Beaufort County Schools students will have new opportunities to explore the sciences, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program, part of the Bayer Fund. The grant comes to the school system through the efforts of four local farmers, Amanda Peele, Cindy Douglas, Lynn Ross and Steve Griffin, each of whom BCS for the grant.

“We want to say thank you to all the farmers that nominated us,” said Beaufort County Schools Secondary Curriculum Director Emily Myers during a presentation at the Beaufort County Board of Education meeting Tuesday. “This grant will be used for our students in grades four through eight, in order to purchase science kits so our students can have those experiences to be scientists and engineers and investigate real-world problems.”

Once nominated by the farmers, BCS Student Services Director Ashley Padgett wrote the winning grant. BCS is one of two school systems in North Carolina to receive funds.

For each grant-winning school, teachers, students and community members develop plans to create more engaging and innovative STEM programs. Grow Rural Education grants have helped schools purchase an array of STEM-related materials, such as augmented-reality sandboxes, weather-forecasting and robotics equipment.

“America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education is a unique program because farmers play an important role throughout the process, from nominating schools to selecting the grant winners,” said Al Mitchell, President, Bayer Fund. “With the incredible support of local farmers, countless grant-winning schools have shared with us how Grow Rural Education funds have made their STEM programs more engaging and, in several instances, positively impacted test scores.”

To qualify for a Grow Rural Education grant, farmers nominated a school or school district to compete for a merit-based grant of either $10,000 or $25,000. School districts that were nominated then submitted a grant application describing their STEM-focused project. Grow Rural Education’s Farmer Advisory Council, consisting of approximately 30 farmer leaders from across the country, reviewed the finalist applications and selected the winning school districts, including Beaufort County Schools.

Since Grow Rural Education began in 2011, it has awarded more than $18 million to more than 1,000 schools in rural communities across the United States.