It's our favorite time of year. Awarding teacher grants is at the heart of what we do, and every year we are inspired by the ideas that come from our teachers. It's exciting - a small teacher grant could lead to a district-wide initiative!

This year, we are pleased to announce that 28 grants totaling almost $50,000 will become programs in our schools for 2012 - 2013. Teachers wrote these grants with passion, care, and much thought on how to advance their students' achievement.

The grants will affect a wide range of students. All 6th grade students at Ecker Hill will benefit from new microscopes. The entire 9th grade will get to compete in a national "Poetry Out Loud" contest. Every student at Treasure Mountain will take part in a "Utah Shakespeare Festival in the Schools" program. And every Dual Immersion student will benefit in some way from the many requests funded across all elementary schools.

A few examples of other innovative grants include:

• Unique equipment for use in learning disabled classes at Treasure and PCHS.
• State of the art camera, drama, and art tools to give students professional learning experiences at the High School and Treasure.
• Hands-on, quarter-long science initiatives at Treasure and Jeremy Ranch to allow students to study winter ecosystems and the life cycle of chickens, respectively.
• A lunch time learning program to help struggling students at Treasure.
• A wide variety of writing and reading programs at our elementary schools to provide additional support and fun ways for every student to master these critical skills.

Be sure to check our website to see all the funded grants. We'd like to thank Deer Valley for their generous support of teachers and the Teacher Grant program. Deer Valley is giving every teacher a summer lift ticket, and,