By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
The Bowling Green Schools Foundation has made “beyond” possible for teachers and students in the Bowling Green City School District for 25 years.
On Monday night, the foundation board welcomed current and retired teachers, past board members, city leaders and supporters of the schools to celebrate the milestone anniversary and the power of community.
Since 1999, the schools foundation “has grown into a force that has contributed over a half million dollars in direct funding to enrich the educational experiences of our students,” said BG Schools Foundation Board President Joe Edens.
Through teacher grants, student scholarships and funding for school programs from athletics to science education, “We have been there every step of the way to ensure our schools are strong and vital,” he said.
As part of the celebration, the foundation presented excellence awards to three individuals: Pat Carney, Excellence in Education; Nick Snyder, Community Member of the Year; and Scott Hamilton, Distinguished Alumnus.
The value of funding ‘beyond’
One of the first teacher grants awarded created a weather station on the top of the old junior high building, complete with a thermometer, anemometer, barometer and a wire that fed from the equipment on the roof into the third-floor science classroom of Melanie Ferguson.
She and two other science teachers submitted and received a teacher grant to provide “the rudimentary” weather equipment. What resulted was “an experience for our students that went beyond,” Ferguson said.
Not only did it go beyond the standard science curriculum, but students got to pretend to be a meteorologist, gather and analyze the data to determine a forecast, and then read the forecast on the morning announcements.
“That was something different. That was something beyond.”
Teachers and students in the district have a lot of ideas and dreams they want to implement beyond the standards. “We have been supported in achieving our beyond for the last 25 years,” Ferguson said.
Each year, the foundation supports about $25,000 worth of grants for “field trips and experiences that we can’t mimic in the classroom,” she said. They also fund in-the-classroom initiatives for flexible seating, art, music and science equipment, and the materials needed for the student-loved Glow Math, when math concepts are taught in a darkened room where everything glows under a black light.
One of the most expansive projects from the past year was the work done to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences surrounding the April 8 eclipse. With support from the foundation and the Charles A. Waggoner Science Education Fund, 10,000 eclipse glasses were provided to every student, teacher and family member within the district.
Also, the support enabled teachers throughout the district to expand their eclipse knowledge during a professional development opportunity with Dr. Kate Dellenbusch from the Bowling Green State University physics and astronomy department.
BG City School teachers “embraced the total solar eclipse and provided some type of learning opportunity for our students PreK through 12th grade,” Ferguson said. “Every student in every class had their eclipse experience enhanced because of the collaboration.”
Each spring, the foundation provides $4,000 in student scholarships “to help kids as they move beyond” high school.
The foundation support helps keep the teachers refreshed and engaged, and the students excited. Memories are created through those opportunities and are often what students will recall long after they have graduated, Ferguson said.
Bowling Green City Schools Superintendent Ted Haselman thanked the foundation and the community for their commitment and support of the schools.
“Our schools cannot achieve success in isolation. We rely on the support of our community, individuals and the foundation, all who are integral to our success in the future,” he said. “With your support, we can further enrich the educational experience, cultivate a love for learning, and equip them with the tools and skills to thrive in our ever-changing world.”
Pat Carney–Excellence in Education
Pat Carney, middle school social studies teacher and Bobcat cross country team coach, received the Excellence in Education award for being “an example and a leader in the classroom,” said Beth Nester, his nominator.
Her daughters called him “tough and fair, which is high praise from middle schoolers,” she said. “He has what it takes to learn outside the classroom and then he brings it into the building and shares it with the staff.”
He does the same with the cross-country team, always high-fiving each of the 60 team members after practices, and taking the time to know the strengths of each student and where they need help, she said.
Carney said he was “surprised, honored and a bit bewildered to be selected among a very, very large number of amazing educators in the district that go above and beyond.” He accepted the award on behalf of all the teachers “that continually go the extra mile to inspire and motivate the students to do incredible things.”
He mentioned Stephanie Conway, who spends countless hours helping students fundraise for Children’s Miracle Network; Stacey Higgins and Michelle Thomas and “the army of elementary teachers” who bring the 1BookBG program to the community’ and Beth Vaughn, who spearheaded the recent Sing Me A Story choir concert “to create a wonderful song to go along with a truly inspirational story.”
When he recently reflected on his teaching and coaching career, Carney said his goals and mission have changed over the past 26 years. When he started, his teacher goals would have related to learning about American history, government or economic standards. His coaching goals would have focused on “developing runners, with words like competitive, win and championships peppered throughout my statements.”
Today, his goals and visions as a teacher and a coach have “absolutely changed.” He wants to develop well-rounded, kind, polite, respectful and empathetic citizens.
“My role as an educator must go beyond the books, facts and figures into the area of character development,” which is an area of decline in the last decade, he said.
“If I can use historic events, especially those painful and embarrassing ones, to open doors to discuss topics such as tolerance, empathy and kindness toward others, it seems like it might have a greater impact on our society than solely focusing on content,” he said.
