California Retired Teachers Association
Sue Breyer | CalRTA Division 33 VP
Summer vacation may have started, but three local teachers are already thinking about next year’s students. Randomly selected from over 230 applicants at CalRTA’s recent June luncheon meeting, local educators Holly Fratt, Nancy Excell, and Baylee Gerges each received a $100 Teacher Grant from the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA) Division 33 to be spent on classroom needs. CalRTA offers sixteen $100 Teacher Grants each year to public school teachers in Hemet, San Jacinto, Menifee, Romoland and Nuview School Districts.
Holly Fratt teaches 7th and 8th grade math at Menifee Valley Middle School in Menifee. Excited about receiving the grant, she exclaimed, “Whoop whoop! Thank you! My classroom is in need of more glow day supplies! I plan to buy glow sticks for the kiddos, highlighters, glow in the dark chalk markers to write on the tables, and expo markers for the whiteboards. I’ll also purchase neon paper for the stations. We’ve had two glow days this year and the kids love it! So much excitement, engagement, and love for math!”
Hemet’s Little Lake Elementary School teacher Nancy Excell explains, “I am a reading interventionist, so I would like to purchase materials to help support teachers in their Tier 2 instruction. I am also always looking for appropriate reading materials for my students who I see for Tier 3 support. What a wonderful surprise! Thank you all for all you do!”
Fourth grade elementary teacher at Boulder Ridge Elementary School in Romoland, Baylee Gerges, loves flair pens, sparkling water, post-its, and most of all… her students! “I am in need of more dice, beads, counters, and playdough for math games and activities,” Gerges explains. “I also plan to buy new scissors and glue sticks with the money. Thank you so much!”
In addition to protecting teacher pensions and fighting for Social Security fairness, the California Retired Teachers Association also strongly supports public education. In addition to the 16 $100 Teacher Grants offered each school year, CalRTA Division 33 also offers eleven $1000 scholarships to local seniors planning to enter the teaching profession. For more information about CalRTA Division 33’s Teacher Grants, or to access an application form, go to their website at div33.calrta.org then click on Scholarships and Grants. The Teacher Grant program will resume in September 2023.
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