Haywood County Schools Foundation Awards $35,000 in Grants

Haywood County Schools Foundation gave more than 170 grants to teachers totaling more than $35,000 for the 2016-17 school year.

This year, grants were sponsored by Duke Energy, Evergreen Packaging, First Citizens Banks, HomeTrust Bank, and QuickDraw. The grants fund resources for teachers to enrich the learning experience for their students.

Teachers across the district applied for the grants this fall, and winners were selected after committees representing each grant reviewed applications. The teachers who won grants were invited to a Teacher Grant Recipient Reception at Pisgah High School on November 15.

“Thanks to the QuickDraw grant, my students will be traveling around the world,” Carrie Hooper, art teacher at Clyde, North Canton, and Meadowbrook elementary schools, said with a smile. “We’re currently in Mexico studying the work of Frida Kahlo, and then we’re off to Japan.”

Hooper hopes that the grant will help give her 1,200 young students insight into not only different styles of art, but also different cultures and countries that most have never visited.

Grants ranged from $400.00 to fund portable weather stations at Central Haywood High School, to $412.20 to purchase frogs for an anatomy unit at Canton Middle School, to $172.22 for partner reading books at Bethel Elementary School.

“Our Haywood County teachers put forth so much effort and dedication to their students,” Kevin Wells, First Citizens Bank senior vice president, said. “We are happy to help provide some additional resources to our teachers, so they can continue to provide a first-class education to our children.”

Each grant sponsor has different requirements and focuses of study. The Duke Energy grant provides funds for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education projects and programs. Similar to Duke Energy, the Evergreen Packaging grant focuses on projects that promote math and science. The First Citizens Bank grant provides funding to schools and teachers for reading initiatives. Professional growth and development is the focus of the HomeTrust Bank grant. The QuickDraw art grant provides funds for art teachers to purchase materials for art education projects.

Sally Hundley, STEM teacher at Bethel Middle School, has received several Haywood County Schools Foundation grants in the past. This year, she was awarded the Evergreen Packaging Math and Science grant, Duke Energy STEM grant, and HomeTrust Professional Development grant. All the grants Hundley was awarded were for different projects and workshops she plans to implement in her classroom.

“With the Duke STEM grant, our classroom is going to get a Sphero robot. It’s from the same company that made the BB8 robot from Star Wars,” Hundley explained. “Students will program the Sphero in a classroom project to simulate relief mapping of the ocean floor. Thanks to this grant, our students are getting to use the most up-to-date technology out there.”

Hundley co-wrote the Evergreen Packaging Math and Science grant with Science Teacher Amy Harrington. Using the grant funds, they will purchase Google Cardboard virtual reality viewers for the classroom.

“The Google Cardboard virtual reality viewers will open up a whole new world of learning for our students,” Hundley explained. “They can take a trip through the circulatory system or visit the pyramids of Egypt using this technology.”

If you would like more information about funding classroom projects, contact Haywood County Schools Foundation Executive Director Jenny Wood at 828-456-2400.

2016-17 Duke Energy STEM Grant