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Congratulations Kim Rock, BP "A+ for Energy " $10,000 Grant Winner

Congratulations to Kim Rock, a 3rd grade teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary in Whiting, Indiana, won a $10,000 grant for her program "Energy Savers" in the BP "A+ for Energy" program.

BP will provide 1.25 million in grants and scholarships to 122 teachers in the Chicago and Northwest Indiana area.  "A+ for Energy" is a successful educational program BP started in California in 2004 and is now bringing to Northwest Indiana.  BP's "A+ for Energy" program was developed to capture that spirit of innovation and to recognize those Northwest Indiana teachers who inspire learning in the students by creating and memorable experiences around the subject of energy.

You can catch Kim Rock's commercial accepting her $10,000 grant airing on channel 7 for the next few weeks.

The Whiting Redevelopment Commission recently approved 75 applications for the northside (non-revitalization area) matching assistance program totaling over $160,000.  Due to the overwhelming response, the Redevelopment Commission officially closed the program to new applications effective June 13.  It is anticipated that nearly $400,000 of improvements will be completed in conjunction with this program.

The program was made possible through a joint partnership between the Whiting Community Improvement Fund (CIF), the City of Whiting and the Whiting Redevelopment Commission.

When combined with the revitilization area program and the business facade improvement program, nearly $3 million will be invested into properties in our community as a direct result of these assistance programs.

The School City of Whiting is among 7 districts of 23 that earned the state's highest accountability rating "exemplary" in the State Department of Education's Public Law 221.  Statewide, in the 2nd year of such rankings, 11% of school districts improved their ranking, 58% remained the same and 32 % went down.  Rankings are based on the percentage of all students who pass the state's English and Math ISTEP-Plus tests, as well as the improvement in passing percentage of students over time

Districts and individual schools are placed into one of five categories:  exemplary progress, commendable progress, academic progress, academic watch or academic probation.

Dr. Sandra Martinez, superintendent of the School City of Whiting, mentioned that she was excited about Whiting's bump from academic progress to exemplary status.  "We work hard, and our staff takes their mission very seriously, it's a great reward.  The achievement is especially important, considering that Whiting is urban and has a high student poverty rate.  It's a great way to end the school year.

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