CHUMASH FOUNDATION ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS PROGRAM GRANTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Veronica V. Sandoval
vsandoval@sychumashfoundation.org
SANTA YNEZ, CA – March 18, 2019 –The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation is currently accepting grant applications for its Technology in Schools Program, which is aimed at helping Santa Barbara County schools boost their high-tech resources and upgrade the curriculum in their classrooms.
The deadline to apply for the 2019-2020 school year is April 30, 2019, and all applications must be submitted online at www.santaynezchumash.org.
The program allows school administrators and faculty to apply for technology grant dollars to fund specific projects. With schools struggling to keep their equipment and software up to date, finding additional resources to pay for new technology can be difficult for local schools.
“While teachers are developing creative ways of engaging their students by using computers and the latest software, keeping a classroom modern comes at a cost, and our tribe is proud that our Technology in Schools Program gives Santa Barbara County schools the opportunity to bridge that gap,” said Kenneth Kahn, Tribal Chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “The goal is to increase students’ access to the technological advances that will help them in the classroom.”
Technology in Schools Program grant recipients for the 2018-2019 school year were Clarence Ruth and Buena Vista elementary schools in Lompoc, Jonata Middle School in Buellton and the Carpinteria Unified School District. The grant awards for those schools will be announced by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation in the coming weeks.
In the 2017-2018 cycle, the Technology in Schools Program grant recipients were Santa Barbara Community Academy, which received $6,500 to put toward the purchase of the Lexia Core 5 Reading Program for use by its 200 kindergarten through second-grade students; La Honda STEAM Academy in Lompoc, which received $7,500 for its innovative MakerSpace program; Cabrillo High School and Santa Ynez Valley Christian Academy each received nearly $10,000 in Chromebook laptops and mobile charging carts; and Guadalupe Union School District received 48 Chromebooks (worth nearly $14,000) to use in classrooms at both Mary Buren Elementary and McKenzie Junior High.
In 2015, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians donated the proceeds from its annual charity golf tournament to four local schools in the form of technology grants. Inspired by the success of those grants, the tribe’s leadership has created the Technology in Schools Program through its foundation to help fulfill the high-tech needs of classrooms in Santa Barbara County.
For more information and to access applications, please visit www.santaynezchumash.org or call 805-688-7997.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $25 million to hundreds of groups, organizations and schools in the community and across the nation as part of the tribe’s long-standing tradition of giving.