RICHMOND, Va. -- For 11 years Cheri Manning has taken her love of teaching and children to the classrooms of John B. Cary Elementary school in Richmond.
Passion drives her and in turn, she pushes her students to be the best by merging classroom lessons and real-world experiences.
So, when she started teaching about rock cycles and earth history, Manning wanted to find a cool way to bring that science to life.
Her idea was a trip to Luray Caverns.
Manning says a trip to the largest caverns in the eastern United States would be the perfect way to get hands on.
Ms. Manning
“Sometimes those concepts can be really abstract. Big ideas. So, you want to give them an opportunity to see the rocks and the formation of stalagmites and stalactites and how that applies to the rock cycle that we have been learning in the classroom.”
Manning knew the trip would present financial hurdles for some students, so she created a Donors Choose page, hoping for community support.
Her effort is capturing the attention of parents and others like Timika Vincent, whose son attends John B. Cary.
She's used to giving back through her own organization -- Wealth Building Solutions and didn't hesitate to donate when she heard Manning's 5th graders still needed to raise $1,400.
“Taking the extra step to do some great things for our students is so needed in the community and needed with our teachers. If everyone would help teachers be great for our kids, that would just be awesome,” said Vincent.
Ms. Manning
Fifty 5th graders will attend the field trip if they hit their goal by March 31.
Manning says she knows there are a lot of eager students hoping and praying for that to happen.
“A lot of times it could be that aha moment or that one trip that'll spark an interest in a kid to want to study rocks or learn more about whatever they saw on this trip. So, it could be a good launching pad for a STEM career.
If you want to help send Manning’s students to Luray Caverns, you can bring a check to John B. Cary or the Donors Choose page to give.
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