Frequently Asked Questions

Bethesda Elementary School

$1,000 for Media Making Wellness

Bethesda Elementary School will be able to provide an environment for all 550+ students focused on 21st century learning as well as wellness. This Media Maker-space will transform the Bethesda media center into an equitable environment for all Pre-K through 5th grade classrooms. Children will receive the benefit of obtaining social emotional skills, such as effective communication, problem solving, conflict resolution

and empathy to influence them in becoming prolific global leaders from their foundational years.

Carrington Middle

$4,000 for MEM (Male Educator Mentoring)

This male educator support group is dedicated to empowering and nurturing male educators at Carrington Middle School and DPS. The aim is to establish a space where male educators, particularly those who center the viewpoints communities of color can gather for monthly meetings, respite activities, mental health support, and mentoring. This will allow for community building, empowerment, provide mental health support, encourage rejuvenation, and provide professional development for all participants.

CC Spaulding Elementary

$7,500 for The Haven 360 Project: Healing Unseen Scars of Youth, Families, and Essential Workers

The Haven 360 Project is designed to offer a comprehensive approach to healing and support. It acknowledges the emotional challenges faced by youth, educators, and essential workers and aims to create a safe haven for their emotional well-being. By providing trauma-informed healing, building a support network, and promoting holistic well-being, Through implementing therapeutic workshops, support circles, an online wellness resource hub, and more, the Haven 360 Project will contribute to the overall wellness and systematic change of the DPS family.

DSA

4,000 for DSA Fall Art Festival:Día de los Muertos

The Durham School of the Arts Fall Art Festival: Día de los Muertos began in 2012 in a small hallway. The festival and its preparations have since grown into an elaborate, multifaceted production that spans throughout the school year and across 3 city blocks. Our festival celebrates LIFE and ART through the lens of the Hispanic holiday Day of the Dead and exposes our community to this expression of Latine culture.

Easley Elementary

$3,000 for Inclusive Education for Every Mind: Building Strong Communities, Nurturing Mental Health

The core objective is the transformation of our school into a nurturing and empowering space where every student can thrive. This will be achieved by implementing a comprehensive six-module professional development series, led by Dr. Emily King, a distinguished expert in Neurodiverse Classroom education. This series will provide educators and all Easley staff with valuable insights and practical strategies to establish safe, engaging, and supportive learning environments for all students.

Eastway Elementary

$1,058 for A Space to Call Our own - Wellness Center at Eastway

A Place to Call Our Own – Wellness Center is a place that promotes health and mindfulness wellbeing to our staff. The staff at Eastway Elementary School will benefit greatly by spending quality time visiting A Place to Call Our Own. The wellness center is equipped with a lounging area, aromatherapy, rejuvenating essential oils, an affirmations wall to encourage and uplift them and a sense of calmness and relaxation. The life of an educator can be stressful and this wellness center will help to decrease that stress and bring back a sense of balance.

Eastway Elementary

$2,500 for Cultivating Wellness Through Community Engagement at Eastway Elementary

This project will involve students and parents in the planning and execution of events centered around wellness. This includes a wellness kickoff event that will feature; make and take wellness stations, community speakers, mental health speakers, yoga and meditation, and adopt-a-garden bed. Parents and students will work together in our pollinator and vegetable gardens, where they can "adopt-a-bed" and have a sense of ownership and pride in what they grow. Throughout the year there will be yoga. meditation, restorative practices and gardening/outdoor learning sessions for parents, faculty, and students. Lastly, a spring garden extravaganza, where families will plant spring vegetables in their garden plots and plan for summer harvests.

Forest View Elementary

$3,000 for Exceptional Gardeners Outdoor Therapeutic Garden

The Exceptional Gardeners program (phase 1) was established at Forest View Elementary in January 2022. Exceptional Gardeners is a Horticultural Therapy (HT) program for children and young adults with a variety of abilities to support social inclusion, acquisition of vocational skills, participation in meaningful occupations, and to enhance quality of life during and after their school career. It is designed to incorporate therapeutic, vocational, and social/emotional opportunities for students being served. The second phase of the program includes an outdoor therapeutic garden that would expand health and well-being opportunities to all students and staff at Forest View. The outdoor therapeutic garden that is being proposed will have opportunities for HT programming, and is also a space that will be accessible to all children and adults who attend and work at the school.

Forest View Elementary

$1,000 for Sensory Boards for K1

Sensory boards can support the cognitive development in students with sensory needs. Students with access to sensory strategies are able to increase their level of alertness needed to attain and focus on the skills being taught in class. This project will make sensory boards for 12 classes to include the kindergarten and 1st grade classes. These boards will provide opportunity for sensory exploration, fine motor skills, socialization with peers, cognitive development, language development, and calming activities. Sensory tools are transformative because they promote regulation, improve focus, and increase participation that helps children be available for learning.

