My Journey with the Lewisville ISD Education Foundation

What started with a need developed into much deeper and lasting relationship.
My journey with LEF began in 1996 when I was a 4th grade teacher at Donald Elementary and desperately wanted a place to grow plants native to Texas. That year, I was awarded my first LEF grant, which allowed me to implement a garden that made learning come alive for my students! We designed and built a raised garden to grow cotton, radishes, potatoes, and much more. We were amazed at the cotton balls, the different types of roots, the diseases the plants developed. And in the process, TEKS were taught, and learning was made real and alive.

The next year I received a grant that enabled me to purchase a digital camera (before they became cheap and popular). Writing became fun for students as they took pictures and learned to elaborate what was revealed. After that, I was awarded a grant for a science kit to make a swamp environment. Again, we were amazed at all that went into our swamp - shocked when the lizards ate the crickets and so much more! Over the years, the grants I received from LEF allowed me to create an enriched environment where learning was authentic and alive. So I continued to apply for additional LEF grants, and in that time received everything from those items mentioned above to die cuts that were made available to teachers throughout the district.

However, the Foundation’s reach didn’t stop at my classroom but rather touched my immediate family in a completely different way. My daughter, who is a math teacher in the district, was studying for her Master’s Degree in Computer Technology. Money was tight for this young family with three children, and the added expense of college tuition was a strain. So utilizing LEF’s Teacher Fellowship program for post-graduate education, she applied for, and was awarded, a scholarship that enabled her to continue her education. The Foundation and school district had touched my classroom and family in such meaningful ways, and because of that, my husband and I began looking for ways to give back to the community that had blessed us with so much.

Our four children received wonderful educations in LISD, and I have enjoyed a wonderful career here. After my time in the classroom, I moved into Administration where I spent eight wonderful years as the Assistant Principal at Lakeland Elementary before becoming the Principal at Ethridge Elementary. In each of these educational roles, I have enjoyed a job that is both rewarding and challenging. While at Lakeland Elementary, the school shared in celebrating my 40th wedding anniversary, which led my husband and me to action. We wanted to say thank you and at the same time return something tangible to the community we’ve come to love so much. So we established an endowed scholarship through LEF to benefit a student who had attended Lakeland Elementary. Awarded for the first time in 2008, the thank you note we received from the student was a special gift in our lives.
So to the Lewisville ISD Education Foundation, I must say “Thanks.” The support of LEF has not only enriched my teaching, my students’ learning, and my family’s education but it has also given us a place where we can make a difference.