Grants in Action

At Vinland Elementary, every single student, all 550 of them, spends time in the STEAM room learning to create, tinker, and solve problems. Thanks to NKSF support, STEAM specialist Terra Ezell stocked her lessons with hands-on materials that turn science, art, engineering, and math into something kids can build with their own hands.

This year, North Kitsap High School hosted its first rated chess tournament, and more than 80 players from three counties showed up to play. Thanks to NKSF support, the NKHS chess program bought the equipment to host US Chess and Northwest Chess-rated events, opening tournament chess to students who might never have been able to afford it, and building something that will serve the district for years.

At Sound View Camp, a hundred Vinland fifth graders spent a few days learning things you can’t teach in a classroom: teamwork, independence, and how to do the thing that scares you. Thanks to NKSF support, the entire fifth grade got an overnight outdoor-education trip, one that sent kids home with new friendships, more confidence, and a story or two worth keeping.

In the speech room at Poulsbo Elementary, therapy sounds a lot like fun. Thanks to NKSF support, the school’s speech-language team stocked their sessions with engaging, high-quality cards that turn articulation practice into play and give even the youngest students a way to join the conversation. More than flashcards; it’s connection, confidence, and every student finding their voice.

At Richard Gordon Elementary, learning is happening in the dirt, one garden bed per grade, from kindergarten sunflowers to fifth grade strawberries. Thanks to NKSF support, teacher Melissa Baltzell built a school garden where students dig, plant, measure, and wonder, and where a math lesson can happen with a ruler and a pea plant.

On a gray January day, a group of North Kitsap High School psychology students walked through the Seattle rain to the Museum of Illusions and got to be kids again. Thanks to NKSF support, teacher Nicholas Elmquist took his classes out into the world, turning lessons about the mind into something they could see, touch, and laugh their way through.

At North Kitsap High School, the BRIDGE program helps young adults build the skills to live and work independently. This year, a grant helped them feel the part, too. Thanks to NKSF support, teacher Marie Moore outfitted her classroom with lockers, work gear, and supplies that turn everyday routines into real workplace practice.

Thanks to NKSF support, occupational therapist Daniela Muñiz and speech-language pathologist Shelley Dahl filled their sessions with games and adaptive tools that turn hard work into play and help every student take part.

At David Wolfle Elementary, thanks to NKSF support, librarian Mayra Gaal added a bright, welcoming story-time rug. A gathering place where the school’s youngest readers come together to listen, wonder, and belong.

At Vinland Elementary, a Drama Club gave 30 fourth- and fifth-graders something bigger than a stage: the courage to be seen. Thanks to NKSF support, students spent months bringing Seussical to life, learning lines and choreography, and learning to lean on each other when things got hard. This is more than a play; it’s confidence, empathy, and a community that lifts its kids up.

At Vinland Elementary, a club called Raíces Unidas turned cultural pride into something the whole community could gather around. Thanks to NKSF support, the Dual Language Program created a space to celebrate Hispanic and Latin American cultures, growing from a handful of students into a Día de los Muertos celebration that drew hundreds of families. This is more than a club; it’s belonging, heritage, and a community that shows up for one another.

At Poulsbo Elementary, a new club gave the school’s youngest students something they don’t usually get first: a makerspace of their own. Thanks to NKSF support, principal Debra Audet launched a LEGO club for kindergarten through second grade, where 58 young builders shared ideas, solved problems together, and found their voices.

In a kindergarten classroom at Hilder Pearson Elementary, the day often starts with a deep breath, led by a five-year-old. Thanks to NKSF support, teacher Michelle Scarr added comfortable spaces and hands-on SEL and STEM materials to her room, giving her youngest learners new ways to settle in, focus, and create.

The KMS PE department added Castle Squares 9 Square kits to its physical education program with support from NKSF. The game is fast, low-impact, and easy to join, which makes it a good fit for the large classes PE teachers work with every day.

Thanks to a North Kitsap Schools Foundation grant, Kingston Middle School librarian Lynn Atherton grew some small cardboard building challenges into something many more students can be part of.

Mental health is one of the most important and personal topics students can explore, especially during the high school years, when identity, relationships, and self-awareness are taking shape. For some students, these conversations can feel difficult to start. For others, they can feel long overdue. But sometimes, all it takes is the right story to open the door.

Kingston Middle School’s Crafty Cavs take the library’s new sewing makerspace on a shakedown run.

At Hilder Pearson Elementary, an NKSF grant provided sensory tools and hands-on STEM materials for students in the ISP Special Education program. Designed to support small-group STEM and social-emotional learning (SEL) activities, these resources are helping students in grades 1–5 stay calm, focused, and ready to learn.

What may have looked like a grant for professional books was actually something much bigger: an investment in teachers and in the future of math instruction.

At Poulsbo Elementary, the gym is filled with color, laughter, and giggles as students lift a brand-new parachute together—no one left out, everyone part of the fun. Adding stopwatches for friendly challenges and goal-setting has made PE with Mr. Webb a place where students move, grow, and smile every single day.