There was no trick, but TCS certainly received a treat this October as TE Connectivity provided the district with a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) grant worth nearly $23,000.
“TCS is thankful for our partnership with TE Connectivity and the commitment and support that they provide our teachers and students,” said TCS Director of Schools Dr. Catherine Stephens. “The funds from this grant will continue to ensure that our educators have the resources they need to provide unique and meaningful learning opportunities for our students with cutting-edge resources.”
Tullahoma High School was the greatest beneficiary of the grant, receiving $19,094.60. Those funds will go toward three different areas, including $11,759.90 allotted for the visual arts program. With these grant dollars, the THS visual arts program will purchase 10 11-inch iPad Pros, cases for the devices, as well as second-generation pencils and licenses for the program Procreate.
“With the addition of these digital devices, our students will be introduced to a new realm of design and creation,” said THS visual arts teacher Kelly Orr. “They will be able to collaborate with their peers in STEM, coding, and digital arts. They will be able to explore and create like never before, preparing for innovative careers in visual arts areas, including animation, graphic design, coding, and interactive media design, among many others.”
An additional $4,283.70 will be geared toward the nursing program at the high school with the purchase of three medical vital signs monitors with a stand. This new equipment will allow students to work with industry-standard health science equipment and allow them to receive hands-on learning experiences that are necessary skills for a career in the medical field.
Tullahoma High School will also receive $3,051.47 for the robotics club. These funds will be utilized to purchase a classroom set of Sphero BOLT robots. The coding robotics ball will allow students to code and operate robots and enable them to engage in a hands-on STEM learning environment. Sphero encourages students to use collaboration to problem solve and creativity to design their projects while simultaneously learning STEM standards.
Robert E. Lee Elementary School will receive two grants totaling $3,490. Of those funds, $2,990 will be utilized to purchase 18 Ozobots, allowing fifth-grade students to learn the basics of coding. Once they have learned the basics of coding, they will have the hands-on opportunity to code the Ozobots, providing these students with the knowledge and application practice of coding before entering middle school.
An additional $500 at REL will be used to acquire 14 STEM-related materials for kindergarten classrooms. The purchases will include a Tiny Land train set; iPlay, iLearn toddler wooden building block toys; A Vanmor 27-piece magnetic wooden alphabet train set; Play Brainy 101 Pieces Magnetic Cudes for kids; Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Super Building Toy Set and Playmags Magnetic Tiles Building Set.
“We, as teachers, want to provide ample opportunities for our students to engage in diverse learning experiences,” said the REL kindergarten teachers in their grant application. “The materials purchased will give the resources needed for the students to interact, develop, and engineer their growing minds as kindergarten students.”
This is the third grant TE Connectivity has provided Tullahoma City Schools to aid the district in its goal of improving STEM-based and CTE learning opportunities.
“TE Connectivity is committed to strengthening communities around the globe by increasing access to technology and engineering for all,” TE Connectivity said in a statement. “We are honored to be a part of the Tullahoma community and proud to be able to connect our future growth with our future generations by investing locally in education. We are so excited for the grant winners at our Tullahoma City Schools and look forward to seeing the impact of the grant initiatives for many years to come.”
