Ten Bulloch County Schools educators will receive a total of $2,500 in Extra Yard for Teachers grants thanks to the College Football Playoff Foundation and Georgia Southern Athletics.
Each teacher will receive a $250 classroom improvement grant to fund the project outlined in the competitive grant application submitted to GA Southern earlier in September. This year GA Southern is partnering with the CFP Foundation to provide a total of 20 grants to teachers in Bulloch, Chatham, and Liberty counties, the three home locations of the university’s campuses.
Each grant recipient will also receive two free tickets to the GA Southern vs. Ball State Football Game on Saturday, September 24, at Paulson Stadium. Grant recipients will participate in an on-field recognition and presentation during the game. This game is also Georgia Southern’s Teacher Appreciation Football Game to recognize all educators for their impact.
The Extra Yard for Teachers program is the national, primary platform of the College Football Playoff Foundation in collaboration with participating colleges and universities like GA Southern. The program seeks to elevate the teaching profession by inspiring and empowering educators through the implementation of programs in four focus areas: resources, recognition, recruitment and professional development.
This year’s grants were awarded to deserving teachers based on the quality of their grant applications and the accompanying itemized budgets of their proposed projects. A committee appointed by the university reviewed the applications and the 20 recipients were notified last week.
“We look forward to seeing the initiatives and projects that teachers in Bulloch, Chatham, and Liberty Counties put forth as part of the Extra Yards for Teachers initiative,” said Gleen Hart, Georgia Southern’s senior associate athletic director of Student-Athlete Development. “This partnership is exciting as we get to recognize teachers who are a vital part of our campus communities.”
This year’s recipients from Bulloch County Schools are the following:
- Kiersten Morrison, Special Education, Statesboro High School
- Ashlee Lindee, Special Education, Statesboro High School
- Amanda Wheeler, Language Arts, Statesboro High School
- Amber Tapley, Language Arts, Southeast Bulloch Middle School
- Jennifer Johnson, Learning Support, Southeast Bulloch Middle School
- Nicole Riggs, Learning Suport, Nevils Elementary School
- Diana Hendricks, 2nd Grade Teacher, Sallie Zetterower Elementary
- Angela B. Jones, Special Education, Portal Elementary School
- Tonya E. Gilchrist, Mathematics Teacher, Langston Chapel Middle School
- Katey Outler, Speech/Language Pathologist – Serves multiple schools
