42 teachers get grants to boost classrooms in Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro

WEYERS CAVE, Va. (WHSV) - 42 teachers in the Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro area will have a little extra cash to help students grow in the classroom this year.

This is all thanks to the Valley Alliance for Education, which has given back to the school systems for more than 30 years.

“We all know family, friends, teachers and we all know that they always spend out of their own pocket to fund their classrooms, you know budgets can be sometimes tight, tighter than other times and it’s just things teachers want to do in their classrooms that aren’t easy to fund from a budgetary prospective so when they have great ideas, when they have great learning opportunities for their kids for their classrooms they can apply for a grant,” Andrew Deitz, board member for the Valley Alliance for Education said.

32 grants for 42 teachers serving more than 5,000 kids totaling $42,707.91 raised by the Valley Alliance for Education for these grants.

“I’m a Staunton City resident, I’m an elementary school mom and I think it’s really impactful to be able to put money directly back into those classrooms,” Liz Fravel, incoming president for Valley Alliance for Education said.

Valley Alliance for Education partners with the Community Foundation of the Blue Ridge for these grants.

Deitz said to date they’ve given close to one million dollars to teachers through these grants.

Deitz and Fravel send their thanks to the teachers and admin in schools and also the donors who make the grants possible.

A full list of the teachers awarded and what they intended to use their grants for is below.