BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Blaine County Education Foundation has awarded a record $80,000-plus to teachers and schools in the Blaine County School District.

The awards included more than 65 Innovating Grants, providing materials beyond what teacher budgets provide. They included literacy reading decoders for Hemingway and Carey Elementary Schools and STEM coding and robotic projects for Alturas, Hailey and Hemingway schools.

And Tim Rierden, a math teacher at Wood River High School, secured BCEF funds to explore the Pythagorean Theorem where students launch rockets and calculate the altitude the rockets reach.

The money was provided by donors and grants from the Wood River Women’s Foundation and Nicholas Martin Jr. Family Foundation.

“Not only has the Education Foundation been able to award classroom and lab materials to schools but we were also able to purchase a new vision screener for BCSD nurses to efficiently and effectively test student’s vision beginning in Kindergarten,” said Kristy Heitzman, BCEF executive director.

The Blaine County Education Foundation is a 501©3 non-profit organization that raises funds to augment classroom projects and help students pursue their passion. It has, for instance, provided funds to enable students to attend robotics competitions.

The foundation does not receive any school district tax dollars.

To contribute to its Winter Fundraising Drive, visit www.supportbcef.org. Or, mail gifts to P.O. Box 253, Hailey, ID 8333.

Questions? Call Heitzman at 208-578-5449.