The Operation Round Up Board of Directors initiated a program offering small, $500 grants to teachers. Grants were available to K-12 teachers in art and science for the 2018-2019 school year. The funds are made available by South Plains Electric Cooperative members contributing to Operation Round Up. Their monthly bill is rounded up to the next dollar, and the extra change, averaging only $6 per year, funds projects like the teacher mini-grants, scholarships and much more.
Cynthia Walden is the pre-kindergarten teacher at Cotton Center Elementary and is a 2018-2019 Operation Round Up Mini-Grant recipient. Walden purchased a light table, ant farm, and learning center toys with the mini-grant.
“Our students have learned so much,” Walden said. “We truly believe they have a deeper understanding of concepts in life science, such as sorting, building, creating, and knowing about the world around us thanks to our new learning toys.”
Walden incorporates the light table for sorting and discovering in the classroom, giving her students the opportunity for hands-on, real life practice in the area of science. Her students also love to watch the ants in their ant farm work at building underground tunnels.
“Thank you, SPEC and Operation Round Up, for offering the mini-grant to teachers,” Walden said. “It has allowed our students to have some amazing learning center toys that will last for years to come.”
The Operation Round Up Board of Directors created a mini-grant program to help teachers with classroom projects or educational field trips. Operation Round Up approved another three-year cycle of teacher mini-grants.
There are 10 mini-grants of $500 each available during the 2019-2020 school year. Entries must be submitted by May 15, 2019. This year’s grant is available to any K-12 math or language arts teacher if any of the following criteria are met:
- the teacher is a member of (receives electric service from) South Plains Electric Cooperative.
- at least one student in the class is a member of and receives electric service at their home or family business from South Plains Electric Cooperative.
Visit https://spec.coop/content/operation-round to learn more.
