Since 1999, the Wynford Local Schools have had “The Bug.” It’s not a disease or insect. It’s the WeatherBug station that you see every night on WBNS-TV. The station was first implemented by Mrs. Patti Gervais and Mrs. Cindy Eusey, both now retired junior high teachers. Lee Rowlinson, a science teacher at Wynford High School, has had an interest in the Weatherbug station and its practical use in his classroom.
“I always had an interest, but was uncomfortable trying to figure out how to implement the necessary graphs and programs,” Rowlinson said. In the fall of 2009, he attended a teacher workshop in Columbus at the 10TV WBNS studios concerning meteorology and the station’s Weatherbug program. “It was during this day-long workshop with the meteorologists, Weatherbug personnel and teacher presentations that I caught the ‘bug’ and saw many possibilities for our school district in upgrading our station,” Lee continued.
Time to Upgrade!!
Now that he had “The Bug”, Lee decided it was time to upgrade Wynford’s station. “My desire to pursue the upgrade of the district’s then existing Weatherbug station and equipment was based on attending the workshop and listening to the teacher presentations of how Weatherbug was being used in the classrooms, as well as the product description given by Weatherbug personnel,” Rowlinson said. However, he quickly started to realize that there was something bigger about the Weatherbug program. According to Lee, there were mutually beneficial outcomes for students at Wynford and the Crawford County community as a whole.
“It was a ‘no-brainer’ for me to pursue this opportunity because of its multifaceted possibilities for our school district and community,” Rowlinson said.
Upgrades Cost $$$
When Rowlinson and Wynford decided to upgrade their Weatherbug station, they went with the full gamut of programs and equipment. The challenge for the district was funding. According to Lee, the search for grants for educational institutions was unsuccessful. He worked for nearly a year and applied for every grant he could find, and was turned down twice. Frustrated with the unfavorable outcomes and the expiration of a limited time discount for his attendance at the Weatherbug workshop, Rowlinson turned to the Bucyrus Area Community Foundation.
According to Lee, he had heard about the BACF previously but had no idea on whether the Weatherbug would be supported for grant approval. “I contacted Mrs. Pry just before giving up completely on getting the Weatherbug station upgraded, and she encouraged me to submit the necessary information,” Rowlinson said. “I had a preconceived notion that the Weatherbug station would not receive favorable consideration; however, as I gathered the necessary information, I found that the parameters set forth by the Foundation did fit.”
While it did fit the parameters, it certainly wasn’t the typical Community Foundation grant request. According to Janet Pry, BACF Executive Director, this was an “interesting” grant request. “Since the start of the various school endowment funds, the BACF has not normally funded ‘classroom’ grants,” she said. “However, in looking into this grant request, we realized that multiple teachers and students would have access and benefit from this added technology. Additionally, the entire community benefits from the Weatherbug system, in that anyone that has Weatherbug on their computer can select ‘Wynford High School’ and get truly local weather forecasts,” Pry concluded.
From One Educator to Another
It’s not news that there is uncertainty and great unrest in the area of school district finances. School districts are trying to push the educational threshold for students, and that requires funding. For Rowlinson and the Wynford Weatherbug station, that funding source was right in their backyard. “I would highly recommend any teacher to first seek out the possibility of using the Foundation as a first option when seeking funding,” Lee said. “My own personal preconceived notion that I had no chance of receiving funding from the Foundation was unfounded, and it was a pleasant surprise when I was informed that the grant for our Weatherbug station was approved,” he continued. “It is a testament of our area leaders and community members to have a local commitment to providing additional resources available from within our own community and supporting classroom activities from outside agencies such as the Bucyrus Area Community Foundation that allow for positives to occur within our schools and community.”
