Big A Teacher Jana Cheek Awarded $1,500 Grant for Sensory Path

Jana Cheek, a teacher at Big A Elementary, has been awarded a $1,550 grant from the Georgia Foundation for Public Education through the Georgia Teacher Initiative. The grant program awards grants between $500 and $2,500 in Teacher Grants for Innovation to Georgia public school teachers with an innovative project designed to improve learning outcomes and make a measurable impact on student’s lives.

According to a press release from Georgia Teacher Initiative, Cheek will use the Teacher Grant for Innovation award to install a sensory path in the hallway of Big A Elementary School for the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students. Sensory paths incorporate movement such as jumping, crawling, spinning, bending, animal walks, and skipping, which help children build connections in the brain that are responsible for touch, sight, and sound. These paths also allow students to release excess energy, unblock the neurological gridlock that can occur in their brains, and reduce sensory seeking behaviors that can have a negative impact on their learning in the more structured classroom environment.

In her application for the grant, Cheek stated, “Innovation plays a role in my classroom because I am always thinking of new ways to serve my students and keep them excited about learning. This sensory path would be created not only for the students of my classroom but all of the students at Big A Elementary.”  

Cheek is the only teacher from a Northeast Georgia school district to be awarded a Teacher Grant for Innovation during this year’s Round 1 or Round 2 awards.