BECU awards grants to three local schools

In support of education in Western Washington, BECU has awarded community grants to 48 local schools, including three in the Shoreline School District. This year marks the 10th year that BECU has awarded over $100,000 in community grants to support education projects that help local students excel.

“BECU School Grants allow us to support programs that can have a positive impact on the lives of students, but lack funding needed to make them a reality,” said Tom Berquist, Senior Vice President of Member Strategies. “It means a lot to BECU to be able to support schools in providing tools, experiences and resources to help give kids the best education possible.”

BECU School Grants are given out each year to local schools to help fund educational materials, programs and events, environmental learning trips, and technology tools such as calculators, microscopes, electronic dictionaries and more. Grants are awarded in three categories: Financial Literacy, Environmental Sustainability, and Technology Tools. The grants are given for up to $2,500 and are awarded based on each applicant’s requested dollar amount.

BECU received approximately 600 applications and narrowed it down to 48 based on eligibility of the request, impact on student learning, number of students reached with grant funds, and potential on-going use of the item or program.

In Shoreline, grants went to three elementary schools: Meridian Park, Briarcrest, and Parkwood.

Meridian Park – Technology Tools

Meridian Park School plans to use the BECU grant money to purchase MP3 listening stations. Listening stations offer high quality oral reading and can improve students’ reading and fluency skills. Students can access various literature and can self-select more challenging and diverse forms of literature as they go.

Briarcrest – Technology Tools

Briarcrest Elementary plans to use the BECU grant money to purchase a network color LaserJet printer. The academic program incorporates Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) strategies that heavily rely upon realistic, color-printed images. The GLAD program is used to help English language learners and economically disadvantaged children catch up academically with their peers.

Parkwood  – Environmental Sustainability

Parkwood Elementary plans to use their BECU grant money to hire Julie Luthy, an environmental educator, to teach a lesson in each of the 16 classrooms and lead 2 field trips. Her hands-on lessons and field trips are meant to have a lasting impact on the students and the teachers so that environmental concepts will be incorporated into future lesson plans.

About BECU

Governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, BECU is a not-for-profit credit union owned by the members. Profits are returned to the members in the form of better rates and fewer fees. With more than 750,000 members and more than $10 billion in assets, BECU is the largest credit union in Washington and one of the top five financial cooperatives in the country. BECU currently operates over 40 locations in the Puget Sound region. All Washington state residents are eligible to join.