For the month of October, we've awarded our technology grant to Bonni Schmitz, a librarian in Wisconsin. Bonni works with students throughout the K-12 grades in the rural Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton School District. In this district, students from three separate communities come together in the same classes and, in recent years, Bonni and other members of the school community have made it their mission to design real-world learning opportunities for each of them. Particularly focused on STEM in shaping future-ready problem solvers, Bonni has some great plans in mind. Like so many others, however, she needs some help to get them off the ground. So, we're happy to help her (literally) do that.
As always, we're excited to see how the grant will help Bonni and her colleagues realize their collective mission of making greater progress in their STEM education offerings. According to her, they've spent many years talking about how to evolve their school STEM programs. And, they now find themselves in the right position to truly make it happen. This began with adding STEM-specific classes, like engineering and robotics, to the curriculum at the high school level. Bonni has also led efforts to revamp the library space so they serve more as STEM centers going forward. Following that work and renewed commitment, however, they're now in need of some STEM tools for students to use.
To help make this happen, district leaders have also created a new Tech Ed Teacher position. Bonni plans to be involved with this, too, specifically contributing to new robotics, STEM, and real-world training opportunities for students. She's also planning to focus more on coding and hands-on opportunities for students to explore engineering in the classroom. At the same time, she knows the importance of staying up-to-date with 21st century educational technologies. And, despite not having ample funding, Bonni's committed to creating these opportunities, which we're happy to support with this grant.
So, in line with her mission of supporting innovative learning opportunities, we'll be sending Bonni some new drones. With the Tello EDU drones from DJI, her and her staff will be able to teach these rural students about key up-and-coming applications for drones in the modern economy. Beyond that, however, these compact, affordable, and versatile tools enable additional STEM opportunities in and out of the classroom. Of course, they also have cameras so students can capture images and video from the sky. They're programmable as well, allowing students to practice block or text coding and using the programs they create to control the drone's flight path.
The Tello drones certainly will make a fine addition to the STEM offerings within the district and help expose students in this small, rural area to new forms of technological literacy. Ultimately, Bonni wants to equip each student with the tech skills and confidence to succeed beyond graduation. And, it goes without saying that her plans for maximizing this grant award certainly have a whole lot of potential. More importantly, she's committed to shrinking the existing technology gap she's seen persist throughout the district. In improving access and equity when it comes to STEM opportunities, she's confident she'll be able to help her students overcome some of the challenges of rural life and excel in a STEM-focused world.
To that end, district leaders have certainly begun transitioning to creating more real-world learning opportunities in Bonni's opinion. It's also an opportunity to close the technology gap between students in her district and those in larger systems. Like we've said, they've begun by creating new instructional positions and classes but, as she knows, every bit helps when it comes to keeping up with the latest updates to educational technology. With the improved access and opportunity for students through the awarding of our grant, Bonni believes she can do more to level the playing field and prepare students more effectively for the future.
Being located in a rural area shouldn't prevent students from accessing real-world learning. We were, of course, inspired by Bonni's grant application and look forward to helping enhance her STEM programming moving forward. In a school system with just under 600 total students, about 25 percent of them are minority learners and about 60 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch. Beyond that, they receive little exposure to STEM in their home lives—and that's something Bonni really wants to change. With that being said, we're happy to extend this grant opportunity. If you're in a similar situation and want to apply, the application is open until Nov. 20. Feel free to share the link around your district and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more.