Cy Creek GEM Grant Project

Cy Creek HS teacher Wendy Bruner assists two students during a special credit-recovery class funded in part by a GEM grant. 

Cy Creek HS is home to one of five winning teams of the 2014 GEM grants. The school's application sought to take advantage of existing district technology and provide students from grades 10-11 with a way to retake classes after school and on weekends instead of during summer school. Using campus computers and a CFISD-licensed digital credit recovery program, grant money was used to cover off-contract pay for teachers to provide instruction.

“These classes are a great opportunity for students to recapture credits during non-traditional hours,” said Richard Alcorn, Cy Creek assistant principal. 

Alcorn led the team responsible for submitting the grant application. 

The classes will continue through the remainder of the 2014-2015 school year.  

The guidelines for submitting an application for the 2015 GEM Grants can be found inside.cfisd.net.

Cy Woods GEM Grant Project

CFISD band students join Waller and Spring Branch ISD students to form the All-Region band for a special series of concerts.

Cy Woods HS is home to one of the five winning teams of the 2014 GEM grants. Their application presented a plan to give additional students an opportunity during All-Region band auditions by providing tutoring during the summer. The team responsible for this project was made up of Cy Woods teachers Kevin Wood, Cinjin Casillas and Michael Vasquez. Woods acted as team leader.

The weeklong band camp took place during August 2014. The grant money enabled the team to hire professional musicians to work with Cy Woods band students on instrument-specific music fundamentals. The students also practiced the music that would be used at All-Region auditions. These two-hour sessions allowed the ninth- through twelfth-grade students to develop a more consistent and unified approach to playing their instruments. 

The positive impact of the GEM grant project was evident in November when six Cy Woods students earned membership into the UIL Region 27 All-Region Orchestra—a 50% increase from 2013.

The guidelines for application submissions for the 2015 GEM Grants can be found online.