The SCV Education Foundation distributed $20,000 worth of grant materials to Santa Clarita teachers and principals on Tuesday night.

The organization approved 15 grant awards representing 12 various local schools across all five school districts at the elementary, junior high and high school levels.

“I love it, just to hear the teachers talk about why they apply for these grants and what it means for the kids and their learning environment in the classroom really makes today my favorite day,” said SCV Education Foundation Executive Director Jackie Hartman.

The various items handed out ranged from ukuleles to microscopes to robotics and programming kits, as well as costumes for a Greek drama festival.

Each recipient spoke briefly before those in attendance to give an outline of their plans for the materials and to thank the foundation.

One theme common in the majority of the remarks was the excitement of each of the teachers’ students who had learned of their incoming new learning materials.

“I have been telling my coding club for the last month or so that I’ll be bringing these robots in,” said Lori Tompkins, a seventh grade science teacher at Castaic Middle School. “We’re meeting tomorrow and I think I’m as excited as them because they keep on asking me, ‘Did you get them? Did you get them?’”

Tompkins has been selected through the grant program twice previously, awarding microscopes for her classes.

“SCV Education Foundation is the easiest grant; they spell everything right out there for you,” said Tompkins. “They tell what you need to do in order to get it, you follow the rubric and if you think outside the box, they back you and I think that’s awesome.”

The full list of this year’s recipients is available here.

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