2025-2026 crant cycle

funded educator grants

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ridge high school

Interactive Periodic Display: 

What:  A large periodic table display that contains samples of all elements that are safe enough to contain within a 2 x 2 transparent acrylic box. Each element sample can be handled separately by students and staff. The BTEF has funded 52 elements this year, and has committed to funding the remaining elements for the 26-27 school year. 

Impact: 5 Chemistry classrooms and 4 Biology classrooms annually at Ridge. Can also be used in WAMS science classes.

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Project Adventure:

What: Low ropes course for the famous Project Adventure P.E. class. These are challenges that do not require climbing equipment and are no more than 4 feet off the ground. These activities provide the safety structure and opportunity for individual and team growth to build up to the higher elements. 

Impact:All incoming freshmen, sophomores who opt in 4th marking period and 80 junior and senior students who assist in the curriculum administration, annually. 

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Desktop CNC:

What: Makera Carvera Desktop CNC with the 4-axis and laser bundle to expand hands-on learning opportunities in robotics, engineering, and design courses. This machine will help introduce students to modern manufacturing processes like CNC machining, laser engraving, and multi-axis fabrication, while building skills in design thinking, precision engineering, and problem-solving. This grant enables access to industry-relevant tools that are not typically attainable within a standard school budget while preparing students for future careers in advanced manufacturing and engineering.

Impact:300+ students annually from introductory technology courses to advanced engineering pathways.

Ridge Productions:

What:Lenovo 16” ThinkPad P16s Gen 4 Laptop. This laptop will address the club’s limited ability to work from home to produce content, enabling members to work more efficiently and devote additional time to creating high-quality content. The purpose of the laptop is to enable Ridge Productions to sustain its operations and expand the creation of new content for Ridge High School and the broader district community. Since its inception, Ridge Productions has served as a student-driven media platform, empowering students to produce content that reflects their experiences at RHS while also documenting and highlighting community events. Ride Productions supports Ridge athletic teams through game and match photography. They also partner with the RHS Drama Club, documenting performances through both photography and video.

Impact: Students in the club as well as the community at large, annually. 

liberty corner school

STEM Makers:

What:Tools that help students engage and collaborate through the engineering design process to discover and innovate.

• LenoChompSaw Bundle: small, safe machine that cuts cardboard and includes angle and circle guides

• MakeDo Invent Kit: Low-tech tools that allow for safe cutting, folding and connection of cardboard

• MakeyMakey: Invention kit that turns everyday objects into interactive computer inputs, allowing users to control programs using conductive materials

• 3Dux STEM Bundle: STEM materials to scaffold activities including no-tech hands-on engineering challenges, circuits, LED lighting and motorized characters

Impact: K-5 students at Liberty Corner School- currently 448 students annually through Quest.

Decodable Readers for Kindergarten:

What: Jump Rope Decodable Readers sets (published through Heinemann) for all four Kindergarten classrooms to support systematic, phonics-based reading instruction. These texts will allow students to apply taught phonics skills directly in connected text, building accuracy, fluency and confidence as readers.

Impact: All Kindergarten students at LCS annually. This project directly impacts all students in the classroom by providing equitable access to developmentally appropriate reading materials that align with the science of reading. It will also support intervention efforts for struggling readers and help close early literacy gaps.

BTEF Bonus: This application through our grant process has brought the benefits of these decodable readers to the BOE, and it will now be purchased for all district Kindergarten classrooms.

oak street school

Enrich Social Emotional Learning Through Play 

What:Themed learning centers (grocery store, dress-up, light up tables for exploration, props, and literacy-connected play kits). Teachers will intentionally integrate dramatic play into the daily schedule, rotating themed centers to align with curriculum units and student interests. Students will have structured and free-choice play opportunities throughout the week, with teachers facilitating language development and social skills during play interactions.

Impact::80 students across all kindergarten classrooms at OSS annually. This population includes children from diverse socioeconomic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, some of whom may have limited access to enriching play experiences outside of school. 

cedar hill school

Social Studies on the Go

What: 152 books, 18 games and 13 reference items to be made into take-home kits that align to key units of study, including the American Revolution, Founding Fathers, Civics, Economics, Civil Rights, Westward Expansion, Indigenous People, Civil War and Geography. Each kit will focus on a single social studies theme and include a variety of engaging resources such as nonfiction books, maps, games and historical fiction picture books. ​

Impact:  These reusable kits will directly enhance the Grade 5 social studies curriculum. In conjunction, it will support 24% of the school population who come from homes where English is not the first language. This resource will support families in understanding American history and civics by providing accessible resources that build background knowledge and confidence to support learning at home.

mount prospect school

Executive Functioning for Kindergarten

What:  Various materials that provide structured opportunities that intentionally develop executive functioning skills within daily instruction. Materials are designed to enhance existing curriculum areas while explicitly supporting the development of self-regulation, independence, and flexible thinking. This grant will enhance several components of the Kindergarten curriculum. Items include dramatic play costumes/props, magna-tiles and structured games, recordable buttons, wobble cushions, wobble chairs, flex-space independent floor workspace bundles with floor chairs and desks, cash register, sensory spheres, beanbag chair, visual timers, and career costumes (vet, pilot, doctor, astronaut, mail carrier, chef, etc), 

Impact:  20 or more Kindergarten students in one classroom, annually. 

Power of Pages

What: 80 books to expand the 5th grade library. Independent reading books will support the development of reading habits and encourage students to become lifelong readers. Additional books will be used supplement and strength instruction across multiple units throughout the year including writing realistic fiction, informational writing, narrative nonfiction, social studies and science.

Impact:Three fifth grade classrooms, about 60-65 students annually.

Move to Learn: Promoting On-Task Behavior

What:  8 Kinnebars. These under desk classroom foot swings will be used to increase student focus, engagement, and self-regulation through structured access to movement-based supports during the school day.

Impact: Students ages 5-10, diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This project will directly impact 8 current students, but the Kinnebars are extremely sturdy and will be used for many years to come.

all elementary schools

K-5 Resources for Multilingual Learners

What:  Supplies and resources for multilingual learners in grades K-5 to use at home and at school to support families that lack funding to purchase them. Resources include: core books from the ELA curriculum translated into Mandarin, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and other high- need languages; bilingual story books; high interest graphic novels; take-home family learning kits; and math and language manipulatives. Our ESL teachers have noticed gaps in access to meaningful learning resources for these learners. This lack makes it harder for these students to practice and build confidence outside of school. The materials funded by the BTEF will help bridge that gap by providing students with accessible and language supportive resources both in school and at home. 

Impact: K-5 multilingual learners in the Bernards school district.