Higher Latrobe basis boosts district training with $157Ok in grants
The Greater Latrobe Partners in Education Foundation donated more than $ 157,000 in grants to the school district this month to support a range of educational endeavors, including technology courses, professional development for teachers, and assistance for students with special needs.
The grants are part of more than $ 6 million the foundation has raised to support district students and programs since the nonprofit was founded 10 years ago.
According to Maria Graziano-Bickerstaff, president of the board of trustees and 2011 district alumna, the foundation provided $ 20,594 to purchase equipment for new Tech Lab I and II courses. Purchases included 3-D printers, laser engravers, and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines.
With a grant of US $ 14,250, new outdoor WiFi access points were provided to expand internet service in the district buildings.
Proceeds from a 2019 River City Brass holiday concert will help pay for new band clams positioned to reflect the sound of the musical instruments for the audience in the upper auditorium.
Superintendent Georgia Teppert said the foundation’s fundraising and donations have helped the district provide resources for its students “across and beyond so many other school districts. This was a great gift that we have at Greater Latrobe. Our entire school community benefits from this. “
Over the past decade, the Foundation has provided funds equal to the revenue from three million property taxes, according to Deputy Superintendent Michael Porembka.
One of the major purchases funded by the Foundation was student laptops, which helped the district transition to virtual distance learning in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We were able to immediately provide 3,700 students with a Chromebook,” says Teppert.
The tech push was one of the results of a $ 5 million fundraising campaign that the foundation closed in 2015. This money also helped develop the sports and wellness complex in the high school and an arts corridor in the middle school.
Last year’s GOAL Magazine Golf Outing and Paint N Sip Event raised $ 28,700 to support the district’s autism, life skills and emotional support classrooms.
The foundation funds scholarships for district students, of which 25 were awarded last June for a total of more than $ 29,000. It also runs a Wildcats Emergency Fund to help needy students get clothes, food and school supplies.
Graziano-Bickerstaff said the foundation’s annual fundraising campaign received strong support from community members as well as from faculties and district staff. “What a Difference Opportunity Makes” is the theme of the 2021-22 campaign.
For more information, visit glpief.org/programs/annual-fund or call Jessica Golden, Executive Director, 724-539-4200, ext. 23406.
