Fourteen area educators awarded over $13,000 in STEM grant funding

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) – Fourteen K to 12 public school educators in Brooke, Ohio. Marshall, and Wetzel counties were awarded over $13,000 in STEM grants for their classrooms for 2024.

This is all thanks to the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley in part along with Southwestern Energy or SWN (SWIN)

SWN has had an ongoing commitment to STEM education since its start in 2018, providing up to $1,000 for area teachers to provide opportunities for students that may not otherwise be possible.

”This provides all kinds of things for the classroom, such as robots, drones, stem kits, Legos, anything that can get the child’s mind moving in that direction of the science, technology, engineering, math, those kinds of fields and get them thinking creatively. This really helps boost the classroom with that.”

Debbie Stanton – Program Officer, Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley

”It’s just a great opportunity to give back to the communities that we operate, live, work and play in. These teachers do such a tremendous job and are really the backbone of our communities.”

Stephanie Paluda – Community Relations Manager, SWN

”You want to get them off the tablets and without the paper pencil kind of things. And this gives them a chance to be creative, be imaginative, learn to work with someone else, and learn from mistakes. When you build something, and it falls over. How can you fix that? What can you do next?”

Edna Taylor – First Grade Teacher, Center McMechen Elementary School

The CFOV selects awrd winners through a competitive grant process.

To date, SWN’s program has awarded nearly $60,000 in grants.

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