Josh Farrell, science teacher and lover of all things Star Wars, was awarded a $2,199 grant from the Cherokee County Educational Foundation in February.

According to CherokeeEducationFoundation.org, the Impact Grant is a grant given by the school district that helps local teachers further their curriculum in ways that meet the school’s and county’s goals.

“Specifically, for my proposal, the grant will help Etowah and CCSD develop in the direction of STEM certification and increase the technology our students get to use,” Farrell said.

Farrell plans to use the grant money for Robotics, a club and class he teaches along with AP Physics. He plans to buy a 3D printer, along with some additional supplies to allow students to design and produce custom parts for custom robots.

“I wanted to help grow our new Robotics course in a way that could allow the students to be more creative with their robotics designs. Robotic kits are often a great way to begin learning but they can limit creativity to some degree,” Farrell said.

The Impact Grant has a longer application process than other grants, but it was not Farrell’s first time to apply. Last year, his proposal was denied. Luckily, this year he won a sizeable grant to help fund his idea for allowing more creativity within the Robotics course.

“This grant was great because we are trying to have competitions within the club and the class and then we are gonna go to competitions outside of Etowah, and this money allows us to get more materials so we can be more creative with our robots,” Madison  Puccio, junior, said.

This is Farrell’s fourth grant in two years that has allowed additions to the Robotics program. Looking for any opportunity to help grow this new course, the Impact Grant is a great addition to help finance Robotics. Etowah is also the only school in the Cherokee County school district that has a Robotics class, club, and dedicated lab.

“I feel very surprised and grateful. I’m excited about learning this new platform and then teaching it next year,” Farrell said.

Principal Ball is excited for the Robotics program and is very proud of Farrell for building the program as well as he did and trying hard to provide his students with the resources they need.