AIU awards 10 grants to local schools

By Jamie Wiggan

-School News-

Local school districts Sto-Rox and Cornell won an outsized share of the 53 grants distributed county-wide by the Allegheny Intermediary Unit (AIU) Feb. 1.

Each totaling varying amounts up to $2,500, the AIU OnRamp grants were awarded to promote creative learning and engagement opportunities within the confines of remote learning. Applications were submitted by teachers.

Cornell

The Cornell district was awarded three OnRamp grants, funding online Spanish reading materials for “fun and fluency,” student activity kits for “unplugging” from the virtual environment, and digital choice boards promoting professional development opportunities for teachers as they also continue adapting to the demands of online education.

Sto-Rox

Seven OnRamp grants awarded to Sto-Rox teachers will liven up classrooms across the district.

The winning ideas ranged from bids for practical mainstays such as markers and whiteboards to healthy cooking supplies for a student-led food truck and plants to grow at home as part of a math project.

“[The teachers] did a lot of hard work in writing the grants and bringing in resources for some really creative projects,” Michael Amick, Sto-Rox curriculum director said while presenting on the awards during a Feb. 18 school board meeting.