BRONSON, MI (WTVB) – Bronson Community School District has received a $25,000 grant from America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The district will use the money to enhance math curriculum through the purchase of tablets for kindergarten through fifth-grade students and educational applications for each device.
The district has used tablets in its classrooms for two years, which has resulted in increased student engagement and improved math skills. However, teachers have struggled to give each student adequate time on a device because of the limited number of tablets. This grant will allow students to have more time using educational applications that reinforce classroom lessons.
“This is the second consecutive year for Bronson Community Schools to receive a grant from the Monsanto Fund,” said Lisa Franks, high school science teacher who applied for the grant. “Last year the high school science department used the $10,000 grant to purchase lab equipment, which has provided many hands-on opportunities for our students. We are excited for the opportunities this grant will provide to our kindergarten through fifth-grade students.”
Farmers who nominated the school district and representatives from the school and the Monsanto Fund attended a check presentation to celebrate the grant during a high school football game on October 9.
This year the school district also received an educational starter kit from Monsanto Company to help establish a pollinator garden, which will give students first-hand knowledge of the critical role habitat plays in providing bees and butterflies with food, shelter and places to lay eggs.
Since 2011, Grow Rural Education has awarded more than $9 million to help keep rural public school districts growing. The program works with farmers to nominate public school districts to compete for math and science grants of $10,000 or $25,000. Grant applications are reviewed and finalists selected by a panel of teachers. Winning applications are chosen by an advisory council comprised of farmers from across the U.S.
Visit www.GrowRuralEducation.com to see the full list of winners for this year. A sister program, America’s Farmers Grow Communities, is currently enrolling farmers for 2016. To sign up, visit www.GrowCommunities.com before Nov. 30.
These programs are part of the America’s Farmers initiative. The America’s Farmers campaign and programs have advocated on behalf of farmers and their efforts to meet society’s needs through agriculture. Today, consumers are more interested than ever in agriculture and how food is grown. Farmers and others in the industry are joining in on the conversation to help raise awareness about agriculture and share their stories with their communities. Learn more at cfiengage.org.
