GRAFTON — Grafton Elementary School was one of three Vermont schools recognized for outstanding programs that prepare students for careers in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics, or STEAM for short.
The school was presented with the Vermont Software Developers' Alliance's (vtSDA) Bentley Awards, initiated in memory of 12-year-old Bentley Davis Seifer, the son of a founding vtSDA board member who had a knack for creating inventions out of found objects and a strong interest in science, engineering, art, and math. He died in a swimming accident in 2011.
Grafton Elementary won for its Geocaching program, led by teacher Beth Ann Drinker.
She said that geocaching “is an adventure game for GPS users where students will set up caches all over their community and then share these locations on the Internet.”
Drinker said Grafton is putting together a geocaching summer program that she hopes will draw to the school students who might not otherwise get a healthy lunch or who need extra help with their studies.
Judges received 21 applications and were so impressed with the quality of the work that they asked vtSDA to raise an additional $20,000 for awards. The association raised enough money to fund three projects and to provide a tablet computer to each of the remaining 18 applicants. Each of the three winners will receive a check for $3,000, three tablets, and a $100 gift card for each tablet to purchase applications.
Mount Abraham High School in Bristol and Hinesburg Elementary School were the other two winners in the contest.
A complete list of the donors and all applications can be found at tappingtech.org/bentley2012.
Applications for the next round of Bentley Awards will be accepted in the fall of 2012.