Tippecanoe Valley High School, 8345 South SR 19, Akron. InkFreeNews photo by Kory Stoneburner-Betts.

AKRON — Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation (TVSC) has received a grant award of $50,000 for the submission of their 2020 Digital Learning – Community Advisory Grant.   

For 2020, grants were awarded to districts focused on building digital initiatives around the purposeful and strategic integration of technology into instruction, said a news release from the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation and the Indiana Department of Education.

Other area school districts that received grant funds were Manchester Community Schools and Triton School Corporation.

According to the award notification email from Shannon Dick, IDOE Innovation Specialist, “There were over 100 grants submitted for this competitive funding opportunity. The review team was impressed by your plan to implement and extend the learning opportunities for your staff and students. Your grant will be funded for $50,000.00, as submitted in your budget. Additional information regarding the next steps will be sent in the coming weeks.”

“Immersing children in a curriculum centered around technology and community establishes an academic environment whereby current and future success is certain to follow,” said State Superintendent Dr. Jennifer McCormick. “I congratulate our awarded districts for their commitment to creating lasting partnerships within local communities, and for their continual efforts to making a positive impact in the lives of students.”

TVSC will initiate an Innovative STEM Community Advisory Summit where educators, postsecondary institutions, business, industry, and agribusiness partners all sit at the same table to bring to Tippecanoe Valley relevant, engaging, and research-based STEM curriculum to our community with the objectives of improving STEM instruction, scale evidence-based STEM curriculum in our classrooms, provide additional professional development opportunities and to excellently prepare our students to be college and career ready, said the news release.

With a continued spotlight on enhanced technology integration, IDOE expanded the digital learning grant to include a focus on building community partnerships. Eligible partnership opportunities also provided matching grants by way of monetary funding or in-kind services.

Along with the expanded focus, 2020 Digital Leaning-Community Advisory Grants center around connecting academic concepts to real-life applications, both in the classroom and abroad. By doing so, schools can maximize relevancy and engagement, thus transforming K-12 education for students. This year’s grants requested schools further develop technology integration capacity through implementing transformational initiatives in one of three areas – Instruction and Learning, Leadership and Development, or College and Career Ready.

In total, 52 districts were awarded nearly $2.5 million in funding, with grants ranging from $19,000 to $56,000, said the news release.

TVSC believes when students are exposed early to the STEM careers available in our community, the ability to grow our own talented workforce by creating that pathway to college or a career, said the news release.

For additional information on the TVSC Innovative STEM – Community Advisory Summit or collaborative partnership opportunities available with Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation, contact Lori Tilden-Geiger at tvsc.k12.in.us or by phone at (574) 527-3000.