Clayton-based WGU Missouri Awards $30,000 to K-12 Teachers

WGU Missouri today announced it has awarded $30,064 in grant funding to teachers across the state to fund their innovative classroom projects that foster learning in new, unique ways. The grants were made possible through WGU Missouri’s “Fund My Classroom” initiative, and a total of 50 classroom projects were selected for funding.

The grants will go a long way toward making dozens of K-12 classrooms more engaging environments for students as they return to school this year. A sampling of the projects funded include the following:

• A $3,000 grant used to transform the community garden and courtyard at Glasgow Elementary School in the Riverview Gardens School District in St. Louis, while providing second-grade students with a hands-on opportunity to learn how to plan and maintain a garden/courtyard and gain experience in sustainability, team building and community.
• A $1,000 grant to fund a classroom cottage industry project at Diamond High School – located just outside Joplin – that will allow special education students to learn how to start and manage a small business, while gaining experience designing, producing, marketing and selling products.

• A $516 grant, used to purchase air fryers and Instant Pots® so that family and consumer science students at Bronaugh R-7 School in Bronaugh can learn how to operate and utilize convenient small kitchen appliances as part of their class’s cooking unit.

• A $503 grant used to create a mindful makerspace in a special education classroom at Thomas B. Chinn Elementary in the Park Hill School District in the Kansas City area, filled with hands-on learning activities that will teach students how to problem-solve and use the resources around them to learn and develop life skills.

• A $400 grant used to add a variety of flexible seating options to a gifted classroom in the Scott County R-IV School District in Benton.

• A $1,000 grant used to add more large print books to the school library at Nell Holcomb School in Cape Girardeau, in an effort to improve word recognition and reading comprehension among K-8th grade students.
• A $1,000 grant used to purchase a new camera that yearbook students at Laura Speed Elliot Middle School in Boonville can use to produce the school’s yearbook this year and in future years.

• A $200 grant used to purchase a variety of simple board games that students with autism at Rebecca Boone Elementary in Warrenton can use to play with one another and learn important social skills.

Teachers often spend their own savings to cover the costs of classroom projects. To thank them for their tireless efforts, WGU issued a call in March for K-12 teachers to submit their project ideas on the university’s website by April 17 for the opportunity to receive full or partial funding.

“We enjoyed reading about all the amazing projects our teachers have planned and are excited we can bring so many to life through our ‘Fund My Classroom’ initiative,” said Dr. Terrance Hopson, Regional Vice President of WGU Missouri. “These past few years have been challenging for teachers as they were forced to navigate diverse styles of teaching to best lead students on their education journey. This initiative is an opportunity for WGU to celebrate deserving teachers, who go above and beyond to educate our students, by providing them with funding they can use to further enhance learning both in and out of the classroom.”

This is the fourth consecutive year WGU made the “Fund My Classroom” initiative available for teachers in Missouri. This year, the nonprofit, fully online university sorted through more than 200 nominations for classroom projects and selected 50 for funding across Missouri. Most grants were awarded during Teacher Appreciation Week, which ran May 2-6.

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.

About WGU Missouri

WGU Missouri is a competency-based, online university created to expand access to higher education for Missouri residents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing. WGU Missouri faculty members serve as mentors, working one-on-one with students, offering guidance, support, and individualized instruction.

Established in 2013 through a partnership with nationally recognized Western Governors University, WGU Missouri is open to all qualified Missouri residents. The university is nonprofit and self-sustaining on flat-rate tuition of about $7,600 per year for most programs.

Degrees are granted under the accreditation of Western Governors University, which is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Nursing College programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE*), and the Health Informatics program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM).

More information is available at missouri.wgu.edu or by calling 855.948.8493.

*Western Governors University offers nursing programs that are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 5380, Washington DC 20036, 202-877-6791).