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Local teachers get help to buy books, ukeleles and more from MAPS

Name cards and math workbooks for students at Kalapuya Elementary (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Salem students will have opportunities to go on field trips to college, analyze DNA in class or join a school ukelele club thanks to recent grants from Maps Community Foundation.

The foundation, the charitable arm of MAPS Credit Union, is awarding a total of $25,000 to 31 teachers in Marion and Polk counties. A majority teach in the Salem-Keizer School District.

Awards range from $350 to $1,000 per teacher.

Awardees include Michael Hofmann, a North Salem High School teacher, who’s using the money to buy a gel electrophoresis machine for his forensic science class. The machine allows students to separate and analyze DNA samples.

At Parrish Middle School, Maylea Tooze Woods is buying materials for the school’s wood shop to make sturdy boxes for use during plyometric, CrossFit-style workouts in PE class.

Anisa Rodriguez-Foroughi at Chávez Elementary School is starting a “Si Se Puede” ukelele club for students to learn musical skills.

Other projects include reading materials for classroom libraries, furniture and fidget items for mental health rooms and hands-on activities for science and technology lessons.

-Rachel Alexander