19 May Whataburger Awards $2,000 in Teacher Grants
As Palm Project’s newest investor, Whataburger has awarded four $500 teacher grants, one at each of their supported schools, to fund the needs and priorities of teachers and school programs as part of their overall investment.
“It brings us such joy to surprise four special teachers with $500 grants,” said Whataburger field marketing manager Sara White. “These grants were given in support of Whataburger Feeding Student Success, our company’s signature community program. We’re sure all the recipients at Daphne Elementary School, Foley Elementary, Middle and High School will find creative ways to use these funds in their classrooms to enhance learning experiences for students.”
Lisa Tidwell from Foley Elementary School will be using her grant to provide a robotics table for the STEAM lab. STEAM Education utilizes science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue and critical thinking. The robotics table will provide hands-on learning to students and support the STEAM education initiative in the classroom.
Benita Battle from Daphne Elementary School will be using her grant to provide assets to students enhancing the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education experience and program. The grant will specifically fund robots that will enable students to learn computer coding. The addition of these STEM assets will work to further students’ learning and advancement in the field of computer science.
Diana McNaughton from Foley Middle School will be creating an outdoor classroom for math students in grades seven and eight. During a lesson, students were challenged to build a kite using scale drawings and proportional reasoning. The time spent outside connecting a word problem with an authentic learning experience was incredibly valuable. Students were engaged in an organic and cooperative learning task that showcased leadership skills as they encouraged others and gave tips for flying their kites. This outdoor classroom will provide more opportunities for similar lessons and reduce lost instructional time spent transitioning from the classroom to going outside for data collection and then back inside to complete reports and calculations.
Stephanie Cody from Foley High School will be using her grant to support the House System. Foley High School recently created a House System to help encourage student achievement in academics, behavior and attendance. Students earn points for their house with their grades, behavior, attendance and special events around campus. At the end of every grading period, the top three houses are awarded with a special treat. This grant will help grow this program and allow the school to offer additional incentives in the future.
“All I can say is wow. What a blessing from Whataburger. While we do our best to provide teachers and schools with everything they need, teachers still find themselves providing so much for their students out of their own pockets to go above and beyond,” said Eddie Tyler, Superintendent of Baldwin County Public Schools. “It’s grants like these that will ultimately make a difference in a child’s life.”
The Coalition is grateful for the support that Whataburger has contributed to Palm Project as well as the teacher grants that will directly impact students in our community.