The District 113 Foundation this month handed out $25,000 to select Deerfield and Highland Park innovative high school programs.

Each year foundation members go through requests and selects those that the group feels meets its criteria, said Dean Weinberg, the foundation’s president. The foundation always receives more requests than it can fund, he said.

Those programs that are highly innovative have the best shot at approval, Weinberg said. The foundation prefers to fund programs that aren’t typically funded by the district.

“We are looking to fund different and unique educational opportunities,” Weinberg said. “We generally don’t fund programs that would be funded through the district’s budget. We aren’t a replacement for the budget process.”

The foundation doesn’t always fully fund the programs, Weinberg said. Sometimes, it will hand out seed money to get the groups going.

For instance, the foundation initially gave money to HP^3 – Salsa, Soul & Spirit, a program that promotes racial equality, to start the program. It’s continued to hand HP^3  grants, but the group also fundraises on its own.

The foundation doesn’t necessarily split up the money evenly among the programs. Individual grants have ranged between $200 and $5,000, Weinberg said.

The foundation raises money through annual fundraisers and donations, he said. It’s made up of 18 community volunteers who began rising money for District 113 schools in 2007.

Here is a full list of programs that the foundation funded this year:

Endangered Species Plant Garden: Deerfield High School students and elementary feeder school children will plant, raise and study endangered plants in the school’s courtyard.

Beyond Deerfield: Global Challenges Summit: Students will study global social, economic and political issues and attend presentations that address divergent world views.

Anti-defamation League Names Program: A Highland Park forum discusses prejudice, racism, bullying and bigotry.

Interactive White Board System:  Highland Park teachers will buy a Promethean Activeboard and full set of ActivExpression Learner Response Units for the computer lab.

Spanish and French Libraries: This Highland Park program creates reading libraries in Spanish and French classrooms.

BizCafe Computer Simulations: Highland Park teachers will purchase Interpretive Software’s BizCafe computer simulations. The software allows students to run a simulated coffee shop, controlling all aspects of the business including: staffing, marketing, branding, inventory, menu and pricing.

HP^3 – Salsa, Soul & Spirit: 
The Highland Park program is designed to address racial equality goals.

Latin Dance: 
The Highland Park program will pay for costumes and choreographers for performances in the schools and community.

Bilingual Children’s Books: Highland Park teachers will buy books for language students who will learn about plot developments, perspectives, authors’ crafts  genres and vocabulary analysis.

Young Journalists at Work: 
The Highland Park program helps struggling readers using photographer and writing.

Beyond Homework:  Economically disadvantaged students in the Highland Park High School’s Homework Club will be offered enrichment activities in art, music and athletics.

Player2Player: The Highland Park students help low-income kindergartners through eighth graders with arts and athletics that they wouldn’t have been introduced to otherwise.