Castaic Middle School parents, students and teachers are celebrating after a surprise announcement was made that the school won a $100,000 grant from Farmers Insurance as a part of the nationwide “Thank America’s Teachers Dream Big Teacher Challenge.”

The surprise announcement was made Monday during the school’s annual Turkey Bowl Pep Rally, and was met with excitement from seventh and eighth graders as they erupted in applause and stomped their feet on the bleachers.  

The primary use of the grant money will go towards the Castaic Middle School TV (CMSTV) program. Ro Osano, CMSTV advisor and history teacher at the campus, was a key figure in drafting the proposal and represented Castaic Middle School throughout the process.

“We have very old equipment and now the kids are going to have a totally digital studio,” said Osano. “They are going to be able to get their stories (to be) better quality… and that means the whole program is going to improve.”

Related: Castaic Middle School Is Reaching Out For Support From The Community To Win A Large Grant

With the new equipment comes a wide range of new opportunities for those students involved in CMSTV, providing them with access to experience and knowledge in the world of television and media.

“It is tremendous. This has opened up an avenue for a lot of them that I know are probably going to pursue this field when they get into high school,” explained Osano. “The kids are going to be able to take that next step up to their programs and hopefully go beyond that and do it in college and hopefully one day do it as professionals, and that is my ultimate goal.”

The grant proposal was submitted on June 30 and it was later revealed Castaic Middle School was one of the final 15 applicants. Voting then began in September and closed at the end of October.

Due to the fact that the winner of the contest was chosen by popular vote, Osano acknowledged the heavy role his community played in helping the school win the grant.

“Thank you! Thank you, thank you. It was the community — it was a community effort,” he said. “That is the awesome part about it, the community came behind it and supported it tremendously and it is something I was in awe of, because every day I would get these messages that ‘I voted today.’”

The school’s community sponsor, local Farmer’s agent Christine Gonzales, found out that Castaic Middle School had won earlier this month, and was excited to finally be able to share the good news on Monday.

“We wanted to surprise the school,” said Gonzales. “I just had to hold it in, knowing what a huge impact this is and wanting to make it special for the teacher and the kids.”

Osano is eager to put the grant money to use and create a renovated space with new equipment where students can learn technical skills, as well as writing and speaking skills.

“I have been on cloud nine since we found out we were finalists,” said Osano. “And now I’m even more excited.”

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