Penn Manor Education Foundation (PMEF) has awarded more than $53,000 in teacher Venture Grants this year, most of it designed to ease the transition from in-person to remote learning and help keep students and staff safe during the pandemic. In addition, PMEF's Strong & Healthy Families program has awarded more than $19,000 in grants to support families in need.
The teacher grants have funded more than 800 electronic pen tablets that enable students to complete math and science equations and respond to prompts by drawing answers that are shared with the class via student laptops. Grants also have funded electrical wiring kits, hand tools and molecule kits that students can use from home during agricultural education, applied engineering and science classes. Other grants have funded personal protective equipment for musical instruments and recreational games that enable physical education classes to be held while adhering to social distancing requirements.
PMEF revised its Venture Grant process this year to encourage collaboration among staff and to better support teachers and students during virtual learning.
In addition to these pandemic-related grants, funding has been used for elementary classroom reading materials, including digital versions for online learning; cardio drumming sets; whiteboards for all kindergarten classes; electronic balances and hotplates for high school science classes; and fees for students to attend virtual Model UN conferences.
Under the Strong & Healthy Families program, PMEF has provided $19,545 in grants to support students and families in need. Among these grants is a $5,500 grant paying for supplies and fees for students enrolled in Lancaster County Career & Technology Center programs. Grants totaling $7,500 are paying fees for dual enrollment programs and Advanced Placement testing for students with economic challenges. Also included in the Strong & Healthy Families monies is a $1,500 grant is providing books to be distributed to kindergarten students during food giveaways in the Penn Manor community.
In addition to awarding grants each year, PMEF presents scholarships totaling more than $70,000 to Penn Manor seniors.
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