Junior League of Dallas Awards 69 Dallas ISD Teachers & Educators

The Junior League of Dallas (JLD), along with presenting sponsor Texas Instruments (TI), awarded 69 Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD) educators with grants of up to $2,000 each through the Grants for Innovative Teaching (GFIT) program.

Mark Ramirez, 2017-2018 GFIT Grant Recipient, Amy Coates and

Andrew Rich

This JLD Signature Project has awarded more than $1.7 million to Dallas ISD educators and is designed to encourage excellence in education by funding special projects addressing: reading and literacy enrichment; diversity; special education; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); or arts and culture enrichment across one or more grade levels. This year, $123,307 was distributed to fund deserving educators’ winning projects.

Dallas ISD Chief of Staff Pamela Lear, 2017-2018 JLD Signature Projects Vice President Taylor Morrison, 2017-2018 GFIT Grant Recipient Octavio Gutierrez and Texas Instruments Director of Sales Communications and Regional Digital Marketing Tracy Steiner

Sponsors include: Texas Instruments (presenting sponsor); MoneyGram Foundation; Agnes Cluthe Oliver Foundation; Harry W. Bass, Jr. Foundation; Roy and Christine Sturgis Charitable and Educational Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee; and W.P. & Bulah Luse Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee.

2017-2018 GFIT Public Relations Coordinator Ashley Pinchev and 2017-2018 GFIT Assistant Chair Sarah Barnes

Some of the grants selected include: Invent an Alien; Powerful City; Kids Helping Kids; and The Wall Book Study and Comic Book Project.

“Now in its 26th year, this Signature Project encourages excellence in education by providing funding for special projects that otherwise would not be possible within school budgets,” said Eleanor Luna, the 2017-2018 GFIT Chair. “The Grants For Innovative Teaching program is one of the most rewarding projects for the Junior League of Dallas because we get to follow along and see the impact that these projects have on the schools, educators and students.”