Hillandale Elementary

$3,000 for Growing our Therapeutic Garden at Hillandale

In a school garden setting, a child’s self-esteem and confidence can grow. Whether it’s learning new skills such as digging and planting, watering and weeding, or learning what plants will bring bees, butterflies and hummingbirds into the garden, working with others to nurture plants and seeing the results promotes pride! An integral to the success and implementation is collaboration with a Horticultural Therapist. Two groups with 5-8 students will meet weekly for 50 minutes each. One group being students from a class for students with Developmental Needs and one group with students in grades 3-5 in a regular education setting who have been identified by counselors as needing support for anxiety, social concerns, grief or attention issues. A speech therapist and occupational therapist co-lead the group with the horticulture therapist for the students in the Developmental Needs class and the School Counselors co-lead the group for the regular education classes.

Hillside High School

$3,500 for I Am Affirmations, I Am Here

Inside the bathrooms, there are words, phrases, and obscenities that are constantly written that do not speak positivity into our students. It is time for students to see, speak, claim, and receive positivity within their lives, even if it is in the bathroom. The purpose of the I Am Affirmations, I Am Here, is to transform every student bathroom inside Hillside High School into an area that encourages, motivates, and affirms the greatness within our student body. With help of Hillside’s student leaders from National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Rho Community Service organization, other teachers, and myself, we will paint “I Am” affirmations on the doors of the boys and girl's bathrooms

Hillside HighSchool

$5,000 for Hillside Students For Mental Health

In this student-led initiative, students want to create a comprehensive workshop during the 2023-2024 school year to empower and connect Hillside students with mental health organizations, information on coping strategies, and mental health kits and prizes to incentivize student attendance. At the workshop, there will be a variety of activities and stations for students to visit. There will be coping mechanism practices to introduce students to the problem, emotional, and social-based coping skills. There will be talks with experienced psychologists and psychiatrists in addition to mental health-based raffle prizes to incentivize students to participate in stations and activities.

Holt Elementary

$2,834 for Wellness Through Gymnastics

Gymnastics specifically, studies have shown the increase in bone, muscle and cognitive health as a result of performing gymnastics. Participating in gymnastics provides an opportunity to build relationships with classmates along with being encouraged and motivated by their peers. This project will purchase gymnastic mats and wedges to incorporate gymnastics programming into its physical education curriculum and offerings.

Jordan High School

$3,000 for Stranger Times - Mental Health and Wellness Programming

This funding will support mental health programming for students at Jordan High School and other schools within DPS, as well as integration with educators, staff, and partner organizations. As part of the Stranger Times exhibit presented by the Museum of Durham History, this programming will help students express their thoughts and feelings about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their lives, and more specifically how remote learning changed their education, how social isolation shaped their relationships with friends and family, and why virtual communication was mentally and emotionally challenging.

Lakeview School

7,000 for Zen Jones 

The Zen Zones will promote, support and improve mental health wellness and social-emotional learning. The Zen Zone will allow students and staff who may be experiencing strong emotions to take a mental break, practice mindfulness exercises and utilize calming techniques. The Zen Zone for students, called "The Chill Vibes" room will allow students to manage emotions, incorporate social-emotional learning and reset to interact appropriately with their peers and staff. The Zen Zone for staff, called “The Zen Den” will be a space for staff to recharge during the school day and this dedicated space allows the school’s staff to intentionally focus on self-awareness and self-regulation. These safe space rooms will provide a calming, relaxed, and therapeutic environment to include bean bag chairs, soothing music, therapeutic games, and healthy snacks.

Lakewood Elementary School

$4,000 for Lakewood Wellness Program Support

Lakewood Elementary is revitalizing its school wellness committee and health & wellness programs this year. During our 2023 Lakewood Listening Project (LLP) it was evident that all stakeholders in our school community consider the health of community members a priority. After receiving input from parents, staff, students, and neighbors, we are planning to support the school in developing a healthier school environment, assisting with policy development and revision to make sure the health needs of community members are being addressed, and advocating for and developing school health & fitness programs. This will create calming corners in classrooms, creation of a forest classroom, meditation spaces, spaces for prayer, and before/after school recreational sports activities.

Lyons Farm Elementary

$2,000 for Creating Calming Corners to Address SEL (Social-Emotional Learning)

Lyon's Farm will create a dedicated Calming Corner in each 3rd grade classroom designed to support all students' social-emotional learning. Each corner will include tangible and sensory items including but not limited to SEL books, fidget toys, visual calming aids, a weighted blanket, a weighted stuffed animal, maze boards, and other materials that meet the sensory needs of our students. These Calming Corners will not only support our students who typically struggle to manage their emotions on a daily basis, but they will benefit all students who have days when they need additional mental health support

Middle College; DPS Student Services District Level

$5,000 for DPS New Counselor Support Program Year 2

The purpose of this project is to continue the programming and foundation for raising up a new group of School Counselor leaders in the DPS system. This school year there will be 31 New School Counselors, and 21 School Counselor Mentors supporting these counselors. The support of School Counselor Mentors helps new counselors transition into their complex role within the school. School Counselors work to support all students' personal/social, academic, and career skills through use of the ASCA National Model. Mentorship for new School Counselors helps DPS systemically support and retain counselors. School Counselors work to advocate for student learning, wellness, and achievement on an individual student and whole school level.

