Eight local teachers received almost $9,000 in grants this month.
According to the Santa Clarita Valley Education Foundation, which awarded the monies to teachers based on grant applications they submitted for materials, support will aid around 1,500 students annually. The foundation looks to help all five of the school districts in the valley, including Castaic Union School District, Newhall School District, Saugus Union School District, Sulphur Springs Union School District and the William S. Hart Union High School District. These districts make up 55 public schools and more than 50,000 students and 2,200 teachers.
“I just love seeing the joy on the teachers’ faces when they receive their grant materials and talk about how they will be used in the classroom,” said Jackie Hartmann, executive director of the SCV Education Foundation.
A committee of educators and non-educators reviewed and determined which grant applications to fund.
“The foundation looks for requests that are innovative, creative and encourage collaboration,” Hartman said. “Grant requests should also provide long-lasting benefits so they can enrich the learning experience year after year.”
Grant recipients for spring 2022 were Elizabeth Abrahams, Melissa Coyle and Taylor Harrington from Live Oak Elementary School in Castaic; Laura Tooma from Northlake Hills Elementary School in Castaic; Tara Speiser from Wiley Canyon Elementary School in Newhall; Nga Lam and Sarah Romero from Old Orchard Elementary School in Valencia; Amy Alexander from Rosedell Elementary School in Santa Clarita; Valerie Andrews from Pinetree Community School in Santa Clarita; Kesha Fields from Castaic High School in Castaic; and Kevin Fulleman from Arroyo Seco Junior High School in Valencia.
According to the SCV Education Foundation, teachers plan on using the grant funds for various items, including playsets to help early learners with social emotional skills, decodable books and tools to be used with struggling students, violin shoulder straps, and unique science, technology, engineering and math items for curious first graders.
The SCV Education Foundation was founded in 1995 to foster relationships between businesses, schools, educators and students. It promotes appreciation for public school education in the Santa Clarita Valley.
For more information about the foundation, go to www.scveducationfoundation.org
