Some exciting news recently happened at Orion Junior High School in Harrisville. Sandi Tomlinson, a 9th grade Language Arts teacher, was awarded an educational grant of $2,500. This was done through Farmer`s Insurance’s “Thank Americas Teachers” program
Mrs. Tomlinson found out about this grant through her insurance agent at Farmers Insurance, who then nominated her. Farmers Insurance provides over a million dollars every year to deserving teachers. Receiving this initial grant will now allow Tomlinson to be eligible for a larger grant of $100,000 within about 6 months.
Tomlinson jumped on the idea of applying for the grant because she knew her students could use Chromebooks and she figured this could be the solution! Even though she entered the contest a week late, Tomlinson moved up the ladder quickly amongst the other deserving teachers to eventually land in the top spot. So many helping hands went into the voting process to help.
Tomlinson says, “Every day our student body, teachers, and faculty cast a vote for me and my proposal. We sent letters to parents and asked them to vote, too. They responded in great numbers!”
Messages were also sent out on Facebook, where Tomlinson asked her friends to vote for her. She tells us, “I have never seen such an outpouring of support for this great cause.”
At the end of October Tomlinson was awarded the $2500 grant. “I wanted to use the money for a couple of Chromebooks to be used in my classroom for kids who don’t have access to the internet at home,” Tomlinson says, “However, if I win the bigger grant in the next 6 months, I will be able to afford a classroom set, not to mention some excess to be kept for the future.”
Therefore, Tomlinson has chosen to give the money to Orion’s yearbook advisor, Mrs. Reed. “She needs a few new cameras desperately, and she was very instrumental in helping me win the first grant. I think she can get several snazzy cameras with all the bells and whistles, and it will benefit all the kids at Orion!”
Having started her teaching career later in life, Tomlinson chose to raise her family first and then went back to school. She taught for 5 years in Ogden School District at Mount Ogden Middle School; and then 4 more years at home with her teenage daughter who was struggling in school and then came to Orion Junior High School in 2008. This will mark her 9th year teaching 9th grade students in Language Arts.
Mrs. Tomlinson has no doubt in her mind when she says, “I just love kids! No, that’s not quite true; I just love these kids! I have people tell me all the time, ‘I could never be in a room with 36 fourteen-year-olds.’ To which I say, “I would rather be in a room with them than with high-schoolers or elementary kids!” According to Tomlinson, “9th graders are still impressionable; they still need a mentor and at times a grandma.”
For Tomlinson, the real motivator behind teaching is the fact that she truly loves her students. The kids know she loves them. She tells them so all the time and says, “At first they don’t believe me, but by the time the year ends, they know for sure!”
Tomlinson would very much like to thank Farmers Insurance and “Thank Americas Teachers” for the opportunity to win this grant. “They have been so generous. I also want to thank Chris Earnest, our principal, for the support she gave me.”
Also, her sincere thanks goes out to Amy Hall who allowed use of Orion’s library to vote, Trudy Slater who put up a table so the kids could vote between classes, Missy Reed and Jennifer Lee who made sure the kids voted before beginning their classwork.
In addition, the entire English department sent letters to parents. Jason Paige made sure there was a link on the school website. And finally, Tomlinson wants to thank Clayton Gladwell and his wife, Kate, whom she said, “Nominated me and encouraged me to go after the prize.”
Over the Christmas break Tomlinson plans to write a new proposal to be entered to win the $100,000 grant opportunity. Then the voting will begin again after the new year in 2017!
