Eight Central Oregon teachers among 44 awarded SELCO Creative Educator Grants

EUGENE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- SELCO Community Credit Union has awarded nearly $82,000 to 44 educators across Oregon, including eight programs from Central Oregon, as part of SELCO’s vastly expanded Creative Educator Grants program.

Creative Educator Grants are designed for K-12 educators with creative classroom ideas who need more funding to get those projects off the ground. Thanks to SELCO’s Steps Up initiative launched earlier this year, the grant program received a significant boost for 2024. Formerly known as SPARK! Creative Learning Grants, Creative Educator Grants have increased in value from $1,000 in 2023 to as much as $2,500 per recipient, with the total amount of grant funding increasing from $53,000 to $81,691.

The program’s expansion resulted in nearly double the number of applications this year, compared with 2023. Grant recipients represent a wide range of programs, including a 3D printer at Westside Village Magnet School in Bend, allowing students to create products to launch their own small businesses.

Other recipients include “Innovative Automotive Engineering: Building Working Model Engines and Small EV Cars,” which engages students at Fern Ridge Middle School in Elmira with hands-on automotive engineering by building working model engines and small electric vehicles.

“The significant increase in applications underscores not only the great need for similar funding programs but also the inspiring creativity of our educators,” said Craig Carpenter, SELCO’s senior vice president of lending and business banking. “As a credit union founded by educators, SELCO is dedicated to ensuring innovative ideas don’t stall due to lack of funding. This year's program expansion brings us closer to achieving that mission.”

This year’s recipients include eight programs from eight Central Oregon schools:

• Literacy Without Limits: Dyslexia Book Project — Susan Gotshall, John Tuck Elementary, Redmond
• Project Stop the Bleed: Teaching Teens to Save Lives — Tamara Bremont, Redmond Proficiency Academy, Redmond 
• HDMS Skate Club — Joe Albano, High Desert Middle School, Bend
• Strider bikes with pedal kits — Brian Horton, High Lakes Elementary School, Bend
• Optimus Primary — Maddi Webb, Juniper Elementary, Bend
• Woodshop — Carey Kraybill, Pacific Crest Middle School, Bend
• Broadcast Journalism — Kacie Ryan, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School, Bend
• Inspiring Future Entrepreneurs — Mandy Weston, Westside Village Magnet School, Bend

To choose the recipients of this year’s Creative Educator Grants, a selection panel reviewed applications based on project originality, proposal clarity, number of students affected, and potential for skill development. The panel blindly reviewed all applications.

A complete list of statewide recipients and project descriptions can be found HERE.

John Sperry, a teacher at Hamlin Middle School in Springfield, was one of this year's grant recipients for his project revamping his school's news broadcast channel, which is reported, written, and directed by students.

"What I'm hoping for," said Sperry, "is that we'll feel more cohesive, more like we have a belonging culture here ... instead of it just being that school that they go to."

See a video spotlight of Sperry’s program HERE. See a video spotlight of teacher Jill Plumb’s program, which earned a 2023 grant, HERE.

As educators increasingly dip into their own pockets to pay for classroom-related expenses, SELCO Steps Up not only expanded the Creative Educator Grant program it kicked off Regional Classroom Makeovers, which will award three Oregon classrooms with as much as $15,000 each to remake their learning environments.

For more information about Creative Educator Grants, past grant recipients, or SELCO Steps Up, visit www.selco.org/steps-up/student-and-educator-support/.

About SELCO Steps Up:

The SELCO Steps Up program aims to create positive, innovative, lasting change through volunteerism, resource support, and collaboration with community partners. Year to date, SELCO has reinvested more than $225,000 in the communities it serves through educator grants, scholarships, and impact-driven sponsorships, and plans to reinvest as much as $125,000 before the end of 2024. SELCO staff has also committed more than 1,100 volunteer hours so far in 2024. As a credit union founded by teachers, education is a cornerstone of these efforts, with a focus on removing barriers to financial literacy. By empowering individuals and families to achieve financial well-being, SELCO strives to build a strong foundation for all its members and neighbors. Learn more at www.selco.org/steps-up.

About SELCO Community Credit Union:

Founded nearly 90 years ago by a group of fiscally minded teachers, Springfield-based SELCO Community Credit Union today serves more than 150,000 members as one of the largest and longest-standing Oregon-based credit unions. A not-for-profit, federally insured, member-driven financial cooperative with more than $2.7 billion in assets, SELCO provides its member-owners with exceptional rates and low fees on a full range of financial products and services, including banking, mortgages, personal and business loans, investments, and insurance. Membership is available to anyone who lives or works in one of the 27 Oregon or eight Washington counties SELCO serves. For more information or to become a member today, stop by one of SELCO’s 15 branches, visit selco.org, or call 800-445-4483.