Grants from the Community Foundation of Jackson County will help start a literature circle, create motivational walls and fight impaired driving at Crothersville Jr-Sr High School.
According to Dan Davis, Foundation President & CEO, three teachers from Crothersville Junior-Senior High School— Tracy Karnes, Rhonda McCammon and Matthew Otte— received 2020 Classroom Education Grants this winter:
The grants are among 14 awarded county-wide to help teachers innovate in their classrooms. Several other Classroom Education Grants awarded in this latest round will help teachers cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Karnes will use the Classroom Education Grant to buy materials for the creation of motivational walls at the school.
“I am wanting to continue to inspire each student to think outside of the box and think of ways to encourage and motivate others,” Karnes said. “I believe many students will grow emotionally, mentally and physically.”
Without art, band or music classes, students must find other ways to express themselves, Karnes said. Motivational walls offer a means for students to do so.
McCammon will buy copies of “Number the Stars” for her sixth-grade students. She said it will be a start to the school’s Sixth-Grade Literature Circle and evolve in future years. The book by Lois Lowry is a Newberry Medal recipient that tells the story of a young Danish girl during World War II.
“Through the Literature Circle, students can be inspired to love and appreciate reading,” McCammon said. “They can learn to have real conversations where ideas and opinions are shared in a way that lets all members of the group be heard.”
Otte plans to buy Drunk Buster Low Level Nightime Goggles for use at the high school.
The goggles will allow students to have a first-hand simulation on the effects of impairment, including reduced alertness, slowed reaction time, confusion, visual distortion and alteration of depth and distance perception, he said.
The project will take place in the school’s health classes during prom time and Red Ribbon Week, Otte said.
The Classroom Education Grants awarded this year total $3,066, Foundation Vice President Sue Smith said. They are funded with earnings from the Jackson County Unrestricted Endowment, administered by the Foundation. The Jackson County Unrestricted Endowment was established by the Board of Directors with gifts from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help meet community needs within Jackson County.
Applications for the annual Classroom Education Grants program are accepted each fall.
The Foundation offers endowment services, gift planning, charitable gift annuities, and scholarship administration. It was created in 1992 and made its first grants in 1994. Since then, the Foundation has awarded more than $7 million in grants and scholarships across Jackson County. The charitable nonprofit administers more than 200 funds with assets of more than $15 million.
