Ponca City Elementary Receives Grant

Lincoln Elementary School has been notified that they are one of five schools nationwide that were awarded a $5,000, “Sharing the Dream” grant from the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

Lincoln principal Maurisa Pruett wrote the grant, along with Lincoln teachers Amy Muegge and Janice Wooten.

“The grant is to help us develop a multi-cultural music and arts festival that we have titled, ‘Building Bridges," Pruett said. "We chose music and art because those two things transcend all races and cultures. The grant will provide funding for art supplies for festival exhibition and percussion instruments used in West African and Caribbean music. In addition, communities in our district will be invited to participate. We hope to have representatives from our Hispanic community and the Ponca Nation.We are delighted to receive this grant. Our students will now have unique opportunities in the Arts that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise, and our families and community will be able to participate in a festival that would not exist except for this grant. I am looking forward to seeing how music and art will strengthen our student and community relationships.”

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and MetLife Foundation recently announced the winners of the 2013-2014 "Sharing the Dream" grant program. Ten past recipients of “Sharing the Dream” grants have been awarded $5,000 each to expand projects that were funded between 2003-2012. An additional five grants of $5,000 have been awarded to schools for new projects that build community through global engagement.

In all, fifteen “Sharing the Dream” grants are being awarded this school year to urban and rural elementary and middle schools in fourteen states. Since 2004, with generous funding from MetLife Foundation, “Sharing the Dream” has awarded more than $2,000,000 in grants for projects that have impacted – and continue to impact – children, families and communities across the country and around the world.

“We are privileged to have partnered with MetLife Foundation over the past decade to support principals’ bold efforts to bring children and families from different nations and cultures together to learn from one another,” said NAESP Deputy Executive Director and NAESP Foundation CEO Ernest J. Mannino. “In this final, capstone year of the “Sharing the Dream” grant program, we are excited to celebrate and extend the legacy of the more than 300 awardees whose vision, innovation and leadership have positively impacted school communities the world over, and whose pioneering projects will continue to serve as models – and inspiration – for years to come.”

“MetLife Foundation has been pleased to partner with NAESP to support and encourage the important leadership roles principals play in their schools and communities,” said Dennis White, president and CEO. “We applaud the creative and effective ways schools have used these grants to engage parents and the community, and build global awareness.”

Be inspired by “Sharing the Dream” schools nationwide at sharingthedreamgrant.wordpress.com. Established in 1921, the NAESP serves elementary and middle school principals in the United States, Canada, and overseas. NAESP supports principals as the primary catalysts for creating lasting foundations for learning through policy development, advocacy, and resources for effective instructional leadership. NAESP seeks to advance the principalship and address issues in pre-K-3 alignment, principal preparation and evaluation, and building the capacity of new principals. For more information about NAESP, please visit www.naesp.org.

MetLife Foundation was created in 1976 to continue MetLife’s long tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Today, the Foundation is dedicated to advancing financial inclusion, committing $200 million over the next five years to help build a secure future for individuals and communities around the world. To learn more about MetLife Foundation, visit www.metlife.org.