FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 26, 2003
FY03-40
ORAU Awards Grants to Nine Local Schools
OAK RIDGE, TENN – Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) awarded more than $19,000 in educational grants to nine local schools during a reception Thursday.
ORAU is dedicated to investing in educational opportunities in the local community, President Ron Townsend said.
“We’ve never lost sight of the importance of education to our local community,” he said. “Education is our mission.”
The recipients and grant amounts were:
- Anderson County Career and Technical Center, $3,000, for the purchase of digital cameras, camcorders, printers and a laptop to edit video projects.
- Andersonville Elementary, $5,000, for the purchase of computers and other technology to expand its technology lab and implement No Child Left Behind Act programs.
- Briceville Elementary, $2,000, to purchase microscopes, journals, scales and balances for an environmental study of a nearby creek.
- Clinton High School, $700, to purchase a binding machine to assist in the production of their school’s literary magazine.
- Glenwood Elementary, $2,500, for the purchase and repair of computers for use with Larson’s Leap Frog math software.
- Linden Elementary, $1,000, to fund a Science Club journal program and an Art and Science of Papermaking program.
- Oak Ridge High School, $1,200, for the purchase of computer management software for four computer classrooms to enhance computer security.
- Robertsville Middle School, $1,300, for the purchase of software to allow teachers to give tests, assignments, and instruction to students via their computers.
- Clinton City Schools, $2,400, to fund a Higher Order Thinking Skills and Science (H.O.T.S.S.) program.
About 45 people attended the reception at ORAU’s Pollard Auditorium in Oak Ridge. The awards were greeted with enthusiasm from the teachers and administrators present.
“It means the enhancement of education in meeting ‘No Child Left Behind,’” said teacher Mary Anne Usury of Anderson County Schools. “For my individual school, it benefits the student in their career development.”
“It basically means an opportunity to help our students improve on their science achievements,” Clinton Director of Schools Jerry Woods said. “I just commend Oak Ridge Associated Universities for making an opportunity of this kind available.”
“We were thrilled,” said Linda Ousley, chairperson of the Business and Information Technology Department at Oak Ridge High School. “It’s exciting to think about things you’d really like to have and then get community support.”
Before awarding the grants, ORAU solicited proposals from teachers throughout the local area. The winning proposals were then chosen on a competitive basis.
“It’s important to recognize and reward those teachers who are willing to go the extra step and fight to make their schools and classrooms better,” Townsend said.
In addition to the grant program, ORAU also works to enhance science education in East Tennessee through its Volunteers in Education Team (VET), which offers grants to area schools and provides volunteer speakers, equipment donations, and technical expertise at no cost to the requesting school.
For more information on Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the ORAU Education Grant Program, or the Volunteers in Education Team, visit www.orau.org.
Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) is a university consortium leveraging the scientific strength of 88 major research institutions to advance science and education by partnering with national laboratories, government agencies, and private industry. ORAU manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for the U.S. Department of Energy.