King Middle School teacher Karen MacDonald is one of 30 teachers
nationwide to receive a $2,500 grant through the Farmers Insurance
“Thank a Million Teachers” program.
Thomas Hyman from Farmers
Insurance and Maine State Sen. Anne Haskell presented King Middle School
students in the K-PAC after school program with the $2,500 grant check
in early December.
MacDonald, Maine’s 2014 Teacher of the Year,
and King Middle School teacher Lisa Hatch oversee the program for sixth
graders. The funds will be used for academic materials for students.
K-PAC
(King Middle School and the Parkside Community) is a program in which
students meet after school twice a week to work on learning targets and
homework. Community volunteers also support the program.
“This
was a competitive grant, with online voting deciding the results.
Teachers and community members from throughout Portland cast their votes
for the grant during the month of September,” MacDonald said. “Thank
you to Farmers Insurance, the Parkside Neighborhood Center, and all of
the faithful voters of Portland for supporting this program.”
MacDonald
noted that in the contest, “We competed against over 50 other proposals
from the Eastern part of the United States, including proposals from
big cities such as Tampa, Fla.”
According to Farmers Insurance,
"Since the beginning of the year, close to 900,000 “thank yous” have
been extended to teachers on ThankAMillionTeachers.com.
As part of the national program, Farmers has also been inviting
teachers who have been thanked on the website to submit proposals for
$2,500 grants. During the months of August and September, the public
voted on hundreds of proposals with the top six vote-getters in five
regions selected as winners. In all, Farmers has committed to donating
$1 million to teachers and education programs in 2014."
King Middle School students in the K-PAC after school program received
the $2,500 grant check in early December.