Polk County Schools has received three third-quarter grants from the Polk County Community Foundation to support new and expanded opportunities in local history, student mentoring and outdoor learning.
One grant will support Stories of the Saluda Grade, an elementary and middle school history project developed in partnership with Conserving Carolina.
The project will engage students in place-based research focused on the Saluda Grade corridor. Students will help document and share local history, including voices and perspectives that have often been left out of the historical record.
Their work will contribute to a public StoryMap that will be available through the Saluda Grade Trail website, giving students an opportunity to create something that can be shared with the broader community.
A second grant will support a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters to expand school-based group mentoring for elementary and middle school students.
The effort is designed to increase access to structured mentoring while helping students build confidence, strengthen relationships with peers and develop social and emotional skills.
A third grant will expand Polk County Schools’ work with Champions for Wildlife through its Nature in My Backyard program.
The outdoor learning program takes students into their own schoolyards and nearby community spaces to explore wildlife through nature journaling. Students are encouraged to slow down, observe closely, draw what they see and ask questions about the natural world around them.
Together, the three grants will provide students with opportunities to connect more deeply with their community, with one another and with the environment.
“We are extremely grateful to the Polk County Community Foundation for its continued support of our schools and students,” Superintendent Todd Murphy said. “These grants create meaningful opportunities for students to explore our local history, build positive relationships, and connect with the natural world. We are fortunate to have such wonderful community partners who help us make a difference in the lives of our students.”
