By Tim Mandell
Carla Horn, a second-grade teacher at White Hall Elementary School, set out to teach her students about economics and ended up heading a food drive that brought in more than 3,000 items.
At the beginning of the school year, Madison County Schools partnered with Eastern Kentucky University and Central Bank, offering teachers an opportunity to attend a math workshop which featured economics lessons for the classroom, the teacher said.
Horn used what she learned in the workshop to teach economics to her 26 students, focusing on a food drive as the culminating activity of the program.
While the food drive began as a class project to help restock the shelves of White Hall’s Family Resource Center, it soon spread throughout the school.
Students sent letters to the families of classmates informing them of their plans for a week-long food drive, with each grade responsible for bringing in different items.
It led to a friendly contest between the grades.
As a result, a graph was hung on the wall in the cafeteria to document the number of items each class had brought in.
The graph had to be remade four times to accommodate the large number of items, Horn said.
Overall, first-graders brought in the most items — 919, and the school amassed 3,462 items.
“It was amazing to see how involved all of the children in the school were with this project,” Horn said. “Every day, the kids came to lunch ready to check the graph.”
The food drive also received a boost from the EKU athletic program.
EKU athletes visited White Hall, bringing items such as posters, schedules and coupons to share with the students.
The athletes also donated some of the items from their food drive to the White Hall food drive.
“This whole project was such a great success,” Horn said. “I can’t wait to do it again next year.”
Horn said that any other schools interested in participating can reach her at White Hall Elementary at 625-6134 or through her email at carla.horn@madisonkyschools.us.
Tim Mandell can be reached at tmandell@richmondregister.com or 623-1669 ext. 6696.
