2025-26 Grants is sponsored by Wisconsin Department of Education Foundation (WISDEF). Offers grants for educational projects, including sensory gardens and inclusive motor labs, to support diverse learning needs in Wisconsin schools.

Ride on the Magic Room Transformation…Beep! Beep! Beep!

(Pre-K through 5th grade, $2,699. 99) This grant will fund nine reusable classroom transformation tubs (e.g., Glow Day, Carnival, Hospital, Detective, Camping) that teachers can check out to instantly turn their rooms into immersive learning environments. Each tub includes themed backdrops and reusable props to boost engagement for review, reteach, and high-energy learning days across the campus.

Light Them Up Up Up, Light Them Up Up Up… Pre-K is on FIREEEE! (Pre-K, $2,290. 07) This grant will purchase light tables to provide year-round, hands-on, multisensory learning experiences across literacy, math, science, fine motor, and creative play.

The tables will be used for student-led exploration with activities like color mixing, letter discovery, nature investigation, storytelling, and sensory engagement. You Are SAD? He is SCARED?

Neurodivergent Learners Just Aren’t Aware: Social/Emotional Awareness (Pre-K and Kinder, $644. 76) This grant will bring interactive therapy pets into the classroom to support social-emotional learning, beginning immediately with whole-group modeling and progressing to small-group, calming, and role-play activities over several months.

The pets will be used to teach emotions, sharing, self-regulation, communication, and empathy with support from speech therapists throughout implementation. Magnetize Your Mind with The Wall of WONDER (Pre-K and Kinder, $2,037. 84) This grant will fund a magnetic wall used for hands-on, vertical learning across subjects in early elementary classrooms.

Students will use magnetic tools for math, science, reading, and fine-motor literacy development to build foundational skills through interactive, screen-free play. KidCOT - World Showcase! Journey Around the World!

(Pre-K through 5th grade, $2,905. 82) This grant will fund KidCOT – World Showcase, an Epcot-inspired cultural celebration where 3rd graders host booths and lead the campus on a passport-style journey around the world. Funds will provide decorations, flags, and cultural items to create immersive, hands-on experiences that highlight global traditions, student heritage, and campus-wide cultural awareness.

Puppet Tales and Reader Trails (Pre-K through 3rd grade, $1,344. 80) This grant will fund puppets and a puppet theater to support Pre-K learning through play, storytelling, emotions, and ESL development. The project will also include collaboration with 3rd graders for reader’s theater, character studies, and joint performances to build literacy and confidence across grade levels.

Beyond the Bulletin Board - Learning on Display (Pre-K through 5th grade, $1,037. 82) This grant will purchase and install twelve large bulletin boards around the school’s main hallway and common areas. The displays will showcase student achievements in prominent locations to transform plain walls into celebratory, student-centered spaces.

Magnify Curiosity (Pre-K through 5th grade, $1,799. 40) This grant will purchase handheld microscopes for students to observe live organisms, plant cells, soil, rocks, and minerals both indoors and outdoors. The tools will support science lessons and student-led investigations, encouraging hands-on exploration across the campus.

Playaways are Back, Back Again! (3rd and 4th grade, $4,095. 73) This grant will fund Playaway audiobook devices so 3rd graders can listen to digital books during library checkout while still borrowing a traditional book.

The Media Technology Specialist will manage the system and continue adding titles, with batteries supported through community donations and headphones already covered by school supplies. Brake Up the Distraction (1st through 5th grade, $499. 99) This grant will purchase a classroom-friendly stationary exercise bike to help students who need movement to focus, self-regulate, and stay engaged during lessons.

Teachers will integrate the bike into small-group work, independent tasks, and brain breaks, tracking its impact through observations, surveys, and performance data. Two Chairs, One Cheer - Positivity Starts Right Here! (Pre-K through 5th grade, $605.

88) This grant will create a “Two Chairs, One Cheer” positivity station with inviting chairs, an electric message banner, and affirmation cards to greet students each morning. Staff and eventually student leaders will use the space to share cheers, greetings, and encouragement to boost morale and foster a welcoming school culture. Don’t Stop Til You Print Enough (Pre-K through 5th grade, $2,263.

