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One Class At A Time: Jill Putnam

Posted at 4:12 PM, Oct 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-09 11:46:29-04

 

This week’s One Class at a Time recipient is kindergarten teacher Jill Putnam of Jefferson Elementary School who is helping her kindergarten students gain a deeper understanding of core math principles.

Sierra Johnson and  Amanda Pearson of First Interstate Bank were joined by KXLH to surprise Putnam in her classroom with a $250 check.

The money from the grant will be used to buy new math manipulatives for her classroom.

Putnam said the manipulatives help the children gain a better understanding of math concepts such as addition and subtraction by physically showing them what those concepts mean.

“In kindergarten, it’s just important to get all those basics down because when working with math pretty soon it’s going to become very abstract,” said Putnam. “But if they understand how the numbers are put together, using these manipulatives, when they have to go into abstract ideas it makes more sense to them.”

Putnam added she’s grateful for this opportunity and really believes the One Class at a Time grants help build better classrooms for students.

For more than a decade, First Interstate Bank and MTN have partnered for the One Class at a Time grant.

The mission of the grant is to foster educational opportunities for local teachers and students.

A panel of retired teachers and school officials select the grant recipients from a pool of submitted applications.

For more information about One Class at a Time, including how to apply, visit here.

-Reported by John Riley