Multi: Glenn and Forest View

$10,000 for Disability Justice Liberation Revolution - Disability Justice Ambassador '23-'24

Our project, the Disability Justice Ambassador Program, is an intentional growth opportunity to connect DPS staff who are eager to engage in Disability Justice centered work within their school communities. The project will include 6 Disability Justice Ambassadors representing up to 3 DPS schools. It will empower and enable ambassadors to attend Disability Justice training, (financially supported by the DPS EC Department) participate in Disability Justice dreaming and organizing sessions, and implement their dream project centering Disability Justice for DPS

Multi: Northern High School, Hillside High School, City of Medicine Academy Brogden Middle School, Lowes Grove Middle School, Neal Middle; New Schools to Add 2023: Southern High School, Jordan High School, Shepard Middle School

$10,000 for Grupo LEAL

Grupo LEAL is dedicated to addressing the mental and emotional well-being Latins students at each school that has the program. Through lessons, projects, restorative circles, social-emotional and cultural discussions as well and building support networks; it provides resources and tools to cope with the stressors of academic life and navigate the complexities of identity as well as provide support in obtaining acceptance and funding to continue studying after high school. In Grupo LEAL, we invest in the mental health and resilience of DPS Latinx students, contributing to their long-term success and well-being.

Neal Middle School

$5,000 for Queens in Process

Queens in Process will fund the creation of a "We Are Queens" program and Neal Middle School. Spaces will be created including mental health awareness days such as a yoga class or Zumba instructor to come in and practice mindfulness and breathing exercises that will assist with anxiety, self-awareness activities such as a pamper yourself a day, allowing an etiquette coach to visit, and teach varies parts of class and provide the rising queens with a formal dinner. This funding will also help provide a planned field trip of fun and relaxation therapy.

Neal Middle School

$2,500 for Wellness for All

In this well-rounded approach, will support students and staff. Staff will be supported by restocking and revamping the wellness room. Students will be provided protection from the harsh elements in the winter months. This will include a hat and gloves to ensure warmth. Additionally, flexible seating will be provided as well to encourage equitable learning for all students

Northern High (PTO)

$3,000 Food Pantry/Wellness Closet/Immediate Needs

In an effort to support the school social worker and the services offered, a pantry and wellness clinic is needed to expand offerings. The goal is to supply the food pantry with many types of food that students can use when options may not be available at home. Additionally, these funds will assist students who may find themselves in a displaced or homeless situation during the school year. This will help with purchasing clothing items and shoes when a homeless situation is present.

Northern High School

$7,500 for Girl Time

Girl Time is an educational program that provides girls, specific girls of color, with a variety of events, services, activities, and workshops that seek to nurture, support, and develop girls into becoming productive and outstanding young ladies. Girl Time allows young ladies to step outside of their normal lives and take part in developing a sisterhood of support and gaining knowledge about what the future could hold for them.

Sandy Ridge Elementary

$4,500 for Building a LGBTQ and Gender Inclusive School

Sandy Ridge Elementary School (SRES) proposes Building an LGBTQ and Gender Inclusive School by establishing a Rainbow Club - a safe space for LGBTQ and gender diverse students (and allies) to build connection with one another and explore topics including self-identity (including gender identity and expression, race, abilities, and diverse family representation); recognizing similarities and differences; recognizing unfairness; and developing advocacy skills to speak up for themselves, peers, and others. To make sustainable change, we propose an initiative that also engages school staff and families in developing LGBTQ+ and gender inclusion skills, language, and mindset. Rainbow Collective for Change (RCC) will provide the materials to support the Rainbow Club, training for Rainbow Club advisors and interested staff, and family workshops to engage families in these discussions.

School of Creative Studies

$3,500 for Restorative Practices at SCS Revived

The Restorative Practices Center will be able to offer a model for classroom space that is productive and peaceful and also provide a storehouse for tools, activities, and innovations for serving all scholars. This will facilitate in-house learning sessions, acquire books, films, and group activities, provide stipends to community speakers, and purchase mood enhancement items for the Center that invite and engage visitors in a positive and uplifting space

YE Smith Elementary

$4,000 for Providing Wellness and WHOLEness for Teachers and Students

This will be a continuation of their "Wellness Well" which includes resources and items to support self-care for teachers. Additionally, the continuation of their "Chill Zones" for students will include resources to support student's mental health and wellness. These zones will continue to assist students with self-regulation, continue yoga classes for students and teachers to support our mindfulness initiative, and lastly continue massage therapy as a treat for teachers.

For questions about the WHOLE School Fund, email grants@bullcityschools.org