NISD teachers rake in over $16K in grants
Published 9:39 am Wednesday, January 23, 2019
- Nederland High School math teachers Sam LeBlanc, left, and Catherine Baker share a ‘high-five’ upon receiving a grant for math software as Nederland Educational Foundation President Gail Krohn reacts Tuesday. Mary Meaux/The News
NEDERLAND — Members of the Nederland Educational Foundation loaded into a big yellow bus as they embarked on an annual trip to award grants on Tuesday.
The grants were awarded to 23 teachers and total $16,891.27, NEF President and retired superintendent Gail Krohn said.
Over at Nederland High School, Catherine Baker and Sam LeBlanc, co-heads of the math department, expressed their joy at receiving $949.96 of math software to better help their students.
C.O. Wilson Middle School seventh-grade science teacher Shari Shirley, center, poses with a photo with school principal Tina Oliver and members of the Nederland Educational Foundation during a surprise grant distribution at the school Tuesday.
Mary Meaux/The News
The two teachers each picked up a Texas Instruments brand Nspire graphing calculator as they explained how the software will allow them to project the images onto a whiteboard — which is much easier than passing around a handheld calculator.
The NEF visited another classroom at the high school before loading up and heading to C.O. Wilson Middle School. The committee, carrying in treats and balloons, caught seventh-grade science teacher Shari Shirley just outside her classroom and presented her with two $1,000 grants. One of the grants will be used to purchase demonstration kits for sediment, greenhouse, lung and soil while the other one will be used to buy human body models.
Shirley said she was excited, surprised and happy for the school and the students.
“We really needed some visuals and hands-on items,” Shirley said. “We had a lot of old ones and some we didn’t have.”
Traci Beiber, fifth-grade history teacher, was awarded a $480 grant to purchase Flocabuary videos.
Flocabulary videos is a “library of songs, videos and activities” according to the company website. Beiber will use this to complement her lessons.
C.O. Wilson Middle School Principal Tina Oliver said the grants offer opportunities they might not have otherwise and allows the community a chance to partner with the school district as funds are raised by the community.
Krohn said the grants were previously given twice a year — in the spring and in the fall, but will now be an annual event.
The back-to-school breakfast, which is the main fundraiser for the non-profit organization, has been moved to Nederland’s First United Methodist Church community fellowship center, she said.
The grants pay for educational materials that are not budgeted for but which enhance learning.
The Nederland Educational Foundation Inc., is an independent, non-profit, tax exempt 501c3 entity dedicated to the establishment of a permanent endowment to support and enhance academic achievement in the Nederland Independent School District, according to information from the NEF.
