Garland ISD rewarded select teachers with a surprise delivery of grants and scholarships to enhance learning in specific classrooms.

Garland ISD Education Foundation board members delivered grants and scholarships to this year’s winners at Sachse’s four GISD schools Wednesday, Jan. 19.

Over 300 teachers and staff in the district applied for consideration to receive either a grant or scholarship made possible by the foundation’s work in support of Garland ISD. Each application was read blind by the grant committee and graded based on a rubric.

This year’s winners received a total of $240,000 worth of money through the GISD Education Foundation, said President Linda Cox, which is a record. It represented growth from last year’s total award of $170,000.

Grants and scholarships were awarded to teachers across different curriculums at Sachse High School, Hudson Middle School, Sewell Middle School and Armstrong Elementary School.

Sachse High School had four winners: Rene Bennett, Shatonya King, Paul Hawkins and Angela Darveau. Bennett, a dyslexia therapist, plans on buying C-pens, devices that will read text to students as they move the pen over a book.

The devices Bennett is buying will also be able to connect to Bluetooth earphones directly. 

“Dyslexic kids do extremely well with auditory processing. When they’re not having to take all their brain power to decode [a text], they can just listen to it,” Bennett said. “It gives them a chance to comprehend what they read more thoroughly.”

For the full story, see the Jan. 27 issue of the Sachse News.