The SIA Foundation awarded a record number of grants today, including three to TSC educators. The grants, totaling nearly $23,000, will enhance music at Harrison High School and STEM and science instruction at East Tipp Middle School.

Harrison choir teacher Samantha Wagner received about $12,000 to purchase a digital hybrid piano for the school’s auditorium. The new instrument will provide high-quality sound for concerts and events without the challenges of moving and maintaining the school’s acoustic grand piano. “This allows us to increase community engagement by being able to provide expanded programing such as student recitals, guest artists and community events,” says Wagner. “The new piano will also reduce the risk of damage to the existing grand piano by not having to move it out of the choir room.”

The SIA Foundation awarded East Tipp engineering and technology teacher Steven Elwood a $3,517 grant to introduce sixth graders to MiniSphero robots. The small, app-powered robots give students an opportunity to learn coding. “This early exposure not only strengthens digital literacy but also empowers all learners, especially underrepresented students in technology, to see themselves as creators and innovators,” says Elwood. “With MiniSpheros, learning comes to life through movement, creativity and play. It lays the foundation for future success in computer science and beyond.”

East Tipp science teacher Christina Schmidt received a $7,440 grant to replace the school’s 30 year old microscopes with updated digital models and a storage cart. The new equipment will allow students across science, special education and technology classrooms to capture images, analyze data and better observe the world around them. “It’s our hope that this kind of technology gets middle schoolers excited about exploring the world around them,” Schmidt says. “We also hope this will create a desire to take more targeted STEM classes or help students narrow down paths of interest as they develop their college and career readiness plans.”