Atwood (left) did not know she was the grand
prize winner before the December event.
MISD SCHOOL WINS $100K FOR
AGRICULTURE PROGRAM
W
hat would you do with $100,000? Staff
members at Tarver-Rendon Elementary
School are going to expand their agricultural
leadership program with it.
“I was completely elated and shocked and so
excited for this campus and the great things we’re
going to get to use this money towards,” said
Shaye Atwood, agricultural science and STEM
integration specialist. “We’ve been hoping and
praying for this.”
A campus writing committee applied for Farmers
Insurance’s Dream Big Teacher Challenge in the
fall. As part of the application process, educators
nationwide submitted proposals explaining
the impact the money would have on their
community.
The $100,000 will fund an outdoor learning
facility, which will be used as a barn and
classroom. The money will also be spent on
beautification projects, upgrades to garden
beds and new machinery for the garden and
greenhouse.
The proposal took four months to write, but staff
members said it was all worth it because Tarver-
Rendon Elementary School made it to the final
round—the only school in Texas to do so. Out of
the 15 remaining finalists, five would win the
grand prize.
“We are committed to teaching children about
agriculture and the huge importance that it has
in our everyday lives, whether it’s growing our
own food or teaching children where these things
come from, from the ground up,” said Norwood.
“If we can teach kids and families about those
sorts of things and get them excited about
different jobs that are in the ag field, then we feel
like we’ve done our part.”
The grand prize winners were chosen through
online voting, and the school worked hard
from October to November to get the Mansfield
ISD community to vote for its grant. A few
weeks later, the school’s principal received an
unexpected call.
“Our Farmers agent called me and wanted to
know if I wanted the bad news or the good news
first,” recalled Jamie Norwood, principal of
Tarver-Rendon Elementary School. “I said that I
wanted the bad news. He said, ‘Well, you can’t tell
anybody. We won the $100,000 grant.’”
Norwood had to keep the secret from staff
until the special reveal took place on Dec. 5.
Representatives from Mansfield ISD and Farmers
Insurance were in attendance to surprise the
campus with the great news.
Different grade levels have responsibilities
at the school’s garden and discovery park.
15
M A NSFIELD ISD.O RG