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WHEELING - Some local teachers on Monday received a boost for their science programs courtesy of Expand Energy and the Community Foundation of the Ohio Valley.
Together the partnership awarded 31 grants to science educators for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs they provide in their classrooms.
Collectively, these grants totaled $57,389. They were distributed to teachers in Ohio, Marshall, Brooke and Wetzel counties.
The programs range from kindergarten through high school.
Stephanie Paluda, community affairs manager at Expand Energy, noted the company has contributed more than $150,000 to local teachers for STEM education since before the COVID era.
"Expand Energy believes in giving back to the communities where we live, work and operate," explained Stephanie Paluda, community relations director at Expand Energy. "And what better way to invest than in teachers. We know that teachers are the backbone of our communities, so we want to make sure they have the STEM funding to go above and beyond and not have to take the funds out of their pocket....
"We think this is a unique way to give back to all sorts of teachers so that they can fund the projects they need in their individual classrooms."
Among the programs awarded funding was a kindergarten program using hopscotch to teach math, up to drone and robotics programs at the middle and high school levels, she added.
Susie Nelson, executive director of the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, explained the organization works with donors who want to give back in a specific way to the community.
"We are honored when we have a corporate donor like Expand Energy that wants to work with us and help kids with STEM," she said.
Teachers receiving the grant in Ohio County included Genevieve Frye, Bethlehem Elementary; Brittany Friend, Elm Grove Elementary; Jennifer Davis, Madison Elementary; Jacqueline Hicks, Middle Creek Elementary School; Amy Yost, Christa Miller and Heather Puglisi, Warwood Elementary; Brandy Lackie, West Liberty Elementary; and Amanda Kidd-Mason, Jenny Craig and Vincent O'Leary, Wheeling Middle School.
Marshall County recipients included Dana Zambito, Center McMechen Elementary; Carrie Shipman, Allison Rine, Sheena Fisher and Bethani Faulstick, Hilltop Elementary; Kathleen Loughman, John Marshall High School; Kellie Helmick, Kim Ghaphery, and Suzanne Muncy, Moundsville Middle School, and Nikki Bellanco and Ashley Fecat, Washington Lands Elementary.
Brooke County educators receiving funding were Christopher Mockbee, Brooke High School; and Kim Nielsen and Amy Ludewig, Brooke Middle School..
In Wetzel County, teachers winning money for their programs were Clinton Yost and Ted Sumner, Hundred High School; Lakyn Parker DeGarmo, New Martinsville School; Kimberly Starkey, Paden City Elementary School; and Jeannie Drake, Short Line Elementary.