Foundation Awards $1.1 Million to Teachers Through Visions for Learning Grants Program

St. Paul, Minn. – Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services, has awarded $1.1 million in grants to K-12 educators throughout the U.S. through the Ecolab Foundation’s 2016 Visions for Learning Educator Grants program. The Visions for Learning program provides K-12 teachers with funds to purchase equipment and materials to enhance the classroom experience for their students. In 2016, more than 680 grants were provided through the Visions for Learning program, benefitting nearly 340 schools and more than 150,000 students nationwide.

“Ecolab Visions for Learning Educator Grants support the incredible work teachers are doing in their classrooms to augment basic skills instruction,” said Kris Taylor, vice president of Community Relations at Ecolab.  “Teachers submit applications for materials to make their lesson plans more engaging for students, creating richer educational experiences that will better prepare young people for successful futures.”

Since the program began in 1986, more than $13.9 million has been distributed to teachers in classrooms across the U.S.  The 2016 Visions for Learning program included the distribution of $244,000 in grants to educators in St. Paul, Minn., the home of Ecolab’s world headquarters.

Projects funded through this year’s grants include reading materials for Spanish, Native American Culture and English Language Learner classes, supplies for an underwater robotics class, trigonometry surveillance kits, materials for a multicultural poetry publication class, and resources for an elementary school wind column experiment.

The Ecolab Foundation contributes to the quality of life in the communities where the company operates, supporting organizations and programs focused on youth and education, civic and community development, arts and culture, and the environment and conservation. For more information on the Visions for Learning Educator Grants program, visit www.ecolab.com.

Featured

  • Academy of Classical Education Breaks Ground in Louisiana

    Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) recently announced the groundbreaking of a new public charter school in Covington, La., according to a news release. The Academy of Classical Education at Covington will enroll students in grades K–8 and is scheduled for completion in August 2026, just in time for the new school year.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Minnesota District Starts Construction on Early Childhood Learning Center

    Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools in Sauk Rapids, Minn., recently announced that construction has begun on a new early childhood learning center and a new outdoor activities complex, according to a news release.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.