One Class at a Time: La Pine High science teacher receives $500 for key new equipment, supplies

LA PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Long-time science and math teacher Joe Padilla is excited to start the school year at La Pine High School with a $500 donation from Mid Oregon Credit Union through the One Class at a Time program.

"Science equipment is updating, just like technology in our world. It's expensive to keep the classroom up to date," he explained recently.

Padilla's students will now have access to new Vernier probes for measuring UV radiation as they study the seasons.

"One of the labs we do is to test the SPF of sunscreens. The students get to see it really does work," he said.

Padilla knows hands-on learning can at times be more effective than what students find in a book or online.

Student Grace Bays agrees: "I want to go into the medical field, and I think this will transfer to what I'll be doing working with equipment later in life."

The $500 in probes will benefit dozens of the 400 students at La Pine High.

Presenting the check September 14th had a special significance for Tiffany Zeiler: "I attended La Pine High School and went to science classes in this very room, so it's really fun to come back and represent Mid Oregon Credit Union."

NewsChannel 21 partners with the credit union in the One Class at a Time program. Recipients of $500 are selected monthly during the school year. Teachers interested in applying for the assistance should contact their principals with ideas.