Clinton Township, Macomb Township

Credit union provides three Chippewa teachers with grants

By Robert Guttersohn
C & G Staff Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Robert Guttersohn From left, Sheila Majask, from Dakota High School Ninth Grade Center, Tracy Roberts, from Wyandot Middle School, and Dawn Graham, a teacher from Huron Elementary, stand with Chippewa Valley Superintendent Ronald Roberts. Altogether, the three teachers received more than $1,800 in grants from the Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union to buy educational equipment. Photo by Robert Guttersohn From left, Sheila Majask, from Dakota High School Ninth Grade Center, Tracy Roberts, from Wyandot Middle School, and Dawn Graham, a teacher from Huron Elementary, stand with Chippewa Valley Superintendent Ronald Roberts. Altogether, the three teachers received more than $1,800 in grants from the Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union to buy educational equipment.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Three Chippewa Valley Schools classrooms will be better outfitted for education, thanks to a trio of grants from the Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union.

The teachers who received the grant told the Chippewa Board of Education Feb. 4 that the money would be used to enhance the learning experience for their students.

Each year, the credit union puts out a call for grants, and teachers across the county can apply for them. Dawn Graham, a teacher from Huron Elementary, was awarded $310. Tracy Roberts, from Wyandot Middle School, and Sheila Majask, from Dakota High School Ninth Grade Center, were each awarded $750.

Graham’s grant will go toward Read: OutLoud, a reading program to help improve comprehension and reading fluency for children with learning disabilities.

“It’s a good visual, auditory and tactile software for the kids,” Graham said. “It’s a really good program. The kids really enjoy it.”

Roberts used her grant to purchase exercise balls, which she uses in her classroom instead of chairs. She said that an active body will lead to an active mind.

“The students, especially with ADHD, really thrive when they are sitting on these balls,” she said. “And it’s amazing to see the work production when somebody’s actually able to fidget and do what they have to do without disrupting the rest of the class.”

Majask used her grant to add two iPads to her classroom. She has used the tablets to incorporate interactivity while students look at historical maps and historical political cartoons.

Superintendent Ronald Roberts commended the teachers for their extra work in preparing for the grants.

“It’s busy enough just being a classroom teacher taking care of paperwork, your children and then also in the meantime sitting down and doing paperwork for a grant,” Roberts said.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Robert Guttersohn at rguttersohn@candgnews.com or at (586)218-5006.