LIBERTY, Mo. — After a special visit during Teacher Appreciation Week, a Liberty teacher won't have to pull any more strings to bring classroom story time to life.
Courtney Szymke's kindergarten class took a break from schoolwork Monday for a visit by WGU Missouri. Last month, the online university asked kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers across Missouri to nominate a proposed classroom project. Selected winners would receive full or partial funding.
"It's really their dream for their kids, and we're just helping make it happen," WGU Missouri Chancellor Dr. Angie Besendorfer said.
This is the first time the university has done the Fund My Classroom initiative.
"We are having so much fun surprising teachers with the project that they've been dreaming of. You know, they pay so much out of their pockets, and so today's a way that we can write the check," Besendorfer said.
Szymke, who teaches at Warren Hills Elementary School, was awarded $300 to spend on puppets for her classroom.
"We're going to use their wish list that they generated from their story themes, and we're going to pick and choose off of that list and kind of go from there," Szymke said.
Six months ago, Szymke brought puppets into the classroom as a learning tool. The kindergarten teacher said about half of her students are non-native English speakers. The puppets help students play, communicate and collaborate with one another.
For the last 30 minutes of each school day, students have time to put on a show or select another learning activity.
"I think a lot of our play work has been intentional so that the things they are learning in kindergarten, they truly are going to take with them their whole life,” Szymke said. “I'm just so proud of them and so thankful to our community for supporting our students.”
Out of nearly 200 nominations, WGU Missouri selected more than 15 classroom projects to fund for local teachers.
On Monday, WGU Missouri awarded EPiC Elementary School teacher Deb Caywood a $400 grant for her Regatta Trashboats project. The project is about polymers and their impact — both positive and negative — on the environment.
Student scientists will have the opportunity to investigate plastics and polymers through scientific experiments, close reading of research and informational books, data analysis, social aspects of accountability to care for the planet and multiple hands-on activities.
WGU Missouri also presented Royal Heights Elementary School in Joplin, Missouri, with a check for $700 for a pilot therapy dog program.
