Posts tagged English Language Arts
Science of Learning Book Study — $1,050
Science of Learning Book Study — $1,050

This grant funds a year-long professional book study for K–8 staff centered on Beyond the Science of Reading by Natalie Wexler, deepening educators' understanding of how students learn to read and how cognitive science translates into effective classroom practice. Teachers across three schools will meet monthly throughout 2026–27 to discuss the book, apply instructional shifts in their classrooms, and build a shared research-aligned foundation ahead of the district's upcoming ELA standards rollout and curriculum adoption. Two reading specialists will facilitate the sessions, with success measured through pre- and post-surveys of teacher confidence and instructional implementation.

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2026Sandy SlaytonEnglish Language Arts, Professional Development
Reading Goals for Growth — $2,595.20
Reading Goals for Growth — $2,595.20

This grant funds a two-year renewal of the Accelerated Reader (AR) and STAR Reading programs for 4th grade students at Whitson Elementary, extending a pilot that launched in the 2024–25 school year. Through AR, students select high-interest books, complete comprehension quizzes, and earn points toward individualized reading goals — a model that increased the share of students meeting their monthly reading goal from 35% in October to 75% by March in the current school year. The program also supports differentiation across grade levels and will give the district measurable data to inform an upcoming ELA curriculum review and adoption.

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2026Sandy SlaytonEnglish Language Arts
GLAD Professional Development - $4,788
GLAD Professional Development - $4,788

Curricular Area: English Language Arts
Grant Focus: Professional Development
Schools: Whitson Elementary

Since WSVSD has already prioritized GLAD, this project ensures that teachers can move beyond training into full-scale implementation, making the most of the district’s investment. This project provides hands-on collaborative lesson planning specific to the Geography curriculum, and develop ready-to-use GLAD-aligned Geography materials that will benefit both students and teachers long-term.

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2025AdminWhitson Elementary, English Language Arts, Professional Development
Whitson Elementary Book Room Revitalization- $4,000
Whitson Elementary Book Room Revitalization- $4,000

Curricular Area: English Language Arts
Grant Focus: Equipment
Schools: Whitson Elementary

Updating Whitson Elementary Schools Instructional Book Room with new books that are aligned to research based practices from the Science of Reading. These new books will be used in addition to the materials in K-4 English Language Arts (ELA) Core Curricula to help teachers differentiate instruction to meet the needs and skill levels of their students.

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2024AdminWhitson Elementary, English Language Arts, equipment
TRUSTY Books Not MUSTY Books – $627
TRUSTY Books Not MUSTY Books – $627

Curricular Area: Across Subjects
Grant Focus: Professional Development
Schools: District-wide
Items Purchased: enrollment in the “Managing Children’s Collections from Acquisition to Weeding” course

This is a project that invests in the White Salmon Valley School District librarians, through professional development. The goal of this project is to improve the school libraries in our district by equipping the librarians with the necessary library management skills to revitalize our libraries.

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2021Anne StringerHenkle Middle School, English Language Arts, Across Subjects, Whitson Elementary, Columbia High School
Culturally Diverse Books – $1,000
Culturally Diverse Books – $1,000

Curricular Area: Social Emotional Learning, English Language Arts
Grant Focus: Books
Schools: Henkle Middle School
Items Purchased: Books


By purchasing culturally diverse books for the middle school ELA classroom library, this project provides an opportunity for students to see themselves in literature. It will assist in social emotional learning as students are able to relate to books and see how others grapple with issues. The goal of more diverse books is to provide “mirrors, windows, and ladders” for students to see themselves reflect in classroom materials as well as a deeper understanding of others’ experiences.

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2021Anne StringerSocial Emotional Learning, Henkle Middle School, English Language Arts
Diversity Classroom Libraries – $1,500
Diversity Classroom Libraries – $1,500

Curricular Area: English Language Arts
Grant Focus: Books
Schools: Wallace & Priscilla Stevenson Intermediate School
Items Purchased: Books and teacher research time

The teacher applying for this grant noted that the classroom libraries didn’t fairly represent the diversity in our student population. This grant will compensate the teacher for research time as well as the purchase of novels and nonfiction literature for WPSIS 4-6th grade English Language Arts classroom libraries. Books will be by diverse authors about diverse topics featuring diverse protagonists.

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Spring 2019Anne StringerEnglish Language Arts, W&P Stevenson Intermediate
Whitson eReaders - $4,182
Whitson eReaders - $4,182

Curricular Area: English Language Arts
Grant Focus: Technology
Schools: Whitson Elementary
Items Purchased:  12 Kindle Paperwhites, 12 Kindle Fires, eBook Library

This grant supported a pilot into using eReaders to "encourage voracious consumption of high-quality books" by Whitson students, as well as supporting struggling readers and English language learners with "immersive reading" experiences.

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Fall 2015Guest UserTechnology, Whitson Elementary, English Language Arts