Several Howell County rural schools have gotten funding that will help buy learning materials and equipment, including Glenwood R-8, Howell Valley R-1, and Richards R-5.
The grants total $12,621 and are from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) in partnership with the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation and Commerce Trust.
Glenwood received $5,000 to replace an outdated art ceramics kiln, in order to provide students with hands-on sculpting experiences, Howell Valley got $2,621 to update kindergarten through eighth grade science lab equipment, and Richards will use their $5,000 grant to purchase level-appropriate reading material for kindergarten through third grade students to support updated literacy instruction.
“Schools are the cornerstones of so many towns across our region, and we know how often teachers spend out-of-pocket to improve their classrooms,” said Jill Reynolds, senior vice president at Commerce Trust and chair of the Coover Foundation grant selection committee. “We are grateful to provide this funding to elevate learning opportunities for students in rural communities.”
A total of $80,000 was granted to 18 rural school districts in the Coover/Rural Schools Partnership Learning Enhancement program. For a complete list of recipients, go to cfozarks.org/coover-rsp.
Julia Dorothy Coover, a 30-year Commerce employee, founded the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation in 1992 to honor her husband’s memory. The private foundation, managed by Commerce Trust, has awarded about $8 million in grants to benefit the Ozarks since its partnership with the CFO began in 2001.
The CFO founded the Rural Schools Partnership in 2009 as part of its regional commitment to schools as anchors for rural communities. Through the partnership, it manages funds for rural school districts and school foundations. In addition to the collaboration with the Coover Charitable Foundation, key programs include the Ozarks Teacher Corps and the Youth Empowerment Project.
The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is the region’s largest public charitable foundation serving donors, nonprofit partners and more than 50 regional affiliate foundations, including the Community Foundation of West Plains Inc., with assets totaling $427 million as of June 30, 2023.
CFO’s mission is to improve the quality of life for everyone in central and southern Missouri through resource development, community grant making, collaboration and public leadership.
