Blue Ridge Elementary – Dueling Dulcimers
• Angie Douglas, Jill Baldwin, Lisa Sibaja, and Amanda Smith, Mountain View Elementary – Next Chapter: Expanding and Empowering Our Readers
• Jill Baldwin, Crystal Crouse, Colleen Dixon, Angie Douglas, Cynthia Harless, Michelle Keith, Jordan Nemeth, Preston Roberts, and Lisa Sibaja, MVES – The Sound of Soaring: An Elementary Podcast
• Braxton Grose, WWES – Operation Cycle Forward
• Journey Ward Carter, WWES – Creative Crosswalk Canvases
• Laura Lipford, WWES – The Power of Being Vertical
• Mandy Keziah, WWES – One School, One Book
• Taylor Ashley, WWES – Growing a Love for Learning
• Paige Blevins, Autumn Chamberlain, Brittany Perry, School Social Workers – Let Us Bloom
• Molly Porter and Mary Job, Afterschool – Odyssey of the Mind: Ashe County
• Taylor Harkey and Tonya Denny, ACHS – Voices Through Time: The Living Democracy Project

Thanks to the generosity of community donors and the success of the Endowment Fund’s annual golf tournament (held this year at Mountain Aire Golf Club), more than $151,999 has been awarded since 2003 to support over 110 educator-led projects that go beyond traditional classroom funding.

“These grants represent the passion, creativity, and dedication of our teachers,” said Dr. Eisa Cox, Superintendent of Ashe County Schools. “We are so proud of their commitment to enriching our students’ educational experiences and grateful to the Endowment Board and our supporters for making it possible.”

The Ashe County Schools Endowment Fund is a nonprofit initiative that empowers teachers to try bold, engaging approaches in their classrooms. Learn more about the fund and how to support it by visiting asheschools.org.