St. Francis wins $10,000 grant

St. Francis School in Manoa has been awarded a $10,000 matching grant by Goldenrod Research Corp. to provide high-tech robotics and hydraulics equipment and training.

It is one of about 180 national schools selected since 1997 for Goldenrod’s YouthTouch Matching Grant program. The school is one of 20 awardees in the first round of the 2010-2011 competition and only the second school in the state to become a referral site, according to Doreen Batoon, a development assistant at St. Francis. The company is based in Spalding, Neb.

The YouthTouch system uses robotics and hydraulics (aka "fluid power") to help children understand ratios, coordinates, graphing and more than 100 other math, science, language arts and social studies concepts. The focus is to guide students toward sophisticated and critical thinking.

Each award includes equipment, instructional materials and training for teachers. Trainers will be at the school this week, Batoon said.