District receives grant to better provide students with vision screening
By Lynn Meadows, JCSD Director of Communications and Board Secretary
JOHNSTON, Ia. (Jan. 15, 2024) — Vision screening will be more readily available for students throughout the Johnston Community School District, thanks to funding from the Johnston Community School Foundation (JCSF), Johnston Lions Club and Advanced Eye Care Center PC.
School nurses received a $7,360 grant from the Johnston Community School Foundation for a second vision screener to share among all school buildings. The ceremonial check was presented today to Lawson Elementary nurse Jessica Heggen. 
The initiative is expected to benefit thousands of students from early childhood through high school who will receive routine screenings. Having a second vision screener will help to alleviate long wait times and delays in vision screenings due to a lack of screener availability.
The Welch Allyn Vision Spot Screener will provide timely screening and identification of potential problems for all students in the district. That includes regular vision screenings to detect potential issues before they impact academic performance, immediate evaluations for those who report 
vision problems, and specialized assessments for students with individualized education programs (IEPs).
Two donor-directed contributions helped the Foundation fulfill the vision screener grant. The Johnston Lions Club contributed $1,000 for the project, while the Advanced Eye Care Center PC donated $500. Tami Seneaphay from Advanced Eye Care Center, PC, and Tom Leffler, Lou Ann Roth and James Day from the Johnston Lions Club joined JCSF for today’s check presentation.
Grants to assist math skills, emotional regulation and support
The “Dragon Patrol” from the Johnston Community School Foundation visited elementary schools today to present the latest round of grant recipients with ceremonial checks. Aside from the vision screener, grants awarded this winter included:
Counting Collections: Meredith Davidson and the 2nd grade team at Horizon Elementary received $2,000 for the Counting Collections grant. Counting Collections is a mathematical practice for students to count a collection of objects and record their strategy. It gives students a consistent way to practice math skills such as number grouping, skip counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This helps build a foundation for their early math skills by providing opportunities for them to grow their accuracy and automaticity of basic math facts.
A Little Spot Emotional Regulation: Wallace Elementary teacher Teah Luety received $533.88 for A Little Spot Emotional Regulation. The program has student books, an educator book, an emotions plush set and lessons to work on emotions and regulation. This program was based on evidence-based learning for elementary students learning about social and emotional behavior. The program will be available to be used with Wallace special education classrooms. Lessons will be individualized for each student.
Soft Start Materials: Wallace Elementary teacher Meghan Stone received $300 for “Wallace Soft Start Materials” to help build relationships, revisit expectations, and practice expectations by working together. The materials will help work toward goals of creating a classroom environment where all students feel valued, respected and emotionally supported — a climate that’s essential for student learning and well-being.
P-Pod Postural Support System: The Foundation team also paid a visit to Beaver Creek Elementary’s P-Pod Postural Support System for special education students in action. Patti Brinkmeyer was awarded $4,560.51 for this system in spring 2024, but the equipment didn’t arrive until this school year.
The P-Pod Postural Support System is an alternative positioning support for students who require a wheelchair for mobility. The P-Pod helps students in need of support to maintain proper physical alignment. The wheeled base allows students to be mobile within the school building and participate in activities even when they are out of their wheelchair.
JCSF has so far approved $17,216 in grants this school year. Check presentations for $2,997 for district instructional coaches Wendy Quam and Chad Kennelly to pay for Logitech Crayons for Creativity, and $1,600 to Melanie Lambert for the Beaver Creek Art Creative Extension Center, will be held in the spring after their materials arrive.
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August 2024: Garden started with help of JCSF grant donates almost 50 pounds of produce
May 2024: JCSF presents four grants totaling $8,000 to help learning, including Wallace garden
May 2023: Tyler Kirkholm receives Daniel Weiss “Get Your Good Out” Memorial Award
December 2023: Johnston Community School Foundation spreads holiday joy with six grants totaling $5,314
May 2022: Johnston teachers awarded grants for heart rate monitors, Academic Decathlon
May 2022: Jeremy Fitzpatrick receives Daniel Weiss “Get Your Good Out” Memorial Award