Seguin ISD classrooms surprised with grant money

Seguin, TX, USA / Seguin Today
Cindy Aguirre

Inaugural Roland and Jane Blumberg STEM Grant presented
(Seguin) — Surprise after surprise is how Jill Nash, the new executive director for the Seguin Education Foundation, describes her first experience in handing out grant money to local teachers and their classrooms. On Thursday morning, a large gathering of SEF board members, school officials, and members of the Seguin High School Matador Band traveled across the district surprising those teachers who not only applied for the grant but who have spent some time dreaming of how they wanted to enhance learning for all students.

Nash says the SEF SurPRIZE Patrol is the most exciting part of ensuring that those innovative tools and curriculum that aren’t covered by the regular school budget make it into the hands of teachers who are willing to go that extra mile. She says thanks to fundraising and community contributions, over $60,000 was again presented to various classrooms.

“It was an absolute surprise. The only person who knew was the principal and they did a wonderful job with keeping it super secret.  

So, we busted open the doors and the band started playing. We clapped and cheered all along the way and surprised the teachers at their classrooms,” said Nash.

This latest round of grants was also made extra special thanks to new money that was donated to the SEF. Explaining the legacy gift that has been donated by the Blumberg Family was SEF Board President Debbie Magin. Magin says the inaugural grant made to the Seguin High School Naval Jr. ROTC Program is the first of many.

“We are very fortunate to receive a special gift from a foundation that was closing down and they gave the money to the Seguin Education Foundation and all they were requesting was for us to recognize their mom and dad. While they were very special people in Seguin, it’s Roland and Jane Blumberg. So, we have decided to create the Roland and Jane Blumberg STEM Grant and you are the first recipients of that grant and we are excited about your project and I know that if Mr. and Mrs. Blumberg were alive and seeing this, they would be thrilled to see what you were going to be doing with the students and this drone project,” said Magin.

Sharing his excitement and explaining more about this drone project was Raul Mendoza, the Naval Science instructor at SHS.

“The grant is to start up our Matador Drone Operators Group for our brand new drone program and we want to concentrate on precision flying with the drones. It’s a huge honor. I can’t wait to share this with the cadets. They don’t know yet. So, I’m very excited to let my class know right now about this huge honor. Thank you to the Blumberg’s for us to be the first ones. It’s such a huge honor,” said Mendoza.

After awarding the drone program $4,999, SEF board members marched down the hallway surprising the construction trades department with another large round of SEF dollars totaling, $4,985.

Grateful for the donation was Instructor Jason Rice.

“We applied for a grant to help us kind of further our construction trades program and it was so that we could add specifically more real world components for electrical, plumbing and commercial framing. Our kids have been doing a lot of wood framing the last year and a half or so and now there’s opportunities to use metal and more commercial techniques but those are specific tools,” said Rice.

Rice says the grant comes at a perfect time for the high school program. He says thanks to local Businessman Carlos Moreno, the program, over the last few months, has branched out by launching a construction trades booster club. He says this community partnership is helping to redefine the scope of the program and what it can offer the students. He says the education grant is just more evidence that the community of Seguin supports its kids.

“There’s very few 15 year olds that know I want to be an electrician but if they get the opportunity to experience that type of work as an electrician or doing some HVAC, then through expanding the horizons, letting them know there are other opportunities out there, we have so many opportunities for kids in Seguin to leave high school and either go to a trade school, go into the Texas FAME program where after two years of working while you learn, no loans, no debt, they can be making 70 grand a year in our manufacturing around here. We’ve got apprenticeships for electrical, apprenticeships for plumbing. We are working on finalizing some in the HVAC industry, different people, different partners — if you are reading this or hearing about it — please get in touch with me and let me know if you are interested in hiring high school kids. We have 10 graduates just out of the  construction trades program this year and my goal is to make sure by Spring Break, they all have a school that they are admitted to, an apprenticeship program or a job that they are headed for,” said Rice.

This year’s SurPRIZE Patrol awarded a total of 18 grants to various classrooms across the Seguin ISD.

A majority of funds for the annual grants are raised during the SEF’s annual Mardi Gras fundraiser. This year’s event is scheduled for Feb. 22, 2024. Those wishing to donate to the non-profit organization are asked to contact the SEF office at 830-379-0325.

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