Pointing to the world of social media, he said, “Teenagers are absolutely bombarded with the idea they are not good enough or they need to be something or someone else.”
His goal is to help students believe in themselves, in who they are and that they can accomplish great things.
Nick Snyder–Community Member of the Year
Bowling Green native Nick Snyder has a long tradition of supporting Bowling Green schools, said his nominator, Dustin Bauman.
Snyder, a Kenwood Elementary, Bowling Green Junior High and High School alumnus, established the Townie Cup Golf Outing 24 years ago. The event started with a dozen golfers and has grown to 144 golfers and dozens of volunteers each year raising money for a variety of community and educational-related causes including the Linda Snyder, Preston Pahl and Bob Schoeni BGHS Scholarships. His fundraising efforts also support BG Youth Hockey Scholarships, stocking the Bobcat Basics Food Pantry, fifth grade camp fees and HOBY Youth Leadership Conference.
“He is passionate about family and hockey,” Bauman said. As a youth hockey coach, he led players to support the “Dear Santa” program, and last year the teams provided 82 hams for Bowling Green families and helped sort, package and deliver the gifts.
The Snyder Family Christmas Party also raises funds and fun each year. Last year’s celebration “raised enough money to pay off the entire year-end school lunch balance,” Bauman announced.
“I can talk about family, hockey and community all day long, but I don’t like talking about myself,” Snyder said. “I’m a bit humbled; I see former teachers, current teachers, administrative staff, just amazing pillars of the community. I don’t know if I really deserve this.”
As a former member of the schools foundation board, Snyder is proud of being one of the instigators for the Trivia Night fundraiser. “I love that it’s still going, and I’m proud of the great scholarships it supports,” he said.
He thanked his wife, Bridget, and children, Nina, Owen and Natalie, and his parents who taught him, “If you are able to give, you give; if you are able to do, you do,” he said. “We don’t do what we do for this (awards); we do it for the kids and the community.”
Scott Hamilton–Distinguished Alumni Award
When Edens introduced famed figure skater and 1976 Bowling Green High School alumnus Scott Hamilton, he confessed that Hamilton wasn’t getting the Distinguished Alumni Award this time, since he already received it in 1999-2000.
Instead, the award that recognizes outstanding professional achievements got a refresh this year. In addition to professional success, the foundation added philanthropy and community service to the criteria. And with the additional requirements, they named the award the Scott Hamilton Award for Distinguished Alumni.
Hamilton, who has brought fame to Bowling Green with his four national championships, four world championships and the Olympic Gold Medal in 1984, has also been the exemplar in philanthropy and service, Edens said.
“His innovative performances and infectious energy, captivated audiences around the globe,” he said. “Scott’s legacy extends beyond the ice. He is tireless advocate for cancer research, faced battles of his own with the same resilience that made him a champion, and created the Scott Hamilton Cares Foundation that is providing groundbreaking research, prevention and support.”
“I’m speechless,” Hamilton said. “I love this town. I love this city. I love the people of this city. I love everything about Bowling Green. I’m so proud to be a son of this town.”
He wasn’t a very good student, Hamilton confessed, but he was surrounded by teachers. His mother was a second-grade teacher who went on to become an associate professor at Bowling Green State University. His father was a biology professor who was intent on teaching. Grandparents on both sides were teachers and school administrators. “It is a remarkable and beautiful profession that is a calling,” he said.
“As I grew up in the family of teachers, the only excuse for not being a great student is that I was adopted,” he said. “That says a lot about the passion of my parents. It was extraordinary growing up in this town.”
Bowling Green and the university have had many remarkable individuals be a part of the community: Olympic Gold Medalist Dave Wottle, Kenny Morrow and Mark Wells from the Miracle on Ice hockey team. Hamilton was surprised to hear that The Cars Ric Ocasek attended BGSU and Duff McKagen of Guns and Roses married a Bowling Green girl.
“In so many ways, Bowling Green is the center of the universe, the center of my universe,” he said. “Nothing in my life should have happened. I was unwanted and unintended, and I had two amazing school teacher parents who brought me up in a really cool way.”
He recalled an elementary school memory of winning an award at the end of his sixth-grade year that erased some of his never-winning-anything moments.
“I was always the shortest, the littlest, the weakest, the ‘est,” he said. “Those are the memories that carry you through life.”
Hamilton congratulated the foundation and community for 25 years of supporting teachers and students. “I wish you more success that more young people get to find out who they are through what this town can do better than any other town I’ve lived in,” he said.
“The all-volunteer board, community members, teachers, parents and school administrators share a common belief that our community is stronger when our schools are stronger,” Edens said, telling the audience, “We are so grateful for your generosity, vision and support over the years. The mission is clear. We will continue to empower our schools to be better, stronger and more equipped to face the future.”
