Northwestern School District receives $10,000 Grant

ALBION, Pa. (Nov. 26, 2012) - All circuits are functioning at full capacity in the Northwestern School District. Thanks to the support of local farmers and America's Farmers Grow Rural Education, Northwestern School District received a $10,000 grant to enhance the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum by purchasing robotics materials. America's Farmers Grow Rural Education, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, gives farmers the opportunity to nominate a public school district in their community to compete for a grant of either $10,000 or $25,000 to enhance education in the areas of math and/or science. More than 1,000 nominated school districts submitted applications. The Monsanto Fund will invest $2.3 million into rural education through this program. "Our project involves developing the creativity and imagination of students through the use of robotics," said Yvonne Teed, Northwestern School District's director of curriculum and instruction. "This program is going to trigger a child's interest and get students excited about coming to school." After being nominated by local farmers, school districts completed an online application, and finalists were chosen by math and science teachers from ineligible school districts. The America's Farmers Grow Rural Education Advisory Council, a group of 26 prominent farmers from across the country, then reviewed the finalists' applications and selected the winners. "When you open doors like this for students, there is no way to measure the tremendous impact it will have on their lives," Teed said. "One little gesture has gone a long way in creating a lot of dreams in our school district and no one will truly be able to measure just how many lives will be touched and changed thanks to this new program." Northwestern School District was presented with the $10,000 grant during a presentation at the district's Board of Education meeting on Nov. 19, 2012. America's Farmers Grow Rural Education started with a successful pilot in Illinois and Minnesota in 2011, in which farmers were given the opportunity to nominate a public school district in 165 eligible counties in those two states. The Monsanto Fund awarded more than $266,000 to local schools in 16 CRDs. Now, the program has expanded to 1,245 eligible counties in 39 states. America's Farmers Grow Rural Education helps farmers positively impact their communities and supports local rural school districts. This program is part of the Monsanto Fund's overall effort to support rural education and communities. Another program that is part of this effort is America's Farmers Grow Communities, which gives winning farmers the opportunity to direct a $2,500 donation to their favorite community nonprofit organization in their county. Farmers can participate in this program through Nov. 30, 2012 by visiting www.growcommunities.com.