Belleville, IL (KSDK) - What would you do if you won $100,000?
That's what the folks at Roosevelt Elementary School in Belleville are trying to figure out.
Thanks to Target Stores and the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Roosevelt is one of 50 United States schools awarded grants.
Everyone associated with Roosevelt is so excited, and it all started about two months ago when parent-school volunteer Tanya McGrew was watching the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
She heard about the grant, submitted an application, and then came the good news two days ago.
School staff, parents, and students, including McGrew's sons, haven't been the same since.
Target and Ellen DeGeneres teamed up to provide $5 million in school grants over a four-year period.
The grant has to be used for specific items such as new books or new technology.
A committee made up of teachers, administrators, parents and students will decide how that money will be spent. The money could be used for the library or it could be used for something in the classroom.
Principal Craig Hayes and McGrew hope to improve the aging library.
"One of the things we struggle with is that the books are falling apart. So it means kids are reading them a lot but we can't check the book out because they are in such disrepair," said Hayes.
Roosevelt Elementary is one of two winners in Illinois. The other Illinois winner is Sunnyside School in Berkeley, Illinois.
The entire Joplin School District in Missouri also received a grant.
KSDK
You Might Be Interested In