Transition Specialist and Vocational Adjustment Coordinator Julia Chalker received a surprise Wednesday morning when she was awarded a grant by the Frisco Education Foundation to sponsor leisure activities and life skill development for her students.

“It means a lot to me because it values that not everything that my students need to learn is about academics,” Chalker said. “It’s about life skills they can use and learning what they can do in their leisure time is really, really important.”

Grants for Great Ideas, a program sponsored by the Frisco Education Foundation, is open to all Frisco ISD educators and gives teachers the chance to improve their students’ learning environment in the district, on campus and in classrooms.

“It’s always special when we have a teacher who applies for a grant for a great idea,” principal Scott Warstler said.

Teachers are invited to propose ideas and projects that will help their students. A committee then selects winners and provides funds through grants.

“She’s obviously very passionate about what she does for her profession and for her students,” FEF Program Specialist Terri West said. “We can read that into her application and her application is truly about enriching the classroom environment.”

With the money from the grant, Chalker will be able to buy games and offer a variety of different activities for her department.

“The whole foundation of it is what are they going to do to get back to the kids, how does it help students in the classroom,” Warstler said. “So anytime a teacher applies and they are rewarded with that it allows more activities or something special for the student body.”