Catherine Holway (above bottom right), a fourth-grade teacher at Combs Intermediate School has been awarded a $700 grant from Western Governors University (WGU).  She was surprised by WGU's Strategic Partnership Manager Jim Chandler, who joined Principal Leslie Thomas-Washington and Instructional Support Leader Karen Caguin on their weekly Google meeting, to announce Holway’s receipt of the grant.   The grant will be used to integrate STEM education in Holway’s classroom.

“Students and teachers need to enter into a collaborative partnership with STEM integration to create a ‘community’ that nurtures, encourages, and supports the learning process,” said Holway. “It is my goal to ultimately have students grasp difficult concepts and solidify their thinking of these concepts in a way that also addresses their learning needs and learning styles.”

Holway is among 26 recipients from more than 100 teachers who applied for funding. The amount of $700 is the largest classroom grant awarded.

The project in which Holway will use the funding covers four STEM experiences that will enhance the learning of her fourth graders.  Those four experiences are S-Science of Sound Field Trip, T-Technology Stop Motion Animation, E-Engineering Squishy Circuits, and M-Math Equivalent Fractions with LEGO Bricks. 

“These experiences will give students the skills they need to apply themselves in future learning opportunities in their education for years to come,” said Holway. “It is imperative that more resources enter the classroom, so students can learn to draw inferences, analyze date and form conclusions form opportunities I give them through STEM connections.”

Holway was nominated to apply for the grant as an outstanding educator by one of her student’s parent.