Wheeler County Receives State’s Latest Rural Education Grant

The Georgia Foundation for Public Education announced the awarding of $10,000 grants Wednesday to seven rural schools and school districts. The latest awards – which will fund projects ranging from virtual reality programming to building a pollinator garden for bees – show that schools across the state aim to deliver unique experiences, often outside of the traditional classroom, to help students learn.

The funding for the foundation’s grants for rural counties comes from the sale of the Georgia “Educator” and “Support Education” license plates.

Wheeler County High School will set up an afterschool program focused on service and leadership.

“From the first disbursement of the Rural Education Fund grants, we have seen schools and districts utilize the funds to support bold, creative, and student-centric projects. The 2022-2023 grantees carry on that legacy,” foundation Executive Director Paige Pushkin said. “I cannot wait to see the work the seven 2022-2023 grant recipients accomplish.”

Separately, the state Board of Education voted Tuesday to accept $34 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund.

Around $2 million will go to expand both teleaudiology services and services and equipment for students who are blind or deaf. An additional $32 million will pay for backto- school supply supplements for educators and support personnel.