A person holds up a check from the Educational Enrichment Foundation, issued to Michelle Davis for $1,390.00, dated July 10, 2025. The background shows a blurred brick wall, while the focus is on the check in the foreground.

We Got the Grant! Getting Fit in First Grade is Officially Funded!

I’m thrilled to share some exciting news – our first-grade team at John White Elementary has been awarded a grant to launch our “Getting Fit in First Grade” project for the 2025–2026 school year!

This funding was made possible by the Educational Enrichment Foundation (EEF) and their incredible Allocations Committee, who reviewed our application and approved funding through their Classroom Grants Program.

We are so grateful for the EEF’s commitment to supporting Tucson educators and helping us bring meaningful, equitable opportunities to all students.

What This Grant Means for Our Students

As teachers, we know how essential physical movement is  not just for healthy bodies, but for building focus, social skills, confidence, and emotional regulation. Until now, we’ve had very limited Physical Education (PE) equipment – just a parachute and a few simple games – and no certified PE teacher on staff. This grant is helping us change that!

Thanks to the EEF, we can now design a developmentally appropriate and engaging physical education program for all 100 of our first graders – supporting their growth both inside and outside the classroom.

Here’s What We Received:

With EEF’s generous support, our PE toolkit now includes:

  • Gator Skin Elementary School Dodgeball Easy Pack
  • Basketballs & Soccer Balls
  • 72 Jump Ropes
  • Hula Hoops
  • Classic & Color Variation Sidewalk Chalk
  • Capture the Flag/Flag Football Belts
  • Dance Scarves 
  • Beanbags
  • Kickball & Bases
  • Gator Skin Footballs & 8″ Gator Skin Balls
  • Rolling Scooters

These items will allow us to offer structured PE rotations like relay races, ball skill stations, active games, and team-building activities which all designed to promote physical literacy, joyful movement, and inclusion.

Why This Matters

This project directly supports our school’s goal to provide 60 minutes of structured physical activity each week. But more importantly, it gives our students (many of whom don’t have access to organized sports or recreational equipment outside of school) a chance to move, play, and thrive with equipment.

We believe every child deserves access to meaningful physical activity, and this grant makes that possible.

Thank You to EEF and Our Community

Thank you to the Educational Enrichment Foundation’s Classroom Grants Program for making this vision a reality. We also appreciate the EEF’s continued support through their Terms of Agreement, which ensure that funds are used responsibly and that projects like ours have a lasting impact.

Our team of five first-grade teachers is already planning lessons and rotations to maximize the use of these resources. We’re excited to create a safe, joyful, and developmentally rich PE experience that will benefit students for years to come.

Want to Help Us Keep Moving?

Thanks to the Educational Enrichment Foundation, we’ve taken a big step forward in making PE more engaging and inclusive for our first graders. But we’re not stopping there!

We’ve launched a DonorsChoose project to help us purchase a PE organizer cart to safely store and transport all of our new equipment. This cart will help us keep our materials organized, accessible, and ready to use every day for structured, joyful movement time.

If you feel inspired and want to support our students even further, you can visit our DonorsChoose page. Click here to view our DonorsChoose project

Every dollar helps us create a more active, focused, and confident classroom community. Thank you for cheering us on!

2 pictures of Ms Davis holding her grant check and smiling, against a backdrop of a brick wall.