As a new second grade teacher at Roan Forrest Elementary, Tyler Patton feels like luck is on her side.
She is one of 75 new teachers who won a teacher supply grant from the North East Educational Foundation for $100 on Thursday, Aug. 5.
“I’m very excited because I’ve never won anything, but I think as a new teacher it’s even more exciting because I feel like I need it,” Patton said. “I’ll be able to give my students more things than I could before when I was just at zero. It’s hard to start from nothing to all of sudden having to start a classroom.”
She plans to spend the funds on flexible seating for her dual language classroom.
Similarly, Amber Cecil is about to start her teaching career as a Pre-K ESL teacher at Oak Grove Elementary.
“This will be so helpful as I’ll be coming in with not a lot of materials or supplies, so this is great,” Cecil said.
She’ll be using the funds to grow her classroom book collection.
Supply grants are an addition to the Foundation’s main mission, which is funding innovative grants for NEISD teachers. Innovative grants will be awarded in the Fall.
“We are really excited to help new teachers fill up their classrooms with the resources they need for a successful school year,” said Natalie Bobadilla, Interim Executive Director for Partnerships and NEEF. “We want our teachers to feel supported and appreciated.”
NEEF is a private non-profit charitable corporation that works to raise money to expand educational opportunities for the students of North East ISD. NEEF funds a wide range of innovative classroom projects, including mental health initiatives, community gardens, special education resources and STEAM programs.
If you would like to support NEEF through this year’s Team NEISD annual giving campaign, please visit one of the following to make your gift.
Employees: bit.ly/TeamNEISD
Parent or Community Member: www.NorthEastFoundation.org/teamneisd