NEW PALESTINE — Students and educators in Southern Hancock schools will benefit in the classroom soon thanks to a $125,000 cash windfall from two different state grants.
The Indiana Department of Education’s Office of eLearning recently announced the recipients of the 2019 Digital Learning Grants. Southern Hancock was one of 48 corporations awarded a share of the over $2.2 million in grants. It was the only district from Hancock County to get the digital learning funding.
This year’s digital learning grant offered up to $50,000 per district to help schools build digital initiatives in STEM instruction, project-based learning and computer science.
The district was also one of 96 school corporations statewide to apply for the High Ability Competitive Grant, which was awarded to only nine districts. The $75,000 from that grant will help to purchase new materials and allow for professional development opportunities for high-ability teachers.
Digital Learning Grant
All six SH schools will benefit from the digital learning grant, said Wes Anderson, spokesman for the district. The grant will pay for Project Lead the Way programs and kits in each of the district buildings. The kits will include a number of STEM-based curriculum items, resources and teacher development opportunities.
Chris Young, district strategic learning coordinator, said STEM and project-based learning go way beyond just science. The grant will help Southern Hancock officials integrate STEM thinking into their entire K-12 curriculum. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.
“This will push our district forward by developing students with skills that will help them succeed in an ever-changing world,” Young said.
Miles Hercamp, director of instructional services, said the grants give the district a great opportunity to serve all Southern Hancock students and allow them to have access to “hands-on and transformative” lessons in critical areas of science and technology.
The district has received the learning grant in the past. That money went toward the New Palestine Junior High Innovation Center for seventh- and eighth-grade students, Anderson said.
High Ability Grant
District officials expect the funds to arrive before the end of the school year.
The district’s high-ability program runs for kindergarten through eighth grade so all the primary schools will benefit from the funding.
An estimated $25,000 will go for teacher professional development, while another $45,000 is earmarked for program and curriculum units and things like books, lessons, and other classroom materials. The final $5,000 will be used for camps that target high-ability education for high-ability students.
Brian Dinwiddie, the district’s high-ability coordinator, was thrilled to learn Southern Hancock had been awarded the funding.
“We are very excited about this opportunity,” he said. “This grant is nearly double what we receive in annual funding for high ability.”
The money will provide high-ability teachers with critical materials and resources to improve the classroom experience for high-ability students.