45) This grant will fund tools or equipment to allow teachers to create accessible visual materials and personalized prints quickly for classroom use. It will reduce cost and delays while supporting all learners and enhancing classroom environments during curriculum and theme weeks. Bird’s Eye View (1st grade, $957.

41) This grant will purchase two solar-powered birdhouses with live cameras, a K–2 nature science kit from Cornell, and miniature take-home birdhouses to support first-grade life science lessons. The project will let students observe real bird behavior and life cycles in real time, with footage available campus-wide to benefit multiple grade levels and TEKS-aligned science instruction.

Stories Under the Oak: A Little Library for Our Community (Pre-K through 5th grade, $1,647. 52) This grant will create and install three outdoor Little Library boxes under an oak tree to provide 24/7 free book access for students and the community. High school students will assemble, paint, and help launch the project, with volunteers maintaining it long-term as a literacy and community engagement hub.

Get in the Groove! (Pre-K and Kinder, $4,024. 94) This grant will fund reusable grooved handwriting books, disappearing ink pens, dry erase boards, and magnetic letter boards to support proper letter and number formation.

These tools will be used during fine motor stations, whole group instruction, and small groups to strengthen handwriting through multisensory, engaging practice. Project in Motion (Pre-K and Kinder, $4,129. 99) This grant will fund the purchase of a 5-seat Merry-Go-Cycle and a Skyward Summit Climber to enhance the school playground.

These additions will support students’ gross motor development and provide long-term physical growth opportunities. The Regulation Station (Pre-K through 5th grade, $4,892. 00) This grant will fund outdoor sensory regulation equipment—such as a musical element, balance beam, and climber—to support calming, movement, and sensory needs for students, including those in wheelchairs.

The space will provide a safe, therapeutic recess alternative to help students self-regulate and return to class focused and ready to learn. A Literary Launchpad: The Mystery Mix-Up (4th and 5th grade, $1,428. 35) This grant will fund the Literary Launchpad: Mystery Mix-Up program by purchasing 50 reusable mystery book boxes and student incentives like bookmarks, stickers, and custom buttons.

The Media Technology Specialist will fill the boxes with curated book pairings to encourage 4th and 5th graders to explore new genres during library checkout throughout the year. From Paper to Play: Bringing Area to Life (3rd grade, $233. 64) This grant will purchase 11 sets of Hand2Mind Area Model Trays with Base Ten Blocks to help students physically build and understand multiplication and area concepts.

The reusable tools will be used throughout the year for hands-on, differentiated math instruction, turning complex concepts into engaging, student-led learning experiences. Code, Create, Soar: Bringing STEM to Life (3rd through 5th grade, $4,700. 30) This grant will create an after-school Technology Club for 3rd–5th graders focused on coding, robotics, and drone learning.

It will give 45 students equitable access to hands-on STEM experiences while reinforcing academic skills like perimeter and area and introducing future tech career pathways. The Sensory Garden (Pre-K through 5th grade, $853. 68) This grant will expand the existing sensory room into a Sensory Garden equipped with tactile panels, swings, spinning chairs, and other interactive tools for students with autism and special needs.

The space will support both exploratory learning and emotional regulation, providing guided sensory sessions to build skills and offer a calming retreat. Move to Improve (Pre-K and Kinder, $4,893. 41) This grant will create an inclusive motor lab that uses purposeful movement to help students regulate, build focus, and prepare for learning.

The space will combine sensory, physical, and academic readiness activities—serving special education students first but open to all students to support confidence, health, and success. Versatile Teaching Through VersaTiles® (2nd grade, $1,339. 96) This grant will purchase two 2nd-grade VersaTiles Math kits and two Literacy kits for skill reinforcement.

The hands-on tools will be used during whole group, small group, and independent practice to spiral and repeatedly review concepts throughout the year. Memories in the Making - An Elementary Yearbook Club (3rd through 5th grade, $2,672. 94) This grant will fund digital cameras, tripods, and a backdrop to launch an Elementary Yearbook Club where students design and produce a professional-quality yearbook.

