Tiger Paw Receives 2 Power Up Grants

Tiger Paw recently received not one, but two Power Up Grants through the White River Valley Electric Cooperative totaling $1,177.

“You were one of 184 applicants that submitted to the Operation Round Up Board of Trustees, making this year’s grant cycle extremely competitive,” according to the award letter. “All applications were scored and ranked by the ORU board at their last meeting. A total of 144 applicants were approved and will receive a share of $75,000.”

Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Sarah Shivler received a $450 grant to purchase fine motor and learning manipulatives.

“In preschool, manipulatives are hands-on, tangible objects that students can explore and manipulate, which can help them understand concepts, develop fine motor skills, and stay engaged in learning,” Shivler said.”Manipulatives can help preschoolers grasp big ideas like patterns, numbers, letter formation, problem solving, and more. Using objects to count, sort, build, and create can expand their knowledge base and enhance their learning.”

Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Jacki Dublin received a grant for $727 to purchase an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device to use as a teaching tool to support communication development in the classroom.

“The addition of an AAC device will enhance instruction by allowing me and other staff members to model language and demonstrate how students can use technology to communicate their ideas, wants, and needs,” Dublin said. “This device will serve as a platform for modeling vocabulary, sentence-building, and communication exchanges. I serve many students with limited verbal communication ability, and I am excited about using the AAC device to enhance, enrich and encourage communication in the classroom and beyond.”
 

Tiger Paw Early Childhood Special Education teachers Jacki Dublin, left, and Sarah Shivler received grants from White River Valley Electric Cooperative totaling $1,177.