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 Whitney Kessinger, a first-grade teacher at Chester
East Lincoln Elementary School, received a $550 grant that will be
used to purchase a variety of flexible seating options for her
classroom to help improve student concentration and engagement.
Samantha Murphy, a tenth-grade English teacher at Lincoln Community
High School, received a $1,200 grant that will allow her to obtain
several new copies of graphic novels to teach students about
important historical events in a unique way. Both Kessinger and
Murphy learned they were selected for the grants in early May when
they were surprised with check presentations at their schools.
Whitney
Kessinger and Dr. Terrance Hopson
The $550 grant awarded to Kessinger will be used to purchase a
variety of accommodating seating options to welcome back her
first-grade students in the fall to a fun and flexible learning
environment, after being socially distanced in desks since the
beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Kessinger has spent money
out of her own pocket to purchase a few items here and there, she
was still in need of more options to fully implement flexible
seating into her classroom and requested funding to meet her goal.
The grant received from WGU will be used to purchase high-quality
flexible seating options that include wiggle seats, stools, bean
bags, lap desks, wobble chairs, balance balls and more.
Murphy will use the $1,200 grant to obtain several new copies of
graphic novels for her tenth-grade English students to read in
literature circles, as well as independently. Since the ages of
15-16 are a crucial period for young people in deciding who they
want to be and what direction they want their lives to go, Murphy
has her sophomore students work on a year-long theme of “Who Am I"
with the different texts they read.
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These examine how different situations, relationships and worldly
events affect a person’s character and society in general. Murphy is currently
using interlibrary loans to access seven different nonfiction texts that
students can choose from – with topics ranging from early American history to
WWII and the Civil Rights movement – but she only has enough of each for one
small group to access during class. With the funding provided by WGU, Murphy
will be able to add 10 copies of each book to her classroom library, enabling
students to bring their own copy to and from class. By giving her students the
opportunity to read independently outside of class, Murphy will be able to
expand her curriculum and fit additional learning opportunities into this
reading unit.
The innovative classroom projects were among 27 across Illinois chosen by WGU to
receive funding. The nonprofit, fully online university issued a call in March
for K-12 teachers across the state to nominate proposed classroom projects by
April 17 for the opportunity to receive full or partial funding through its
“Fund My Classroom” initiative. More than 80 nominations were received
statewide. Most grants were awarded during Teacher Appreciation Week, which ran
from May 2-6.
“We received nominations for some amazing classroom projects, and we are happy
to bring so many to life through this year’s ‘Fund My Classroom’ initiative,”
said Dr. Terrance Hopson, Regional Director of Western Governors University.
“When it comes to expanding classroom curriculum and employing innovative
techniques to engage and challenge students, teachers are often limited by
costs. This initiative is an opportunity for WGU to give back to teachers, who
go above and beyond to educate our students, by providing them with funding they
can use to further enhance learning both in and out of the classroom.”
To learn more about the “Fund My Classroom” initiative and the work WGU is doing
to help teachers advance their careers, visit wgu.edu.
About WGU
Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to
high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU now serves more
than 131,000 students nationwide and has more than 277,000 graduates. Driving
innovation as the nation’s leading competency-based university, WGU has been
recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model
that works in postsecondary education. In just 25 years, the university has
become a leading influence in the development of innovative workforce-focused
approaches to education. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on
Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative
Companies, and has been featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New
York Times. Learn more at wgu.edu.
[Jessica Denham]
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