Students will build real-world skills in photography, writing, design, and collaboration while ensuring every child is represented and celebrated in the final product. Build BIG, Dream BIGGER with Rigamajig (Pre-K through 5th grade, $4,527. 50) This grant will purchase a Rigamajig Basic Builder Kit for the makerspace, allowing PreK–5 students to engage in hands-on engineering challenges year-round.

Students will design and build structures, vehicles, and problem-solving projects that reinforce curriculum concepts through creative, collaborative play. Curify Our Class (6th grade, $1,999. 00) This grant will fund a campus wide license for Curipod, an interactive instructional platform that makes lessons and slides engaging and provides real-time writing feedback.

Teachers across all subjects can create and share interactive lessons, while students receive anonymous peer interaction, SEL support, and personalized writing coaching through features like “grows and glows. ” Beyond the Binder: Where Student Voices Take the Mic (6th grade, $493.

45) This grant will create a student-run classroom podcast called “Beyond the Binder” where 6th grade ELAR students write, record, and share episodes with families and the community. The project will build literacy, speaking, and collaboration skills while giving students a creative, real-audience platform to express their voices. Reflections in Motion (6th grade, $4,387.

45) This grant will purchase rolling dance studio mirrors for the 6th Grade Wildcat Elevation Dance Program to provide students with immediate visual feedback during practice. The mirrors will help dancers improve technique, confidence, and performance quality while transforming the space into a true studio environment for current and future students. Poster Power: Letting Students Ink What They Think in Science!

(7th and 8th grade, $984. 95) This grant will fund a large-format printer, ink, and poster paper so students can design and print their own anchor chart posters for classrooms and hallways. The project promotes digital fluency, creativity, and content mastery while supporting an engaging, student-led STAAR review experience.

S. W. A.

T. - Students With Ambition and Training (9th through 12th grade, $2,217. 75) This grant will fund uniforms, safety equipment, and training gear to form a student SWAT team within the Law Enforcement pathway and prepare them for TPSA tactical competitions.

Students would receive hands-on scenario-based training with support from local law enforcement, leading up to competition participation in early 2026. Wildcat News Network (9th through 12th grade, $4,989. 47) This grant will launch the student-run Wildcat News Network, a weekly broadcast where students serve as anchors, reporters, videographers, editors, and producers.

They would create and share campus news, student achievements, and community stories with the school and potentially families through digital platforms. Large Format Printer for Student and Teacher Projects (Kinder through 12th grade, $2,700. 02) This grant will fund a wide-format printer so students in graphic design and engineering can produce competition and project materials on campus.

It would also allow teachers and organizations districtwide to create posters, banners, and other printed materials more efficiently and at lower cost. Communication is Multimodal (Pre-K through 5th grade, $1,743. 75) This grant provides durable communication boards and visual supports so non-verbal and emerging communicators can express themselves across campus—in classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, and common areas.

By giving students consistent tools wherever they are, it reduces frustration, builds independence, and supports stronger social and academic engagement. They See Us Rolling… We Skating! (Pre-K through 5th grade, $5,430.

77) This grant will purchase roller skates, safety gear, and custom-built skating trainers to teach balance and coordination during PE rotations. The equipment will travel between elementary campuses for 2–4 week units where students learn skating skills safely. Breathe!

You’re Fine, OK? (Pre-K through 5th grade, $1,046. 20) This grant will fund interactive tools like Breathing Buddies, calm-down cubes, breathing boards, and pulse oximeters to teach students emotional regulation through guided deep-breathing techniques.

These multisensory resources will be used in class lessons, small groups, and individual support to help students calm their bodies and return to learning quickly. Silent Beats, Big Rewards! (Pre-K through 5th grade, $7,991.

10) This grant will purchase a class set of Silent Disco headphones and a multi-channel transmitter system to be used across two campuses for learning, incentives, and engagement. The headphones will support testing rewards, behavior motivation, PE movement, music layering, audiobook stations, and multilingual or focus-based classroom instruction.