WGU Missouri Awards over $800 in Grants to Springfield Teachers

Three K-12 teachers from the Springfield area have received grants totaling more than $800 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 three teachers who received the funding from the Springfield area include:

· Kimberly Janson, a first-grade teacher at Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary in Springfield, who received a $55 grant to purchase a class set of whisper phones that will allow her students to read quietly without disturbing the learning of other classmates.

· Shannon Truitt, a librarian at Highlandville Elementary in Highlandville, who received a $550 grant to create a “Little Free Library” at the school for rural families to use to expose their children to literature, without requiring them to drive long distances to larger towns.

· Cyndy Zind, a biology teacher at Seymour High School in Seymour, who received a $202.70 grant to purchase advanced equipment that would allow her students to use electrophoresis to easily read DNA samples and learn about genetic screening and environmental forensics.

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.

*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).