Champions For Learning surprises teachers with grants to fund classroom projects

Editor's note: A previous version of this story stated Naples Daily News publisher Bill Barker sits on the Champions For Learning board of directors as immediate past chairman. Barker’s term ended in July. He no longer sits on the board.

Lely High School freshman Jeffrey Zacarias started learning braille three years ago as his vision worsened. 

He even admitted the subject matter can get dull because of his limitations.

"It's boring," Jeffrey said. 

His teacher, Katrina Best, saw Jeffrey yearning for something more engaging and challenging, so she filled out a grant application to introduce him to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. 

Her wish for him to have access to the books came true after Champions For Learning surprised Best and Jeffrey with a grant fulfilling her $2,000 request.

"We asked for the whole series, and they gave us all of the books, " Best said. "He's a freshman now, so hopefully we'll get through all of that."

Katrina Best, center, smiles to her student Jeffrey Zacarias, right, as she is presented with a grant from Champions For Learning by Alfonso Mancini, left, of Suncoast Credit Union, on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, at Lely High School in East Naples.

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Best said she would not have been able to buy the series in braille on her own for her older students who wanted a shot to read the fantasy novel about a young wizard. 

"We have braille curriculum in the district, but it's mostly for younger students," Best said. "It's not very exciting for older students."

Best said she collaborated with Jeffrey on the grant proposal. Her grant will help 35 students with low vision or blindness in Collier schools. Best started her job with the Collier district in August. 

Collier-based education foundation Champions For Learning delivered 136 grants to educators at 42 schools Thursday, including Best's grant. 

Who won?:Here's a full list of grants delivered by Champions For Learning

Suncoast Credit Union, Florida's Support Education License Plate Fund, Lucie and Jenny MacCarthy Music Fund of the Community Foundation of Collier County, Perna-Rose Foundation for Hope and Ray Harman in memory of Karen Harman all provided funding for grants. 

Lisa Church, the vice president of Champions For Learning, said the grants help students primarily in two ways: experiencing their teacher's project and watching how a community values teachers. 

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Mary Pierce's students cheer with their thumbs up as their teacher is presented with a grant from Champions For Learning on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, at Avalon Elementary School in East Naples.

Champions For Learning is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and Church said the nonprofit's investments in classrooms through grants dates back to its second year. 

Teachers submitted their grant applications through an online grant portal, which community members can visit, research teachers' grants and support them by funding it. 

"It is 100% that goes to that teacher," Church said. 

Lely High School's fine arts and foreign language department chairwoman Anna Bowe said her project, which plans to build a community garden, will let students connect and relax at a garden on campus. 

Bowe's nearly $1,500 project also provides a spot for students to sit after hours, she said. 

Maureen DeLacy, who teaches criminal justice at Lely High School, was shocked after hearing her grant was approved. 

"My grant was granted," DeLacy said. "I am so excited."

Alfonso Mancini, with Suncoast Credit Union, presents Maureen DeLacy with a grant from Champions For Learning on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, at Lely High School in East Naples.

DeLacy's project will bring fatal vision googles into her classroom to give students an impaired driving experience. The virtual reality learning is second to none, DeLacy said. 

"I love what we are doing here in the program," DeLacy said. "We do a lot of prevention on top of education, so this is really awesome."

DeLacy, a first-time grant recipient, started teaching at Lely High four years ago. She said she likes to do interactive projects with her kids, but that can get pricey. 

"The fatal vision goggles was always something I wanted to get, but they're an expensive item for a teacher to a acquire because of the cost, and that was the reason I wrote the grant."

When Champions For Learning officials walked into Avalon Elementary School teacher Mary Pierce's classroom, she screamed.

After she told her kids that they would have more access to books at "their fingertips" all of her students joined her with loud cheers. 

Mary Pierce's students cheer with their teacher after she is presented with a grant from Champions For Learning on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, at Avalon Elementary School in East Naples.

"I make them read every night and not all of them like to read, but if they get a book that they are really interested in then they are going to want to get another book," Pierce said. 

Pierce, who started at Avalon in 2007, wants her kids to be lifelong readers. She said she's applied for grants many times before. 

Pierce's small grant of $179 goes a long way, she said. Her grant will purchase 15  Sunshine State Young Readers-selected junior books for her classroom.

"They're really hard to get at the library because the whole school wants to get them," Pierce said. "So I wrote a grant.

"I'll have them for years to come."

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