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Photos courtesy of Shelby County Schools Education Foundation.
A check is presented to Beth Parmer at Oak Mountain High School.
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Photos courtesy of Shelby County Schools Education Foundation.
Teachers at Chelsea Park Elementary receive their Inspire the Journey grant check.
The Shelby County Schools Education Foundation recently awarded Inspire the Journey grants to teachers throughout the district.
The foundation exists to support and recognize excellence throughout the 31 schools in Shelby County and to help meet classroom needs.
There were 69 grant applications received, with requests totaling $81,411.92. Twenty-seven grants were awarded, in the amount of $29,152.43.
Eleven of the grants were awarded to teachers in the 280 Living coverage area:
Chelsea Park Elementary: Kim Smith, Lydia Riggins and Amy Floyd for Abracadabra! Take the Mystery Out of Science! ($1,419)
- Chelsea Middle School: Allyson Welborn and Rachel Trice for a 3-D printer ($1,700)
- Inverness Elementary: Jessica Bush for A Rainbow of Learning — Alphabet Arcs ($869)
- Oak Mountain Elementary: Sara Askew for Feel the Beat ($972.80)
- Oak Mountain Intermediate: Teresa Brunetti and Kristie Suarez for OMIS Outdoor Sensory Space ($1,500) and Susan Ottinger for Unleashing Students’ Critical Thinking with Think Law ($611.23)
- Oak Mountain Middle School: Whitney Howton and Kelci McCaleb for Bots Build Brainiacs ($2,000)
- Oak Mountain High School: Kathy Collins for Manga Mania ($650); Kayla Coley for Literacy for the Non-English Speaker ($1,000); Beth Parmer for Introduction to Computer Science ($1,000); and Kelsey Shults for Elevating AP Capstone and ELA ($597)
Inspire the Journey grants are specifically geared to promoting quality teaching and enhanced learning throughout Shelby County Schools and are available to any teacher or staff member in Shelby County. Individual teachers can apply for up to $1,000 and groups of teachers (two or more) can apply for up to $2,000.
Regions Bank is a sponsor of the Inspire the Journey grants. For more information on the foundation or to donate or become a sponsor, visit shelbyedfoundation.org.
Shelby County Schools Superintendent Lewis Brooks said he appreciates the work the foundation does for the schools throughout the district.
“We have a really vibrant foundation and are grateful for the work they do but more importantly the funds they offer to support instruction in our schools and do a great job serving our communities,” Brooks said.