Excited Manatee teachers get $108K in IMPACT grants

Perhaps no human can get as excited as a teacher who just received $1,000 to do something creative in the classroom.

Take Anne Marie Bachman, a kindergarten through fifth-grade physical education teacher at Myakka City Elementary School in Myakka City.

All of her life as a PE teacher, Bachman has dreamed of having a rolling white board that she could take outside under the pavilion at Myakka City Elementary upon which she would write the day’s PE activities, a reminder to drink water and standards for fitness for youngsters.

Bachman’s dream came true at the Manatee Education Foundation's IMPACT grants reception at Renaissance on 9th Thursday when the grant for a rolling board she had sought was approved, and she was handed a check for $1,000 from Mary Glass, president of the Manatee Education Foundation.

Bachman was so excited she hugged school board members and couldn’t stop saying “yippee,” a word that only teachers have a license to use anymore.

Bachman was one of 230 teachers from 45 schools who received a total of $108,000, in classroom grants to fund various educational projects.

The Manatee Education Foundation saw, in Bachman’s rolling board, a chance to create a literacy moment during PE, Glass said in her announcement of Bachman’s award.

“I looked at my class and I realized the rolling board was something we really need but can’t afford in the school budget,” Bachman said. “My principal said, ‘Write a grant for it.’ I did and I won. Yippee!”

Before the event started, Glass explained that the Manatee Educational Foundation, which was founded in 1988 by Marge Kinnan, steps in when the School District of Manatee County just doesn’t have the discretionary dollars for something extra.

“These are times when Manatee schools are needing more funding and the Manatee Education Foundation steps in many times for things that tax dollars can't fund,” Glass said. “It might be supplies for the teachers or something that enhances learning.”

The Manatee Education Foundation’s sole mission is to support the teachers and students from the Manatee County School District, Glass added.

"We are really pleased that 45 of 52 schools were represented," said Glass, who has been president of the Manatee Education Foundation for 10 years.

This year’s sponsors, who really make the grants possible, include Early Learning Coalition, Enterprise Holding Foundation, Long & Associates, Manatee Memorial Hospital, The Mosaic Company, NDC Construction, Phil Galvano Golf Classic, The Pittsburgh Pirates and Bradenton Marauders and Suncoast Credit Union, Glass said.

“We did smaller grants for years, but last year started $1,000 grants with the hopes of getting stronger programs,” Glass added.

Among the 230 grants, some that stand out include Manatee High School’s “Flying High With Geometry” where Nanette Johnston, Cheryl Gaynor and Michelle Bush will use kites to teach geometry and Miller Elementary’s “Proud of My Pottery” taught by Angela Prindle.

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Excited Manatee teachers get $108K in IMPACT grants."