Teacher Testimonials

Teacher testimonials from Innovation Grant recipients

Grant Amount: $1,000 
Teacher: Josh Hall, Construction Teacher at Statesboro High School

"I received one of the innovation grants in the fall of 2020. The funds I received were used in part to renovate an old travel trailer camper into a mobile classroom. During the project a student made a comment I will never forget,  'Coach Hall, you are teaching us something that we can use one day, I have learned more this year than I have in a long time.' It was with the help of the  Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education that we were able to get as far as we did on the project. Two Statesboro High School students shared the project in a state competition in the spring of 2021 and were awarded a first-place gold medal for their work."

The Georgia Department of Education and its Career, Technical & Agricultural Education (CTAE) Division also awarded Statesboro High School’s construction career pathway and its SkillsUSA chapter a Certificate of Excellence in part due to this project.

Students created a mobile construction classroom to provide various interactive and hands-on learning stations. Students began with an old camper which they’ve demolished to the chassis, and then they did the framing, flooring, roofing, applied vinyl siding, and installed electrical and Internet wiring.

Grant Project: Southeast Bulloch High School Audio Visual & Film Career Pathway
Teacher:  Renee Rogers, Audio Visual & Film Teacher

"Thank you so much for the equipment we received! The students really enjoyed learning this new technology at our first football game."

Grant Project: Stilson Elementary Stingers After School Garden Club
Teacher:  Jenny Hendrix, Stilson STEM Lab Teacher

"Thanks to a $1,000 Innovation Grant from the Foundation,  we built and outdoor classroom and container gardens to establish an After School Garden Club. It was so successful we expanded it to our entire school  through our STEM lab. Now all of our students participate in gardening and growing vegetables and herbs and learn about the science behind it.

We have harvested lettuce, radishes, and dill.  All of the vegetables and herbs harvested have been served in our cafeteria for school lunches. Just this week, my first graders were able to cut fresh Basil to be used in the spaghetti sauce for lunch at school.  I have been amazed at the number of children that have never planted a garden or even seen vegetables grow.

View pictures of our progress here (PDF)

Grant Project: Reggie Dawson Memorial Math Tournament
Teachers: Estella Newkirt and Julia P. Bryant Elementary School Math Department

Thanks to an annual Innovation Grant of $1,000, the Foundation has made the Reggie Dawson Memorial Math Tournament possible for third and fourth-grade children in Bulloch County for the past four years.  In May 2017, six elementary schools participated with 66 third graders and 76 fourth graders competing.  The tournament is open to any public, private, charter or homeschool association in Bulloch County.

Students compete in individual computation and team ciphering skills and the experience helps provide a STEM learning experience and prepare them to compete in the Penny Sikes Math Tournament and GA Southern  Math Tournament in grades 5-12.  

This grant allows children to participate for free without a registration fee. The grant covers trophies, supplemental practice materials for math coaches, an event test writer, and after-hours custodial support

The competition was named for a former Statesboro High School math teacher, Reggie Dawson, whose life and career were cut tragically short when he lost his battle with cancer in 2010.  Local math teachers wanted to honor his memory and the excellent example he set for team work and academic excellence by naming the tournament in his memory.

Grant Project:  Forensics in the Classroom
Teacher:  Anna Spence, Portal Middle High School
"Thanks to a $663 Innovation Grant from, I was able to set up a forensic crime lab in my classroom for grades 6-8 to use scientific methods to solve crimes by performing hands-on experiments."

Grant Project:  Southeast Bulloch High School
Teacher:  Concella Holder, Counselor

"I am so thankful that we were able to introduce our Random Acts of Kindness Initiative at Southeast Bulloch High School during the 2020-2021 school year as a result of the Bulloch County Foundation for Public Education grant initiative.

Our initial goals were to enhance social emotional skills and school climate by expanding student empathy and compassion in our school and community through performing and recognizing Random Acts of Kindness.  The funds from this project were used to purchase monthly goodies, snacks, candy, lunches, and drinks for random student drawings. Additionally,  we sent home words of encouragement cards to random virtual students. 

We definitely saw a difference in our school whether it was hearing about it from the faculty, staff, and students or just seeing various students treat each other with kindness. They looked forward to our weekly announcements and messages. There was just something special about teaching students how to be kind.  This initiative definitely was a constant reminder to always treat people the way that you want to be treated."