Four North St. Louis County Teachers Receive Grants from WGU

Four K-12 teachers from throughout the North St. Louis County areas of Jennings, Ferguson and Florissant have received grants totaling more than $1,880 through WGU Missouri’s “Fund My Classroom” initiative. The grants will be used to fund innovative classroom projects that foster learning in new, unique ways. The four teachers who received the funding from the North St. Louis County area include:

· Dr. Dianna Isaac-Johnson, a music teacher at Northview Elementary School in Jennings, who received a $600 grant to purchase musical instruments for her “STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Over the Digital Divide in Music” program, which will encourage her 600 students in grades K-6 to learn about technical fields in music while developing the skills to read, compose, write and produce music.

· Tasha Jordan, a science teacher at Johnson-Wabash sixth-grade center in the Ferguson-Florissant School District in Ferguson, who received a $732 grant for a hands-on science activity, where students get to act as lead scientists, studying the spread of germs and bacteria and determining which cleaning supplies are most effective against them. With the grant, she is purchasing a molecular model biochemistry kit, a bacteria science kit, a digital microscope and accessories for her students to complete this project.

· Amanda Joyce, a fifth-grade teacher at Lusher Elementary in Florissant (Hazelwood School District), who received a $300 grant to purchase diverse books for her classroom library so that her students can read about characters in uplifting story lines who look like them.

· Therese Meres, a Special School District ELA and Special Education teacher at Hazelwood Northwest Middle School in Florissant, who received a $250 grant to create a calming corner – a safe space for students who need a break – in her classroom.

The innovative classroom projects were among 52 in Missouri chosen by WGU Missouri to receive funding. The nonprofit university issued a call in March for K-12 teachers across the area to nominate proposed classroom projects for the opportunity to receive full or partial funding through its “Fund My Classroom” initiative. More than 400 nominations were received. Most grants were awarded during Teacher Appreciation Week, which ran from May 3 – 7.

“We were happy to read 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. Angie Besendorfer, Chancellor of WGU Missouri. “This past year has been a challenging one for both teachers and students as they were forced to adapt to new styles of teaching and learning. This initiative is an opportunity for WGU to celebrate teachers and thank them for their dedication to educating and positively impacting their students, while enhancing learning for students – both in and out of the classroom.”

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 $7,000 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.