High-impact Gifts:

Middle School Addition:
The middle school addition created a new wing for the 6th grade, providing an infrastructure that supports team teaching and an enhanced learning environment. Six classrooms, grouped by two with a common wall, provide flexible space for addressing the changing needs of students just entering middle school. Three teaching teams provide instruction for the individual cores; the walls are folded back at the start of each day for morning announcements or to present a common activity. A $1.5 million EFB gift funded the middle school addition.

• The addition includes a sun room suitable for small student group projects or teacher team meetings
• The Gifted & Talented/ESL programs now have their own class rooms
• A large hallway serves as an assembly area for all 6th graders, supporting a more functional and cohesive environment for non-classroom gatherings

Other Significant Gifts:

Artificial Turf Field for High School:
During the 2006 spring season, 300 students or nearly half of the high school student body, missed school due to practice and games played on offsite fields. These 42 trips ammounted to 1,267 hours of missed class. The installation of the artificial turf field has allowed students to reclaim study and class time; reduced expenses for travel time for away games; fostered higher school spirit as sports lost to poor field conditions were brought back on campus; and strengthened the school/community bond as more families now attend games at home.

Grants Benefit Steamboat and Region Schools:
Grants to the Steamboat Springs School District and other Routt County schools totaled $4.8 million over the past 10 years. A Fund Board gift underwrites the salary of a grant writer, resulting in grant awards substantially greater than the salary investment. Over the last two years, grants have funded teachers to work with at-risk and expelled students in Steamboat ($73,900) and an early learning center for the South Routt School District ($80,000). In 2006-07, the Hayden School District received a $500,000 grant to expand vocational facilities.

New Buses/Long-Term Facility Planning:
An EFB gift financed the purchase of three new buses to jump-start replacement of an aging fleet. A gift also funded a Long-Term Facilities Plan to guide major capital improvement decisions.