Representatives of Partners in Education (PIE), a revered island nonprofit that has for 45 years provided funding to local educators, presented a giant check to Vashon Island School District for $58, 972 at a board meeting on Dec. 14, covering its latest cycle of grants for 51 programs devised by educators.

Since its founding, PIE has funded 1.8 million worth of special projects in the school district.

“We just love giving away money to teachers,” said PIE board member Jenna Riggs, thanking islanders who have responded year after year to the organization’s old-fashioned phonations and pledge drives.

In keeping with tradition, PIE’s representatives Jenna Riggs, Marie Koltchak, and Shanti Colwell also presented actual homemade pies at the board meeting to three educators who had received the cycle’s largest grants and asked them to speak about their projects.

Special education paraeducator Heather Baldwin described her project as the creation and placement of communication boards on Chautauqua Elementary School playgrounds. Communication boards, Baldwin explained, are detailed posters of symbols, pictures, or photos that children can point to to communicate with those around them.

This communication tool, Baldwin said, will help nonverbal, Spanish-language students who are learning English as a second language, and other children who were simply shy to better communicate their needs and feelings to school staff.

Middle school multilingual education teacher Julia Grey described her project as aimed at helping teachers improve their Spanish language skills with online tools and in-person conversation groups. She was prompted to apply for the grant, she said, after seeing increased enrollment of Spanish-speaking students. Looking for tools to improve her Spanish-language skills to better communicate with these students, she spoke to other teachers — who wanted to do the same thing.

Her project, she said, would help teachers “build community … connection and engagement with our families.”

High school health teacher Heidi Hanspetersen described how her grant would fund the purchase of a large model of the human brain — a tool she planned to use to help her students learn about the parts of the brain that are involved in emotional regulations, mental health, and the addiction cycle.

“It’s something they can hold in their hands and look at, and I think it’s just a really useful tool in my quiver and I’m grateful to have it,” Hanspetersen said.

A fourth teacher, Sarah George, could not attend the board meeting but sent a letter of thanks that described her project — a partnership between StudentLink and Vashon Nature Center, teaching students how to build underwater cameras. The ongoing science lab project, George wrote, has been deeply meaningful to the students who have participated in it in the past.

To find out more and donate to PIE, visit pievashon.org.