CFO, Coover Foundation issue $98K in grants to 24 rural schools

The Reeds Spring School District and Table Rock Career Center received $5,000 to create a student-run coffee shop operated by special education and business students. Funds will also support Kids Feeding Kids, a student-led initiative to prepare and distribute two community meals to address food insecurity.

It is one of 24 grants recently awarded by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, in partnership with the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation and Commerce Trust, to rural districts and school foundations.

The grants this year were worth a combined $98,000.

“We know schools are the heart of many rural communities, and these grants deepen those connections,” said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust and chair of the Coover Foundation grant selection committee, in a news release.

“We’re grateful to support these rural school districts, their students and communities.”

The CFO founded the Rural Schools Partnership in 2009 as part of its regional commitment because schools are anchors for rural communities, officials say.

A look at other Springfield-area grant recipients is below:

● Aurora R-VIII School District: $5,000 for the design and creation of a mural paying tribute to growing up in rural America

● Cassville R-IV School District: $5,000 to purchase podcasting equipment and a smartphone for the communications department; and to fund incentive store supplies and attendance prizes for at-risk students

● Chadwick R-1 School District: $1,459 for materials, awards and events recognizing students who demonstrate positive character traits

● Fairview R-XI School District: $5,000 to expand the school news program by upgrading digital media and broadcasting equipment

● Golden City R-III School District: $5,000 to produce a promotional video highlighting the school and community to attract families and educators

● Hollister R-V School District: $4,999 to upgrade audio/video technology that improves student-led coverage of district athletics, fine arts and community news

● Humansville R-IV School District: $554 to purchase equipment for the Humansville Police Department, providing students hands-on experience in improving local technology infrastructure

● Mansfield R-IV School District: $5,000 to purchase supplies for the Math in the Kitchen class and a veterans’ luncheon; to renovate an outdated counseling office into a student-centered mental health space; and to purchase equipment and laptops for a student-led journalism club

● Marshfield R-1 School District: $1,500 for supplies and stipends for a livestream collaboration between the district and the Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce

● Nixa R-II School District: $1,950 to fund a career exploration program with networking and mentorship opportunities for students interested in education

● Ozark R-VI School District: $2,500 to purchase shoes for students as part of the Back to School Bash

● Sarcoxie R-II School District: $4,699 to purchase a professional camera and lens for broadcasting student and community events