Germantown School District awarded $100,000 United Way grant for literacy, family engagement and sensory supports

The Germantown School District has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County under its Helping Kids Succeed initiative, district staff told the finance committee at its meeting.

Mister Mizziak, who delivered the update, said the district submitted three proposals and was eligible to receive up to $100,000. He said the proposals targeted (1) digital literacy interventions such as Lexia and IXL for students who need additional support but are not on formal reading plans, (2) home-to-school connection packs containing items like decodable readers and Bridges games, and (3) general sensory supports to bolster materials available in sensory rooms and other building-level needs.

The digital literacy proposal, Mizziak said, would prioritize students in second through fourth grades, including students who had reading plans in third grade and continued to fourth grade. The home-connection packs are intended to enable families to use the same types of literacy materials at home that students encounter at school. He described the sensory-supports category as broad and targeted to general building needs rather than to individual student-specific equipment.

Mizziak said he was made aware of the grant opportunity by Dennis Koehler, a teacher at County Line Elementary, and Kelly Schultz, principal at County Line Elementary, and that other districts in the area have also received funding through the same initiative. No formal board action was required on the informational update.

District members did not request further action at the meeting; the committee treated the item as an informational update.