Joyce Hembree, Kindergarten Teacher and Grant Recipient
Applying for grants can be both a daunting and frustrating task – especially if you’re a teacher with little spare time. Is it worth it? If you’re skeptical, meet Joyce Hembree, a kindergarten instructor at Mark Twain Elementary School.
When Joyce first learned she had won the $1,000 State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning grant (offered through Youth Service America), “I thanked God and told my principal.” Joyce’s success is proof that grant money can go a long way to improve a learning environment.
Joyce became a teacher in the Tulsa Public School District, the largest district in Oklahoma, in 2005. The community is predominantly low-income with ninety percent of the students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and 50 percent of the parents supporting themselves without a high school diploma.
Joyce applied for the State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning grant to teach students about cooperation and service-learning – skills that will improve the classroom experiences of children who have limited education and literacy experiences. She wanted to empower her students by providing them the opportunity to lend a helping hand to the community. Joyce said that: “[Students’] public housing experiences have taught many that their hands are for hurting. My project is designed to bring older and younger children together to help eliminate the bullying that occurs in their environment [and teach] that our hands are for helping.”
With the grant money, Joyce’s students plant vegetable gardens, an activity that not only beautifies the community and provides healthy snacks for students, but also teaches older and younger children to work together to minimize bullying. “It is clear,” Joyce notes, “that the older children need to learn to support and encourage the younger ones, and gardening provides a vehicle for teaching cooperative skills.”
Joyce’s advice to other grant-seekers is to remain persistent and “not wait until the last minute to write.” Although Joyce has experienced recent success, she still seeks funding for additional projects. “I seek money for in-class, hands-on learning: hatching butterflies, incubating chick eggs, and money for field trips,” she reports.
We wish Joyce and other grant-seekers the best of luck.
Posted by Catrina Brewton
When Joyce first learned she had won the $1,000 State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning grant (offered through Youth Service America), “I thanked God and told my principal.” Joyce’s success is proof that grant money can go a long way to improve a learning environment.
Joyce became a teacher in the Tulsa Public School District, the largest district in Oklahoma, in 2005. The community is predominantly low-income with ninety percent of the students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and 50 percent of the parents supporting themselves without a high school diploma.
Joyce applied for the State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning grant to teach students about cooperation and service-learning – skills that will improve the classroom experiences of children who have limited education and literacy experiences. She wanted to empower her students by providing them the opportunity to lend a helping hand to the community. Joyce said that: “[Students’] public housing experiences have taught many that their hands are for hurting. My project is designed to bring older and younger children together to help eliminate the bullying that occurs in their environment [and teach] that our hands are for helping.”
With the grant money, Joyce’s students plant vegetable gardens, an activity that not only beautifies the community and provides healthy snacks for students, but also teaches older and younger children to work together to minimize bullying. “It is clear,” Joyce notes, “that the older children need to learn to support and encourage the younger ones, and gardening provides a vehicle for teaching cooperative skills.”
Joyce’s advice to other grant-seekers is to remain persistent and “not wait until the last minute to write.” Although Joyce has experienced recent success, she still seeks funding for additional projects. “I seek money for in-class, hands-on learning: hatching butterflies, incubating chick eggs, and money for field trips,” she reports.
We wish Joyce and other grant-seekers the best of luck.
Posted by Catrina Brewton
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