North Texas teachers surprised with $200K in grants
DALLAS - It was a big day for some North Texas teachers. They were part of a surprise presentation awarding $200,000 in grants.
The Cotton Bowl Foundation and College Football Playoff Foundation honored teachers with the University of North Texas at Dallas’ Call Me Mister program, Urban Teachers and Educate Texas.
Each organization’s chosen teacher was also surprised with a $1,000 gift card and tickets to this year’s Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic football game.
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"Each year, teachers the expectation is that we’ll have the proper funding for our classrooms. But teachers can spend upwards of $1,000 just to support their classrooms," said Lecharia Scales, a teacher at G.W. Truett Elementary School in Dallas.
The funding she was awarded means she won't have to do as much begging and pleading to support her students this year.
"When we don’t have funding, we figure out a way to make it work. That means it comes out of our pocket, or we beg, plead and borrow from those around us like family, through donors or other ways around us so that we have what we need to support our learners," Scales said.
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John Solano is a student at UNT Dallas who has been studying to become a teacher.
"It’s a little bit nerve-wracking to be honest," he said. "There is a teacher shortage. So, knowing that there is a certain need, it can be a bit overwhelming at times. But the programs like Call Me Mister, the courses here with the teachers that have experience themselves in the field, and obviously the financial support from Call Me Mister and the grants and things of that nature, it really helps support us to ease the burden."
Teacher shortages have a direct impact on educational opportunities for students. These foundations hope to elevate the profession by empowering teachers.