Keller ISD’s Fine Arts Department earned a total of $51,000 to be awarded to 13 district programs as a result of applications submitted for the Fine Arts Instructional Support Program (FAISP) Grants.
Sub-grant awards up to $5,000 were available to public school districts for individual fine arts programs (art, dance, music, and theater) through a $1 million grant that was awarded to the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA).
The grant awards are designed to be used for the purchase of instructional support materials designed to enable students to continue participation in high quality, successful, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)-based secondary fine arts programs in grades 6-12 that prepare students for post-secondary college and career success.
Funds were not awarded for the use of fine arts related extracurricular activities.
The Keller ISD programs receiving the grants are:
- Hillwood MS Band: $3,000 for computers, recording equipment, and Harmony Director to improve intonation.
- Hillwood MS Choir: $3,000 for classroom choir risers
- Indian Springs MS Choir: $3,000 for sheet music and sight reading materials
- Fossil Hill MS Band: $5,000 for implementation of Smart Music technology, music library, and basic supplies for student use
- Central HS Art: $4,000 for iMac student computers with software
- Central HS Band: $5,000 for the purchase of new instruments
- Central HS Theatre: $3,000 for Mac Book Pro student lap tops and software
- Fossil Ridge HS Art: $4,000 for Adobe Photoshop software, digital cameras, data cards, and laser printers
- Fossil Ridge HS Choir: $4,000 for updating music library inventory and expanding classroom technology
- Fossil Ridge HS Theatre: $4,000 for classroom set of student iPads and apps compatible with light and sound equipment
- Keller HS Theatre: $5,000 for technical theatre class large tools and shop equipment
- Keller HS Dance: $4,000 for classroom resistance workout equipment to increase cardiovascular, musculature, and flexibility
- Timber Creek HS Art: $4,000 for iMac student computers
Only 34 percent of all submitted FAISP grant applications received award funding. Of the grant applications submitted by Keller ISD, 81 percent were awarded.
“The key to this grant was showing evidence of quality programs, requesting needed instructional support materials, and being able to show decreasing budgets over the past three years, which we were able to do,” said Dr. David Stevens, Keller ISD Director of Fine Arts.
The application process included presenting evidence of quality program success and evidence that the program had experienced critical budget reductions over the past three years. The grant is intended to supplement – not supplant – the budget of the secondary fine arts programs submitting the FAISP application.