District 45 Foundation awards over $8,300 in educational grants for 2026-27 school year
The District 45 Foundation for Excellence in Education awarded more than $8,300 in Educational Grants to staff on May 4, surprising recipients with visits and oversized checks for the 2026-27 school year. Foundation board members Peg Egan, Linda Nystrom and Ken Hildreth joined Superintendent Brian Graber as they delivered the grants to schools across Villa Park School District 45.
In total, the Foundation distributed 10 Educational Grants amounting to $8,382.32 for innovative staff projects not covered by the district’s regular budget. Earlier in the same school year, three mini-grants of up to $1,000 each were also awarded. Among this year's recipients was Westmore Elementary School teacher Kara Nikischer, who received $1,177 for her project "Weaving Personal Stories on Wooden Looms." Nikischer said students will use wooden looms and fiber materials to explore weaving as a form of personal storytelling inspired by artists Bisa Butler and Denise Treizman.
"The unit will culminate in a school-wide display of student work, transforming the space into a gallery of woven stories," stated Nikischer in her grant proposal. "Each student will display their piece alongside a written artist statement explaining the significance of their materials and design choices."
Other grant recipients included Kristi Isaacson at Ardmore Elementary for "Full STEAM Ahead" ($420), Ashley Kawarski and Marlena Smosna at D45 Early Childhood Center for "Core Communication Board" ($166), Jennifer Gafron at Jackson Middle School for "88 Keys to Excellence" ($1,000), Anthony Manata at Jackson Middle School for "Culinary Creators Club" ($850), Meghan Crocello at Jefferson Middle School for "Heritage Spanish-language Class Library" ($515), Alyssa Winiecki at North Elementary for "Engineering Club" ($822.70), Esthela Arenas and Josie Lopez at Schafer Elementary for "Building Biliteracy Through Authentic Spanish Literature in K-3" ($800), Kathy Huynh at Stevenson Elementary for "Building Engineers through STEM Bins" ($1,000), and Christina Rees with Tracy Shockey at Stevenson Elementary for “Growing Together: Sustainable Seating” ($1,631.42).
Villa Park School District 45 represents DuPage County and includes Ardmore Elementary School, Jackson Middle School, Jefferson Middle School, North Elementary School, Schafer Elementary School, Stevenson School, Westmore Elementary School and York Center Elementary School; it enrolled 3,306 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade during the 2019-2020 academic year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. The district spent $23,216 per student that year with total expenditures reaching nearly $76.8 million.
Donations supporting these grants can be made online or by mail throughout the year.