USD 112 awarded STEM learning grant

As part of its ongoing commitment to rural communities across the country, the Foundation for Rural Service offers aid for communities served by Rural Broadband Association members, including H&B Communications and H&B Cable Service of Holyrood, through its annual community grants program. These grants are designed to provide support to a variety of local efforts to build and sustain a high quality of life in rural America.

On Nov. 14, H&B Communications announced Central Plains USD 112 as a 2022 FRS community grant recipient, receiving a portion of $142,000 in FRS grants awarded to 31 organizations.

USD 112 Central Plains received $5,000 to partner with the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson through their LaunchLearning program for the 2022-23 school year.

Through the collaboration, USD 112 educators district-wide will have access to hands-on activities, livestreaming demonstrations, subject matter experts, lesson plans and more. The grant, coupled with access to high-speed broadband service available over H&B’s fiber-to-the-home networks in both Claflin and Holyrood, will empower the next generation of scientists to explore the world around them and beyond.

“We want to pique their (students’) curiosity and allow them time to have meaningful conversations with one another,” Central Plains Elementary School principal Jane Oeser said. “Our children love hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities, but they can be costly and time-consuming to plan. LaunchLearning will provide the lesson plans and materials for the activities while maintaining alignment with Next Generation Science Standards. Students tend to remember key concepts better when they use their hands or see what something does. Who knows? Maybe we will have a student become an astronaut someday.”