Edison Elementary chosen

MANGUM  Edison Elementary School in Mangum was one of 10 elementary schools in Oklahoma that was recently named K20 STEMñBuilding STEM-Ready Elementary Schools.

The first-time designation comes with grant funds for teacher training at the schools in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. The program is sponsored by the Oklahoma State Department of Education in collaboration with the K20 Center.

Roger Ford, Edison principal, stated that the funding from the grant will go toward assisting the school's teachers integrate the common core curriculum to educate its students.

"We're thrilled to receive the grant," he said. "We'll have a group of teachers attend a training session Sept. 21 in Norman. They will come back and work with the other teachers on setting up the lesson plans."

Ford said that officials of the K20 Center will later appear at the school to work with the faculty members in one-on-one training sessions concerning the curriculum plans.

The State Education Department allotted $300,000 for training and teacher salaries and benefits for about 200 teachers at the 10 schools participating in the first year of the project. The project will impact about 3,750 students in their classrooms and will serve as a model for other schools and classrooms. Ford said Thursday he did not know the specific amount of grant funding awarded to his school as part of the program, for which the district will have to come up with matching funds of $3,000.

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