AMANDA STARNES, CROCKER ELEMENTARY,

AWARDED THIRD MISSOURI RETIRED TEACHERS FOUNDATION GRANT

Amanda Starnes, a Kindergarten through sixth grade STEM teacher at Crocker Elementary School of Crocker School District, wrote a grant entitled "Full STEAM Ahead", which is a new program "that will help reduce intergenerational poverty by generating interest in STEM careers and encourage the development of in-demand skills." All 295 students in grades K-5 will be serviced in all areas of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). "Through Project Lead The Way's curriculum we will provide our students with access to real-world applied learning experiences that empower them to gain the skills they need to thrive in college, career, and beyond."

A panel of retired teachers from across the region selected this grant as one of the eight recipients out of many applications for a $500 classroom grant from Region 7 MRTA.

The Missouri Retired Teachers Association and Public School Personnel is an association of retired educators whose purpose is to promote the professional, social, and economic welfare of all retired school employees while continuing to support the teacher currently in the classroom. Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation is a tax-exempt organization for raising funds to carry out certain charitable, educational, scientific, and literary purposes of the MRTA. This year MRTF is giving eight $500 classroom grants in each of its fourteen regions of the state totaling 112 grants, expending $56,000 for current teachers in the classroom. In addition, ten PEERS _grants were awarded this year in the name of Maggie Elder, PEERS retiree and Past President of MRT A.

On September 18, 2020, Amanda Starnes, her Principal, Ms. Teresa Helton, and Superintendent, Mr. Gary Doerhoff, Superintendent of Schools, and Pulaski County Area Retired School Personnel (PCARSP) were on hand at the Crocker Elementary for the presentation of the a large replica check for $500 made out to Amanda Starnes, and a certificate from Karen Miller, MRTF President, and a congratulatory letter from Missouri Retired Teacher Association Executive Director, Jim Kreider.

Region 7 Missouri Retired Teachers Association Vice-President Georgia White, congratulated Amanda Starnes at the presentation, and told her she wrote a fine grant.

In addition to Mrs. White and Christine's administrators, the following were in attendance from PCARSP and MRTA: Martin White, Monique Stokes, and Lisa Schwant, PCARSP President-Elect.

Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation President, Karen Miller, together with the Missouri Retired Teachers Association and Public School Personnel and members of both Boards, as well as Region 7 Vice-President, Georgia White, and the 28,000 plus members of MRTA across the state who raise the monies providing the grants, congratulate Amanda Starnes, of Crocker Elementary School in the Crocker R-11 School District. She has written a wonderful grant for her students, and she is eligible to write another grant each year. Congratulations on being named a winning $500 MRTF grant writer for 2020.