Rama Road Elementary receives gift that will keep growing

Posted on 12.3.24

Rama Road Elementary School students can look forward to more exciting lessons in their outdoor learning lab, courtesy of National Gypsum Company, which is based in Charlotte. National Gypsum representatives presented a check for $25,000 to Principal Patricia Denny at the school on Dec. 2.

Denny said the gift will be used to support Rama Road’s Out Teach STEM Lab, an outdoor garden space that was created last spring and encourages learning based in science, technology, engineering and math. The funds will provide two years of professional development – in person and virtual – for all teacher leaders and support staff (pre-kindergarten through fifth grade) to learn Out Teach strategies to support student mastery of grade-level N.C. Science and Math Standards.

“This is an amazing gift to our school,” Denny said. “We are excited about the impact it will have for our students.”

The outdoor lab features vegetable beds and various seating areas where students can gather as a class or ask to visit on their own. It includes a multiplication board, a mindfulness area and a communications board, featuring a QR code for teachers to download information on listed topics. There are also signs that acknowledge the culture of Rama Road students, who represent from 15 to 20 different countries each year, Denny said, and they plan to add a multicultural mural.

Rama Road was nominated for the gift by two National Gypsum employees who have ties to the school, including reliability specialist Nicholas Tischio. His daughter attends Rama Road, and his wife is a school counselor.

“Each year, we look for organizations across the country and in the places that we call home that have strong STEM and other programs that really enrich the lives of communities, children and everyone in general,” Tischio said. “The other person who nominated the school has two children who attend here as well, and we just value the access the kids have here to their wonderful STEM lab.”

Denny said these types of gifts mean the world to teachers, as well as to students.

“Teachers are so happy to be supported,” she said. “It opens that door to the opportunity that we might not otherwise have and the flexibility in choosing what is good for our school and for our kids.”