KDSN RADIO News
St. Rose of Lima School Receives MicroGrant to Address Emerging Academic and Behavioral Challenges
The FIRE Foundation of Northwest Iowa has awarded $1,500 to St. Rose of Lima
Catholic School in Denison a microgrant to address newly discovered academic and
behavioral challenges.
Principal, Angie Stangl, and her staff have documented students’ have decreased
postural control, balance, and fine motor skills due to their being quarantined at home
during COVID.
The Area Education Agency Occupational Therapists in the Individual Education Plan
(IEP) meetings with parents and educators have provided interventions to assist the
students with their fine motor and manage their emotional skills. St. Rose is responsible
for providing the tools.
The student’s performance has been assessed and documented using the strategies,
fine motor, and multi-sensory tools.
However, the number of students and the types of needs are significantly growing
significantly schoolwide. St. Rose of Lima lacks the financial resources to purchase the
additional tools.
The FIRE Foundation of Northwest Iowa’s MicroGrant is a one-time grant to allow
partner schools to obtain up to $1,500 to make small steps toward more inclusive
schools and grants. Board President, Dr. Ryan Allen, stated St. Rose’s MicroGrant will
help the current and future students focus on their learning, enabling the students to be
more successful academically and socially, as outlined in their proposal.
Mrs. Stangl and Fr. Michael Cronin, Pastor, are elated by the FIRE Foundation’s
investment. With the early and effective intervention of the resources made possible
through the FIRE Foundation’s MicroGrant, these tools will improve learning tasks and
create positive associations with using their hands to learn through sight, sound, touch,
and movement to engage students in learning, she concluded.
The FIRE Foundation of Northwest Iowa is one of ten affiliates nationally. The FIRE
Foundation’s mission is to champion the inclusion of students with disabilities in
Catholic schools by providing educational resources, fundraising, and promoting a
culture of belonging.
