Battelle STEM fund one of several grants accepted by Chippewa board
DOYLESTOWN – Chippewa Local Schools received a grant for an outdoor learning lab, funds to go toward a new bus and funding from Battelle for STEM classroom items.
The district received a $45,000 grant through the Ohio Department of Education to help replace a school bus, Superintendent Todd Osborn told the board members Monday evening. He said the grant requires “any bus a district purchases with these funds, must replace a buses that is currently in use for regular route service,” which will allow the district to replace an older school bus.
While the grant alone will not cover the cost of a new bus, which Treasurer Ira Hamman estimated is roughly $106,000, Osborn said it will cut down the cost significantly.
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Classroom grants for new learning experiences
In addition to the bus grant, Osborn said the district received two other grants to be use for classroom spaces both inside the schools and outside.
A $5,000 grant from the Ohio STEM Learning Network and Battelle will help to expand STEM classroom opportunities. Chippewa schools was one of 150 schools across the state to be awarded the money; six were in Ashland, Holmes and Wayne counties.
The funds will be used mainly by math teacher Ken Gasser to enhance the robotics program at the Jr./Sr. High School by purchasing several robotics kits.
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The other grant was $5,000, secured with the help of science teacher Patrick McNutt, to be used for a pavilion in the Land Lab, an outdoor learning environment proposed around the wetland spaces near the Jr./Sr. High School.
Osborn said the Land Lab was started in 2019 when STONE Environmental, an ecological design firm, had done some work, but was halted after the district wasn’t able to get funds for the program due to the pandemic, Osborn said.
After securing a new grant, the district wanted to pick the project back up, but needed money for the, Osborn said. The board voted unanimously to approve an $5,000 be used toward the pavilion.
Osborn said they have to wait now for the Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Environmental Protection Agency “to tell us where we can put that pavilion on our land so we’re not disrupting any of the pieces.”
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Other information from the meeting
- Science teacher Lydia Wilcox was presented the Needle Mover of the month award for her work in the classroom, and especially the lessons she creates that “involve critical thinking, incorporate technology skills and STEM led lessons,” Osborn said.
- Board member Jay Hershberger asked if the topic of lighted crosswalks could be discussed at a future meeting since he had heard some people mention the topic recently.
- The board accepted a $500 donation from the Ohio High School Athletic Association after Osborn and High School Principal Matthew Rodriguez won the funds during an OHSAA golfing event and wanted to donate it to the district.
NEXT UP The next Chippewa Board of Education meeting will AT 6 p.m. March 14 at the Chippewa Jr./Sr. High School.
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Reach Rachel Karas at [email protected]
On Twitter: @RachelKaras3
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