This week’s One Class at a Time recipient is Helena High School Spanish teacher Paola Torres.
Torres is helping reduce her classroom’s paper waste.
Jenna Austad of First Interstate Bank was joined by KXLH to surprise Torres at Helena High with a $250 check.
The Spanish teacher was ecstatic when she heard the news she’d been selected for a One Class at a Time grant.
“This is so great, thank you so much!” said Torres. “It makes me so happy we’re going to have the resources to help my students have so much more fun.”
The money from the grant will be used to purchase 30 dry-erase whiteboards for her students.
Torres had used paper in a clear sleeve as makeshift whiteboards to replace paper quizzes, in-class assignments and games.
“They were given to my by a colleague, her teaching assistant had made them,” said Torres, “And they are nice but they are easy to break. They’re not easy to handle.”
Torres will also purchase “desk pockets” for her students to store flash cards in to help practice their vocabulary and grammar.
For more than a decade, First Interstate Bank and MTN have partnered for the One Class at a Time grant.
The mission of the grant is to foster educational opportunities for local teachers and students.
A panel of retired teachers and school officials select the grant recipients from a pool of submitted applications.
For more information about One Class at a Time, including how to apply, visit here.
-Reported by John Riley/MTN News
