The Santee School District Foundation, formed in 2002, supports literacy, arts, technology, and school site grants through fundraising and donations. This year, the Foundation has awarded nearly $16,000 toward innovative projects that enrich the educational experiences of Santee School District students. Grants were reviewed and selected based on a competitive process. Below is a list of programs that are possible thanks to the Foundation’s grant program.
Cajon Park
- 3D-Printer Filament - Cajon Park is receiving a 3D printer from Sycamore Canyon. This filament will make it possible for over 150 students to utilize the printer for various projects. The goal of this program is to expose students to new STEM standards while exposing them to possible career options.
- Yoga, Stretching, and Mindfulness Equipment - These resources will equip a new yoga and mindfulness 6th grade PE unit where students learn about their muscles and how varied stretching techniques target different muscle groups. They will also learn how their brain works and how movement can help regulate their emotional health through breath work. With the cards provided, by the end of the unit students will be able to create their own yoga sequences, including yoga for fun, to be calm/grounded, for energy boosting, to be emotionally balanced, and for help with focusing.
Carlton Hills
- Phonics Kits for Building Beginner Reading Skills Project - The overall goal of this grant is to help students to gain a solid foundation in reading and spelling using the Science of Reading methods. California Common Core Standards currently expects all students to be fluent grade level readers prior to entering the next grade level. This program will create a solid foundation of phonics and decoding skills to help students become successful readers. Each phonics kit helps children to learn how to read and write in the following areas: Phonology Awareness, Phonics, and Orthographic Mapping. This grant provides 30 phonics kits for students to use in a classroom or an intervention setting, and for K-2 teachers to check out and pilot using the program.
- Outdoor Learning Benches - Grant funds will be used to purchase four convertible benches for the primary garden area. They convert from a regular bench with a back to a picnic bench with a table. The benches will allow more students to have the opportunity to have a comfortable working space while utilizing the garden area for science, book buddies, literature circles, and intervention services in small groups. It also allows for additional alternative seating spaces for those students who require a calm and quiet space to work.
Chet F. Harritt
- Introduction to Band Instruments - This project is designed with the intention of preparing fourth and/or fifth grade students to enter Chet's middle school band program and to carry their new interest and ability to their high school band programs. This program will focus on basic musicianship including notation, rhythm, melody and harmony. The essential instruments for this program are products called “Doods” and “Toots” - beginner flute and clarinet instruments.
Hill Creek
- Canva Creator's Club - Canva Creators Club is an extracurricular opportunity for 5th grade students who are interested in digital design and having a positive impact on the Hill Creek community. The club will meet one day a week during lunchtime to work on different projects that are designed to promote positivity at the school. During this time students will learn design basics and will create posters, stickers, and signage for around the school and for various events showcasing what they've learned.
- Wellness Wednesday - This year-long project will help address student's socio-emotional learning, teach students about diversities they may come across on campus, as well as enrich students' skillsets. This project provides supplies to conduct monthly school-wide activities, classroom lessons for middle school students, and school-wide activities oriented toward college and career skills/training.
Pepper Drive
- Creating Community with World Drumming Circles - The project aims to introduce World Drumming instruments into the educational curriculum for Pre K - 5th grade students. World Drumming offers a unique opportunity for children to explore diverse cultures, foster creativity, and build a strong sense of community through collaborative musical experiences.
PRIDE Academy
- Garden Project - The PRIDE Academy Garden project is a comprehensive three-phase garden restoration aimed at reviving a neglected garden space into a thriving, environmentally sustainable living classroom.
The garden restoration project has been split up into three phases to ensure the sustainability of the project over time. The initial phase will focus on the restoration of the lower level of the garden for the students to utilize during the 2023-2024 school year. This grant will help fund the purchase of materials to install a drip irrigation system and additional supplies for the students to use in their daily garden maintenance. You can learn more about PRIDE Academy's Garden project here.
- Keys to Success - “Keys to Success” is PRIDE's Music Program expansion into pitched instruments for all grade levels. They began the year with class sets of buckets, drumsticks, ukuleles, and BoomWhackers. This has allowed for exciting explorations in rhythmic composition and ensemble playing, evident in monthly “Peanut Butter Jams.” PRIDE is expanding their inventory to include more pitched instruments for instruction and experience with scales, solfege, and melodic composition. They have recorders for two classes and trumpets on the way for 10 students. This grant will purchase three keyboards to allow for instruction, practice, and composition with melody and harmony across all grade levels.
Santee Success Program
- Fitness Center Equipment - This project will support a fitness center for the Santee Success program. Being that it is a small program designed to support students with specific needs, the ability to have a PE program similar to a comprehensive Jr. High is not realistic. The goal is to complete a fitness center as well as add PE equipment to meet the unique needs of a small student population. This grant will help fund equipment related to pickleball, hockey, stationary cardio, and weight training.
Sycamore Canyon
- Phonics Kits for Building Beginner Reading Skills - Building Beginner Reading Skills help build a solid foundation of phonics, phonemic awareness skills, and fluency for beginner readers. This program is intended to be used daily with explicit instruction on recognition of letters, letter sounds, blending sounds, and teach the ability to decode unfamiliar words. All these skills would be explicitly taught to increase fluency and then comprehension of the text. This grant will fund the purchase of 30 phonics kits for primary-level teachers to use.