Sonic funds $50,000 in classroom supplies for 53 Las Cruces teachers

Lucas Peerman, Las Cruces Sun-News
·3 min read

LAS CRUCES - To celebrate a team of workers at a Sonic Drive-in performing well in a national competition, Sonic is funding 78 requests for school supplies from Las Cruces Public Schools teachers, adding up to a $50,000 donation.

The requests include a $275 couch for an East Picacho Elementary second-grade classroom up to $3,300 to purchase a 3D printer for use by science teachers and extracurricular program coordinators at Sierra Middle School.

The team of carhops, cooks and managers at the Sonic Drive-In 1603 El Paseo Road advanced to the final 12 in the 2022 Dr Pepper Sonic Games, triggering the donation. The Sonic Games are just for Sonic employees. The teams of employees compete in "trainings, quizzes and team building challenges."

Sonic is funding teacher requests made through the nonprofit DonorsChoose.org. The website lists each of the 78 projects funded and notes the requests come from 53 teachers at 25 district schools.

For example, Mrs. Rios, who teaches at East Picacho, requested $275 for a couch that can turn into separate seats. She explains: "My second grade students love to read and get lost in adventure with the power of books. They have a passion to sit and look and read books throughout the day. Having a cozy corner with The Whatsit Couch gives the students an opportunity to find a cozy spot to curl up with a good book."

Mrs. Doolittle, the librarian at Sierra Middle School, requested $600 for a greeting card station for students to create and send encouraging notes to one another. "I will set up art supplies for students to paint and stamp and illustrate their own messages on blank greeting cards," she explains. "Once students have completed their greeting cards I will sort them for distribution by our life skills class."

Most of the requests are for supplies and projects that cost under $1,000.

These are the three most expensive projects funded:

  • Mrs. Rhee, a Sierra math teacher, requested $1,945 to purchase an 85-inch LED 4K smart TV. "Right now my students struggle to see the board as I only have a projector and a whiteboard in my classroom," she explains.

  • Mr. Gutierrez, the music teacher at Jornada Elementary School, was awarded nearly $2,500 to purchase 10 Yamaha classical guitar kits. He explains: "Currently, my room has ten guitars, six of which were returned broken after they remained at homes of families during the COVID-19 pandemic … A class set of guitars would provide the ultimate motivator and tool to give each student the ability to strike a chord and be a rock star."

  • Dr. Neakrase, a Sierra science teacher, will receive more than $3,300 for a 3D printer, which she said would be used by other teachers and program coordinators at the school. "I envision also using the printer for students to use in fundraising for our program — they can create art and print items to sell to our school and greater community," she explains. "They can also use the printer to participate in the many middle school science competitions asking for 3D models."

To learn more about each of the projects funded, visit https://bit.ly/3cRgAl7.

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Lucas Peerman can be reached at lpeerman@lcsun-news.com or @LittleGuyInATie on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Sonic funds $50,000 in classroom supplies for 53 Las Cruces teachers