Photo by Kamp Fender.
Brandon Ridderhoff is presented with a check by Kendall Williams of the Shelby County Education Foundation. Ridderhoff was one of four recipients chosen by the foundation to receive its annual Imagine the Journey student grant.
Chelsea Middle School eighth-grader Brandon Ridderhoff found himself almost speechless on the morning of Jan. 8. When he was called to the school media center, he wasn’t expecting to be handed a check for $1,000.
Ridderhoff is one of four recipients chosen by the Shelby County Schools Education Foundation to receive its annual Imagine the Journey student grant. This is one of several grants the foundation awards to teachers and students for special projects or programs through the year.
Ridderhoff’s application, called “Learning in Nature,” was one of 32 that the foundation received from Shelby County students this year, Foundation Director Kendall Williams said. His grant project is to create outdoor classroom spaces in Chelsea Middle’s two courtyards.
“We had the most student applications that we’ve ever had,” Williams said.
The outdoor classrooms, Ridderhoff said, will be used for tutoring and lessons by various teachers. He said the outdoor spaces offer more room for large projects or even experiments, as well as the chance to get fresh air and relax. When not in use by classes or tutoring, the areas will be available for any students to use.
“I feel like the fresh air would make everybody more comfortable,” Ridderhoff said.
The grant will be used to create 10 benches that can be folded into five tables that are about seven feet long, according to the application Ridderhoff and media center specialist Heather Stafford submitted to the foundation. The benches will be created by the school’s green architecture class.
Ridderhoff took the green architecture class last year and said it was a lot of fun to design and build projects such as dog beds.
After completing the tables, the school will look for other funding opportunities to landscape and complete the courtyard. “We’re trying to build program where we have a space for kids to be tutored during lunch,” Principal Caroline Obert said. “We’re very excited.”
When asked how he felt after receiving the grant, Ridderhoff simply said: “Amazing.”
Chelsea Middle received a similar grant from the foundation last year, as well, which enabled the school to purchase new furnishings for the media center.
“It’s really going to be a big change for us because until now, we’ve really had no outdoor space whatsoever to do any sort of academic classes,” Obert said.
The other three winners of the Imagine the Journey grants are:
► Ross Tolbert, Helena High: “Jump on the Bandwagon: Implementing an Instrumental Chamber Music Program.” This project will provide opportunities for students to participate in chamber ensembles beyond the traditional band setting and showcase their work. The $1,000 grant will go toward new literature for the school’s chamber music library.
► Jessie Zou, Helena High: “Students to DECA State and International Conference.” This $1,000 grant will send members of Helena High’s DECA club to state and international competitions. DECA is a business and entrepreneurship-oriented club.
► Donavon Bailey, Columbiana Middle: “Can You Hear Me Now?” This $375 grant will be used to purchase new headphones to be used for instruction and independent study in math and reading.
Learn more about the Shelby County Schools Education Foundation’s grant opportunities at shelbyedfoundation.org/programs.
