North teachers awarded for classroom supplies
A teacher should never have to spend a dime on school supplies for her classroom. Yet, teachers put out an average of $750 out of pocket per year on supplies and materials.
This is especially tough for first-time or first-year teachers. The North Fort Myers Civic Association in September awarded one first-year teacher from each of the area schools a little something to help make a dent in those expenses.
“These teachers have to spend their own money on their classrooms and they don’t get a lot of that money back,” said Debra Ballard, who put this program together. “When we started this two years ago, we said let’s do something for our teachers.”
Each of these teachers received $150 scholarships to go toward supplies and materials for the classrooms.
Brand-new teachers or teachers in their first year at a school were eligible. Principals throughout North Fort Myers put forth their candidates.
The recipients were:
Gabriel Hillman, North Fort Myers High School,
Paige Hendrix, Bayshore Elementary,
Julie Munger, J. Colin English Elementary,
Irene Charles, Littleton Elementary,
Ashley Anderson, Hancock Creek Elementary,
Cheridah St. Amend, North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts, Elementary,
Zach Dunn, North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts, Middle
Tropic Isles Elementary did not have a recipient.
St. Amend, a second-grade teacher who taught English in Beijing, China for five years, said she was ecstatic to get the money to buy reading centers, books and other things.
“It’s wonderful that this organization supports the teachers. I had to sell all my materials when I came back,” St. Amend said. “There are a few things I have to put in for my students to ensure they have an awesome learning experience.”
Dunn, who teaches sixth-grade U.S. History and TV production and is in his first full year teaching was also happy and that he wanted to get his students more interested in history.
“This is fantastic. I’m always looking for creative ways to get the students involved in history because for a lot of them, it’s not their favorite subject,” Dunn said. “It’s important to learn about the start of our country.”
Also at the meeting were 25 school-aged children who each received a $50 Skechers gift card from for a pair of sneakers. The giveaway cost $1,200. This made for perhaps the largest crowd at a NFMCA meeting in more than five years, though many left once their got their swag.
The NFMCA also decided to donate $1,000 to the Suncoast Community Task Force and named Allison Savage the new secretary of the organization, replacing Teri Halm, who resigned from the board last month for health reasons.