Ten Local Teachers Get AITC Grants

Ten McLean County teachers will receive grant funding from Illinois Ag in the Classroom to add books and projects related to food and farming to their curriculum.

Recipients include:

  • Jennifer Burns, Carlock, Project Grant: “Ag Bags of Books”
  • Jason Wynn, Colene Hoose, Biographies Book Grant
  • Kelly Reardon, Fox Creek, Project Grant: “From Farm to Table”
  • Lori Stuart, LeRoy Elementary, Biographies Book Grant
  • Robert Harrison, Oakdale, Graphic Novels Book Grant
  • Shawn Schwerman, Parkside Jr. High, Graphic Novels Book Grant
  • Jennifer Corbly, Pepper Ridge, Project Grant: “Decomposing & Composting”
  • Suzanne Schertz, Prairieland, Graphic Novels Book Grant
  • Katie Sandage, Stevenson, Graphic Novels Book Grant
  • Tina Thomas, Stevenson, Biographies Book Grant

The grants offer teachers the opportunity to expand their libraries with accurate ag books or purchase supplies for lesson plans related to food and farming.

The Biographies Book Grant allowed teachers to select from titles about Henry Ford, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Deere or George Washington Carver.

The ag-related graphic novels available through the grant covered the Dust Bowl, pasteurization, Levi Strauss and George Washington Carver.

The Illinois Ag in the Classroom teacher grants are offered annually thanks to funding from the IAA Foundation, the charitable arm of Illinois Farm Bureau.