Football safety caps, dual language immersion media materials, and STEM training for the Batesville High School agriculture teacher were chosen by the board of the Batesville Community Education Foundation  in April as it awarded $5,000 in grants to the Batesville Community School Corporation.

In an effort to prevent concussions in the middle school and high school football programs, BHS football coach Evan Ulery and BCSC Athletic Director Bryan Helvie received $2,000 from BCEF for the purchase of 50 football safety caps. These caps, strapped to the outer shell of the helmet, are an extra layer of protection and will be used during any practices that involve the players wearing a helmet to primarily help reduce trauma to the head. This grant will make Batesville the only school system in our area with these cutting-edge safety caps, and the Batesville football program hopes to raise an additional $2,000 to match the BCEF grant and double the grant’s impact.

The innovative BCSC Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program in Mandarin Chinese received $500 in funds from BCEF for purchase of media materials in foreign languages.  This grant was a first for BCEF, as it was written by parents of the students currently in the program, including parent Kendra Basler, who served as grant writer with input from BCSC librarian Rachael Berkemeier and media specialist Anne Amrhein.

A new type of grant was added this year, thanks to direct sponsorship by Hillenbrand and Batesville Casket. Each spring, one BCSC teacher will be awarded $2500 for a STEM-related grant.  The 2018 grant was awarded to BHS agriculture teacher Cassie Wallpe, who will be attending a STEM-based training event this summer in the area of Principles of Agriscience-Plants.

BCEF is proud to award these three grants in areas that are making news every day, helping BCSC continue its quest to be leaders and difference makers.