Carthage OCAAT winner is music to his ears
CARTHAGE, Ill. (KHQA) — The school year is wrapping up, but thanks to our One Class At A Time grant a Tri-State music teacher gets to spend the summer getting new instruments for his students to start off the new school year.
On behalf of our sponsor Doors 'N Moore, KHQA's Tegan Orpet awarded our latest Once Class At A Time grant recipient.
Scott Knicl is the music director at Carthage Elementary School. He applied for the One Class At A Time $1,000 grant with the help of his family.
"It was actually my mom, she mentioned she saw this on the news. You need to try. I know what you are doing is important in the school district, so you can’t lose if you don’t try." said Knicl.
And he won! The grant will help Knicl purchase four to six quality Orff xylophones for the classroom, and music students can use them next school year.
He teaches more than 200 students music and it’s his passion for teaching his students that help them succeed.
Music hits every kind of curriculum. It’s about literacy. It’s about movement, math skills," Knicl said. "It touches every little thing in the school district. I can’t take all the credit for how smart they are, but music has a hand in everything and reinforces those skills.
Just looking around his classroom, it’s no secret that his students have fun in his while at the same time learning. Knicl knows it takes a lot of support and passion to keep music alive in the district, and he’s happy for all the support.
"Our school district does a great job supporting the arts, so every student has music in their schedule."
If you know a teacher or administrator who could use a $1,000 grant for school, just complete the One Class At A Time application here.
