POWERGRAMS

9 Students in Shelby Corcoran's classroom are not separated by 6 feet – they sit together in groups of six with only clear plastic between them. The pandemic for many kids has, at worst in their minds, kept them at home, at other times had them part time in classes on rotating schedules or, at best, seen them socially distanced inside more familiar school seings. But Corcoran thought the ideal coronavirus compromise would be leing masked students mingle with friends in a sanitary seing. "I was able to purchase shields to go around each of the students' desks," said Corcoran, who teaches fourth graders at Eufaula Elementary School and bought the shields through a grant from the Alabama Power Foundation. In 2020, the foundation awarded 42 Classroom Grants totaling more than $41,000 to schools across the state. The money was given to purchase classroom materials, as well as for pandemic needs such as virtual learning, sanitation supplies and to support emotional needs of students and teachers. Prior to the foundation grant, Corcoran said she received a donation from one parent but was anticipating having to pay the majority of the expense for shields herself. Corcoran usually spends about $300 of her own money each school year to meet her students' academic needs. "We do get some instructional money from the school but once it's gone, if there's something else you really want or something you really need, you have to take it out of your own pocket," Corcoran said. The Central High School and Troy University graduate has been teaching in Eufaula for nearly five years. She and her husband, Joe, have a son, Henry, who is nearly 3. Teachers statewide getting boost from classroom grants EDUCATION Students in Corcoran's class at Eufaula Elementary School are safer behind plastic shields.

• Cover