Northeast Iowa – More than 3,100 students now have an opportunity, they may have
otherwise missed, to learn firsthand about Iowa’s rich agricultural heritage. During the
third year of the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) Bus Grant
Program, $12,000 has been awarded to 48 schools within the Heritage Area; helping
cover the costs of field study trips to 24 different SSNHA Partner Sites.
The Bus Grant Program, which is part of the SSNHA Education Scholarship Fund, helps
cover transportation costs of field study trips to designated SSNHA Partner Sites.
Grants are awarded on a first-received, first-funded basis to accredited Pre K-12 public,
private or charter schools located in the Heritage Area; with a maximum of $350 per
school building.
“Over the course of the last 3 years Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area has
distributed $29,000 to local schools, we believe these funds help connect students to
their agricultural heritage and we are excited to help students attend field trips in the
Heritage Area.” commented SSNHA President, Don Short.
Schools receiving grants include: East Union, Ames; Bellevue Elementary, Bellevue;
Marquette Catholic Schools, Bellevue; Northeast Hamilton, Blairsburg; Aquin
Elementary, Cascade; Grant Elementary, Cedar Rapids; Harrison Elementary, Cedar
Rapids; Hoover Elementary, Cedar Rapids; Monroe, Cedar Rapids; Taylor Elementary,
Cedar Rapids; Viola Gibson Elementary, Cedar Rapids; Lincoln Elementary, Charles
City; Eisenhower, Davenport; Decorah Middle School, Decorah; Bryant Elementary,
Dubuque; Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School, Dubuque; Table Mound Elementary,
Dubuque; Dunkerton Community School, Dunkerton; Robert Blue Middle School, Eagle
Grove; Heritage Christian School, Eldridge; Nixon Elementary, Hiawatha; West
Elementary, Independence; Helen Lemme Elementary, Iowa City; Janesville School
District, Janesville; Cardinal Elementary, Maquoketa; St. Joseph School, Marion;
Nashua-Plainfield, Nashua; Nevada Community School District, Nevada; New Hampton
Middle School, New Hampton; St. Joseph Community School, New Hampton; Benton
Community Schools, Norway; Oelwein Middle School, Oelwein; Preston Elementary,
Preston; Trinity Catholic School, Protivin; Riceville Community School, Riceville;
Olmsted Elementary, Urbandale; Rolling Green Elementary, Urbandale; Dr. Walter
Cunningham School For Excellence, Waterloo; Expo Alternative High School, Waterloo;
Lincoln Elementary, Waterloo; Kingsley Elementary, Waterloo; Lou Henry Elementary,
Waterloo; Lowell Elementary, Waterloo; Waterville Elementary, Waterville; East
Elementary, Waukon; Saint Francis of Assisi, West Des Moines; and North Fayette,
West Union.
SSNHA is currently working to raise funds for the 2010-2011 school year. To donate to
the SSNHA Education Scholarship Fund, visit www.silosandsmokestacks.org and click
on “Giving” along the bottom bar.
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 49 federally designated heritage
areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. The Heritage
Area covers 37 counties in the northeast quadrant of Iowa. Interstate 80 borders it on
the south and Interstate 35 borders it on the west. Through a network of sites, programs
and events, SSNHA interprets farm life, agribusiness and rural communities – past and
present.
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