FAYETTEVILLE -- Grants for teachers this school year supported a variety of learning experiences from rocketry to orchestra.
"A student came to me and wanted to start a rocketry club," said Jeffrey O'Connell, a Fayetteville High School engineering teacher.
Fayetteville Public Education Foundation awards
• 38 teacher grants totaling $115,355 from the foundation’s endowment
• Two teacher grants totaling $29,000 from the Neal R. Pendergraft Endowment
• 25 teacher grants totaling $122,631 from the private gifts and businesses
• 13 student scholarships totaling $19,261
Source: Staff report
The club began in December 2015, and O'Connell pursued opportunities for students to compete in rocketry. He received a $3,000 grant from the Tammy and Read Hudson family this school year for his students to enter the Team America Rocketry Challenge, a competition this spring involving about 5,000 students from across the country.
O'Connell was among the more than 350 educators, donors and guests attending the annual Celebration of Excellence ceremony on Monday night at the Arkansas Air and Military Museum at Drake Field. The Fayetteville Public Education Foundation event recognized teachers and students receiving $286,247 in teacher grants and scholarships.
Grants went to teachers with projects deemed original, pioneering or innovative, according to the foundation.
The grant that went to O'Connell assisted the rocketry club with computer software for testing rocket designs and money for students to purchase supplies, such as rocket motors, he said.
"They kind of took over," O'Connell said. "They decided what materials they wanted to use."
The students built a nearly 3-foot rocket out of mailing tubes and with parts they made with a 3D printer, he said. Parachute lines were created from dental floss.
The challenge for students was to build a rocket to reach a height of 775 feet and return to the ground within 41 to 43 seconds, O'Connell said. The rocket also had to carry an egg during the flight without breaking it. The young Fayetteville rocketry team's rocket reached a height of 720 feet and returned to the ground in 43 seconds. Their scores were due April 3.
The team gave junior Robert Ross the chance to share his interest in rockets with other students, he said. His father encouraged him to propose starting a club.
"I've always been interested in rocketry," Ross, 16, said. "I want to be an aerospace engineer and astronaut."
The largest grant from a private donor was a gift from the Walmart Foundation. Martha Sandven received $66,602 to continue an after-school program at Ramay Junior High School, according to the foundation. The program that aims to improve attendance and grades by engaging students in creative activities, including drama, improv, play-writing and set design.
Among the teacher grants provided by the foundation's endowment, the largest gift was $9,601 to Jon Bukont for the development of a lab at Woodland Junior High School, where students could experience engineering in a safe environment, according to the foundation.
A $20,000 grant from the second year of the Neal R. Pendergraft Endowment went to Ely Yale for "Take a Bow: Orchestra for All."
The Fayetteville orchestra program involves about 160 students Ramay and Woodland Junior High and Fayetteville High School. The grant provided money for purchasing instruments for students and for upgrading instruments, said Yale, who directs the orchestra with Stevie Sandven. Orchestra directors were interested in providing students, including those in need, with access to basses and cellos at home and at school.
"It really helps invest students in orchestra and playing in the program and provides them an outlet," Yale said. "It gives them a sense of ownership in their learning. They have an instrument they can use."
NW News on 04/25/2017