What do you get when you mix free school supplies, a $10,000 dollar check and a buffalo? A teacher with endless possibilities.
Middle school Career and Technical Education teacher Lori Taylor was full of smiles Friday morning at Cunningham Middle School, after she was surprised with a $10,000 check from Hilltop Securities.
"We are a national company that supports public entities. We did this because it aligns with our company values to give back to the community and support the work we attempt to do on behalf of our clients, like building schools," David Holleran, Chief Operating Officer of Hilltop Securities said.
Holleran said that they gave out five, $10,000 checks to foundations of teachers preferences.
They hope that the money goes back into helping students succeed.
Taylor is giving her her prize money to the Cunningham STEM program.
"I wanna bring STEM back to Cunningham. I wanna boost up our program so our kids are more hands-on. I think if they're more hands-on, they'll actually enjoy more, pay attention, do more, learn more," Taylor said.
The CTE teacher has always been involved with computer science because of her dad. However, she wanted to use that skill in a different way.
She wanted to teach it. Taylor is grateful for the award and is hopeful for the future.
She said she wants students to have a more hands-on experiences, so she plans on buying parts for robots and other projects for her students to work on.
"I am excited extremely for the possibilities. Just the money itself allows us to expand further and further. And maybe we’ll get more and more and be that STEM school once again," Taylor said.
