Perry Central teachers receive $250 Lightning Grants for classroom needs

Perry Central Community Schools used its live feed to spotlight a simple but useful kind of classroom boost: $250 Lightning Grants for Josh Craney and Melissa Toothman. The money comes from the Perry Central Education Foundation and can be spent on any education-related expense the teachers choose, giving them flexibility to meet student needs as they come up.

That flexibility is the real payoff for classrooms. A grant like this can cover supplies, enrichment materials, student incentives or small projects that often make a lesson more effective but do not fit neatly into a regular budget line. For Craney and Toothman, the award means they can turn ideas into action without waiting for the next funding cycle or paying out of pocket.

The Perry Central Education Foundation was formed in 2020 with a stated purpose to encourage, recognize and support creativity, innovation and achievement within Perry Central students and faculty. In a rural district like Perry Central, that kind of local foundation support often functions as a direct bridge between community dollars and day-to-day instruction, helping teachers test new approaches, expand a lesson or respond quickly when a classroom need pops up.

Craney’s role gives the grant added reach. Perry Central lists him as an Advanced Manufacturing & Construction Teacher, and the district’s Commodore Manufacturing page names him as the contact for that program. That makes the Lightning Grant more than a token recognition: it supports a teacher working in both classroom instruction and career and technical education, where hands-on materials and practical experiences can matter just as much as the lesson plan itself.

The district’s live feed said the announcement created a positive, energetic atmosphere and that “the future is in great hands.” That celebratory note points to a larger pattern in Perry County schools, where public recognition of teachers also signals community confidence in the people leading classrooms every day.

Perry Central has also announced another round of $250 Lightning Grants for Michael Jarboe and Emily Schaefer, showing the program is not a one-time gesture but an ongoing part of the foundation’s work. The district says 96% of its students have early reading skills in place by the end of grade 3, based on a four-year average, a reminder that even small grants can support the larger academic goals Perry Central says it is already pursuing.