On December 2, 2025, the Longview ISD Foundation presented its annual John W. Harrison, Jr. Academic Field Trip Grants, named for the late Mr. Harrison, longtime Longview ISD school board member to honor his loyal support of the Foundation.  Traveling to five Longview ISD campuses, Heather Hilton, chair of the academic field trip grant committee, Foundation board members, and Kay Ray, Foundation director, surprised the recipients and their students with the funding news.

The Foundation awarded six field trip grants, four to elementary schools and two to middle schools, for a total of $30,902.98

Andrea Clark and Sharyl Bledsoe, Hudson PEP Elementary teachers, received grant funding of $4,032.00 to take Hudson PEP fourth graders to Stephen F. Austin State University to study at the SFA Planetarium.  This trip offers students a unique, immersive learning experience designed to enrich their understanding of Earth and space science.  The trip also directly supports classroom instruction by providing students with a real-world application of the science concepts they study in fourth grade that are specifically related to Earth’s place in the universe, celestial patterns, and the solar system.  Students will take essential questions prepared prior to the trip with them and take notes during the planetarium experience to answer the questions.  Students will also complete a writing assignment describing what they learned, questions they still have, what learning they would like to extend, and their favorite part of the experience.  All related assignments will extend learning beyond the planetarium experience. 
 
 Christy Carter, Cherise Churchill, Jessica Hicks, Jennifer Madding, and Adrian Washington, fourth grade teachers at Johnston-McQueen Elementary School, received grant funding of $2,572.40 to take fourth graders to Sci-Port Discovery Center in Shreveport.  The teachers stated in their application that this trip gives students an opportunity to engage in inquiry and experiments directly rather than just hearing or reading about scientific concepts, fulfilling the Foundation’s goal of offering students hands-on learning that cannot be replicated in the classroom. The trip will especially focus on lessons on the solar system, stars and constellations, and space exploration.  Every lesson at Sci-Port will reinforce scientific concepts taught in fourth grade.   

With grant funding of $5,867.96, J. L. Everhart Elementary School fourth graders will visit KidZania in Dallas to extend their classroom learning about future careers.  Teachers Tashawna Carraway, Mayra Castro, Scarlet Lebron, April Mims, and Naomi Odum will use this trip to allow students to first research and explore possible careers in the classroom and then extend that research at Kidzania as they learn about employment in corporations, governments, and non-profit organizations.  Students will also learn about financial literacy, specifically learning how people earn, spend, and save money while also becoming model citizens who donate and actively engage in their community.  One of the goals of the trip is to expand students’ knowledge of how schoolwork directly connects to future careers and their personal success as adults. 

J. L. Everhart Elementary School’s fifth graders will also travel to KidZania provided with grant funding of $6,705.62 to make their exploration of careers come alive. Teachers Robyn Coleman, Desanka Djursic, Ja’Darrius Ervin, Naomi Odum, and Bitia Saravia said this trip will give students an opportunity to explore one hundred real-world jobs in diverse fields.  They too want students to understand that the subjects taught in school directly apply to real careers and real-life situations.  They also want to encourage curiosity about how different professions contribute to society and global challenges.  Exploring careers is especially important as students enter middle school and begin thinking about their skills and jobs that utilize those skills. 
 
Every eighth grader at Forest Park Middle School will travel to the Holocaust and Human Rights Museum in Dallas from funding from a grant written by Sarah Ashcraft, Margarita Collins, Kiffany Gatson, Ella Gupton, Brenda Hernandez, Kristi McAdams, Brent Sims, and Danisha Terrell.  The grant was funded for $4,725.00.  This learning experience will allow students to learn through guided tours and interactive exhibits as they explore themes of prejudice, resilience, and human rights to deepen their understanding of historical events and their impact on the modern world.  The trip directly supports eighth grade learning objectives of analyzing historical texts, understanding multiple perspectives, and evaluating how events shape societies.  Students will connect classroom lessons on historical literature, nonfiction analysis, and civic responsibility with real-world artifacts and survivor stories.  Other students who have traveled to the Holocaust Museum on trips in spring 2025 reported this experience as being a powerful one.

Foster Middle School sixth and seventh graders will also travel to the Holocaust and Human Rights Museum in Dallas from funding from a grant written by Holly Thomas, Foster Middle School teacher, on behalf of the sixth and seventh grade academic teams.   Students will tour the Permanent and Special Exhibitions as well as tour the Holocaust/Shoah Wing before ending with a tour of the Human Rights wing.  The experience will take students from a study of genocide throughout history, especially in World War II, to the creation of modern human rights movements worldwide.  This trip provides students with exposure to history, human rights, and social justice in an authentic, impactful way that cannot be replicated in the classroom.  Another goal of the trip is to connect history to current social issues and to encourage students to consider their role in creating a just society.

The Longview ISD Foundation, Inc. has funded thirty-one academic field trip grants for a total of $143,467.08. The Longview ISD Foundation, Inc. is proud to support Longview ISD educators and students as both strive for excellence in learning.

To date, the Longview ISD Foundation, Inc. has proudly returned $1,198,747.96 to Longview ISD classrooms and campuses to enable innovative educators to provide enhanced educational opportunities for all students.  The Foundation appreciates the loyal community support that has made these opportunities possible.
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