Mason Ridge Elementary Teachers Receive Grants from WGU Missouri

Two teachers at Mason Ridge Elementary School in the Parkway School District were recently awarded grants through WGU Missouri's “Fund My Classroom” initiative. Christie Unland, an instructional coach, received a $805 grant to purchase eight Whole Phonics book sets, while Christine Eckstein, a third-grade teacher, received a $175 grant to add new decodable books to her classroom library. Both Unland and Eckstein learned they were selected for the grants in May.

With the $805 grant she received, Unland will obtain a variety of Whole Phonics book sets, featuring readers for reading levels 1-3 and workbooks for Level 1. Each set contains 15 books and will be geared toward students in first grade and kindergarten. Whole Phonics is a structured literacy program for beginning readers that helps students gain language and reading skills, while entertaining readers with fun adventure stories. This classroom resource will engage Unland’s students with learning materials that support each student’s learning needs and will help foster their love for reading and writing.

Eckstein will use the $175 grant she received to obtain readers with decodable texts, benefiting many of her students who are not on grade level. These books are specifically designed to help young students learn how to read by focusing on phonetic patterns and sight words. With this addition to her library, Eckstein will be able to provide her students with more engaging and age-appropriate reading material that will help them develop foundational reading skills.

The innovative classroom projects were 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. Nearly 200 nominations were received statewide. 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.

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 80 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).