Three local teachers awarded grants through WGU’s “Fund My Classroom” initiative

Three Joplin area school employees were recently awarded grants, totaling $1,440, through Western Governors University’s “Fund My Classroom” initiative.

• Melinda Gibson, a teacher at Royal Heights Elementary in the Joplin School District, received a $715 grant that will be used to purchase 13 Ramptastic STEM Ramps from Kaplan Learning Company.
• Christy Bloom, a social service caseworker in the Nevada R-V School District, received a $500 grant that will be used to create a sensory space and calm down corner for her elementary students.
• Shelley Gearhart, a first-grade teacher at Pate Early Childhood Center in Aurora, received a $225 grant that will be used to purchase a variety of manipulatives to aid students struggling with reading and writing. All three teachers learned they were selected to receive the grants in May.

With the $715 grant Gibson received, she will be able to obtain ramps to use in her force and motion unit, providing students with hands-on opportunities to explore the concepts of friction and velocity. By incorporating these ramps into her lessons, Gibson will be able to create an engaging learning environment that will help students understand these important scientific principles in a fun and memorable way. This grant will have a lasting impact on her students, providing them with the tools they need to become successful learners and classroom scientists.

Thanks to the $500 grant Bloom received from WGU, she will be able to obtain the necessary materials for creating a sensory space and calm down corner for her students. Bloom works with elementary students at three different Nevada R-V schools, providing them with sensory breaks and social and behavioral skills lessons. She has been wanting to create a dedicated area where students can regulate their emotions, reduce stress and anxiety and improve their focus, and now her idea will be able to come to life. Bloom’s project will have a lasting impact on her students, providing them with a safe and comfortable environment to develop important self-regulation skills that will serve them well throughout their academic and personal lives.

Gearhart plans to use the $225 grant she received to add a variety of manipulatives to her classroom. The manipulatives will help Gearhart’s students better understand how sounds build words and will coincide with the Science of Reading curriculum. These resources will greatly benefit Gearhart’s classroom, supplying students with hands-on tools to improve their literacy skills and further develop their reading and writing abilities.

The innovative classroom projects are among 44 across Missouri chosen by WGU Missouri to receive funding. The nonprofit, fully online university issued a call in early March for K-12 teachers across the state to nominate proposed classroom projects by April 14 for the opportunity to receive full or partial funding through its “Fund My Classroom” initiative. Most grants were awarded during Teacher Appreciation Week, which ran from May 8-12.

“This is the fifth consecutive year we have been able to offer grant funding to deserving teachers across the state through our ‘Fund My Classroom’ initiative, and we were so moved by all the nominations we received,” said Jessica Denham, Regional Director of WGU Missouri. “While we aren’t able to support all the projects that were nominated, we are excited to award funding to dozens of teachers who have come up with unique and innovative ways to improve their classrooms in order to promote learning and provide an enriching experience for their students.”

To learn more about the “Fund My Classroom” initiative and the work WGU Missouri is doing to help teachers advance their careers, visit missouri.wgu.edu.