The West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce and Adopt-A-School Committee presented checks to five area teachers during the Ouachita Parish School Board Meeting on Tuesday. These five teachers were the winners of the 2025 Building Bridges Grant from the Chamber’s Adopt-A-School Program.
The grant program is in its second year and had double the amount of applicants from the year prior. The five teachers participated in a competitive application process that was reviewed by the committee to receive funding. This grant will allow them to purchase materials to better present educational topics to their students.
"On behalf of our entire school community, I want to express our sincere gratitude to the WM-WO Chamber of Commerce for their support of our teachers in the Ouachita Parish School System,” said Todd Guice, OPSB Superintendent. “These grants help to further equip the great and innovative work that our teachers are providing our students across our district."
The projects funded are:
Shelby Hardey, Claiborne Elementary, STEAM Fridays: Ms. Hardey plans to expand her classroom’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) challenges to allow her students to build, thrive and to creatively solve difficult problems in a variety of ways. “STEAM is one of the most engaging parts of my week. This grant will allow me to continue to push them to build problem-solving skills, and it allows them opportunities to grow while learning to work with others.”
Samantha Murphy, Shady Grove Elementary, Math Stackers: Ms. Murphy believes that Math Stackers are the solution to helping her students become critical thinkers. She also uses Math Stackers to build numeracy skills in her Kindergarten students. “The use of manipulatives and multisensory opportunities will increase their numeracy skills. Our students need a multisensory approach to create experiences that are memorable and help to close the gap that many students arrive at school having.”
Stewart Felkel, Sterlington Middle, Guitar Class: Mr. Felkel launched the SMS guitar program last school year. By being awarded this grant, he can accommodate the growing interest of the elective and add an Advanced Guitar course next school year. “As the only program of its kind in the region, our guitar classes have already participated in school performances, with plans to extend into community events. This initiative fills a crucial need by engaging students who may not have previously participated in school music programs, fostering creativity and self-expression.”
Kristina Peters, Good Hope Middle, Annotating with Document Cameras:
Mrs. Peters plans to use her grant money to purchase document cameras for teachers in the ELA department. These cameras will help enhance the process of annotating passages significantly. “Annotations in middle school ELA are crucial. They encourage active reading by prompting students to interact with the text beyond simply reading the words. By highlighting key passages, asking questions, making inferences, and summarizing, students deepen their comprehension and engage with the material on a higher level.”
Amy Cady, West Monroe High, Print the Parish’s Future, Empowering Creativity Through 3D Design in the Classroom and Beyond: Students in Ms. Cady’s class will benefit from this grant as they design and 3D print a custom smartphone stand that securely holds a smartphone in both landscape and portrait orientations, while celebrating an element of Louisiana or local culture. “The integration of a local element allows students to think creatively and foster discussions about what makes our community distinctive, as well as worth celebrating.”
The Adopt-A-School program pairs individual companies or organizations with schools to develop and execute mutually beneficial endeavors. Schools show improvement when businesses and educators focus on mutual goals. The Adopt-A-School program helps bring needed resources and volunteers from a variety of sources – businesses, religious organizations, civic organizations, social service agencies and higher education.
"We are thrilled to support these outstanding educators through the 2025 Building Bridges Grant,” said Kris Kelley, Executive Director at West Monroe West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce. “The overwhelming response to this year’s program underscores the incredible dedication of our teachers and their commitment to enhancing student learning. By providing these grants, we’re investing in innovative classroom experiences that will have a lasting impact on our local students. It is always our honor to partner with Ouachita Parish Schools to champion education and strengthen the connection between our business community and our schools."
For more information about the Adopt-A-School program, please contact the West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce at (318) 325-1961 or email info@westmonroechamber.org
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