Teachers in Woodlawn, Eastwood, Titusville, Wylam get small grants

Classroom teachers often need some help in obtaining much-needed supplies and learning resources.

“Each year, teachers spend hundreds of their own dollars to support their students,” said Christi Woodworth, vice president of public relations for Sonic Drive-In.

That’s why Sonic started its Limeades for Learning donation match initiative in 2009 along with its nonprofit partner, donorschoose.org.

In late June, Sonic announced awards totaling about $720 to teachers in Birmingham’s Woodlawn, Eastwood, Titusville and Wylam communities.

Kaitlyn Nelson at Woodlawn Magnet High School got money for an iPad, Kindle tablet, headphones and an iPad case to supplement the devices her classroom already had. “Having more technology will allow all students to access these materials on a daily basis,” Nelson said on her donorschoose.org project page. Her students use iPads to access their online curriculum and the Kindle tablets to access academic games and explore the internet.

Shonterrius Fountain at Putnam Magnet Middle School was given funding to buy a subscription to Breakout Edu, an immersive learning games platform. Players use teamwork and critical thinking to solve a series of challenging puzzles. “In a world of gaming and virtual reality, students crave challenges at school,” Fountain said.

Kristin Wray at Booker T. Washington K-8 School in Titusville, who teaches deaf and hard of hearing middle schoolers for Birmingham City Schools, received money to give her students more books written specifically for children about being deaf, deaf culture and the technology used by deaf people. Due to their hearing losses, the students need additional academic help, especially with reading and language, according to Wray.

Angela Santiago at Wylam K-8 School was given money for much-needed art supplies. “We are attempting to create pop-art food sculptures but do not have enough pastels, paint or paper,” she said on her project page.

At limeadesforlearning.com, teachers submit projects that people can donate to. Sonic then matches the donations.

Since 2009, Sonic has donated $13.1 million and helped about 33,000 classrooms, according to the company’s news release.

During Teacher Appreciation Month in May, Sonic donated $1.2 million and helped about 3,900 teachers to fund special projects, the release stated.