Small Idaho school in the running for $100,000 grant

LEADORE — One of the smallest schools in the state is asking Idaho residents to help it win a $100,000.

Leadore School is currently in eighth place for a nationwide grant from Farmers Insurance, which will award six schools with the most votes with $100,000 apiece in December.

History teacher Kevin Ramsey drafted a proposal for the money earlier this year. He says $100,000 would go far in a district that only serves about 60 students. He hopes to use the money to upgrade the school shop (now a storage facility), build a greenhouse and pave a fitness trail for students and community members.

The improvements will help the school’s emphasis on vocational studies.

“As I’ve outlined all of this to the kids, I’ve told them ‘this will be your legacy,'” Ramsey said. “I want to give them skills to be in charge of their own learning.”

Ramsey is also asking people from around the state to vote for his proposal by clicking here.

Anyone can vote daily until Nov. 1

The Leadore School serves K-12 students and is located in the South Lemhi area near the Montana border. View Ramsey’s proposal video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFvejkyJXvM

East Idaho Hospital awards schools with $10,000

BLACKFOOT – A local hospital has awarded three East Idaho schools with $3,500 apiece.

Bingham Memorial Hospital recently announced the winners of its second annual back-to-school coloring contest. The winning entries — submitted by elementary and middle school students throughout East Idaho — were selected by a panel of hospital employees. Each of the winners received $3,000 for their school and $500 for their classroom. They also each received a new bike and helmet.

Students competed in any one of three categories: kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade and sixth through eighth grade.

Moreland Elementary School’s Logan Shepherd won the prize in the youngest category.

“I just like to draw,” he said. “It was pretty cool to win a contest doing it.”

Hospital CEO Jeff Daniels said the hospital wanted to put some money where he thought the community could use it best: local K-12 schools.

“We know that schools in Idaho have it tough sometimes,” he said. “This is just one way that we thought we could give back to something so important for kids.”

Other winners included:

• Fifth grader Lilia Olsen of Jefferson Elementary School in Pocatello.
• Eight grader Josh Jones of Sugar Salem Junior High in Sugar City.

Administrators and teachers said they’ll use the money to help cover everything from new iPads to textbooks.

Click here to see this year’s winning pictures.

Students can now apply for Opportunity Scholarship

BOISE — The State Board of Education is accepting applications for the 2017-2018 Idaho Opportunity Scholarship.

The scholarship is available to Idaho resident students who enrolled in an Idaho college or university as an undergraduate in the 2017-2018 school year. Recipients can get up to $3,000 in a single school year for tuition and fees.

To be eligible, current high school seniors or undergraduate college students must:

• Have an unweighted, high school or college cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
• Graduate from an Idaho public or private high school or its equivalent by the end of the spring 2017 semester. Home schooled students and those with a GED can also apply.
• Complete the online State Board of Education scholarship application by March 1, 2017
• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) prior to March 1, 2017
• Enroll as a full-time undergraduate student at a state colleges or university that accepts the scholarship

For 2016-17, $10 million was appropriated for the scholarship by the Legislature — resulting 3,452 scholarships at an average of $2,885 per award.

The scholarship funds are available for one school year.  Recipients must re-apply each year and are eligible to receive the scholarship for a maximum of four years.  The application for this scholarship cycle is available earlier than in previous years to coincide with earlier availability of the FAFSA.

Additional information regarding the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship, other scholarships offered by the State Board of Education, and the FAFSA can be found at the Next Steps web site or by calling Joy Miller, Scholarship Program Manager, at (208) 332-1595.

Recipients are selected based on financial need and academic merit.