Yuma teacher wins $5000 for classroom

One teacher’s wish for a SMART Board and pedometers has just been granted.

Meagan Veraldi , a physical education teacher at Sunrise Elementary School won $5000 to help cover the costs of the new technology.

“I was to the moon, I was so excited,” Veraldi said. I’m still very excited. I don’t even know that it’s real quite yet. ”

The grant comes from Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program. Every year, the organization gives $5000 to 200 teachers across Arizona.

Veraldi has applied for the grant for the past three years and finally won. There were over 2500 applicants.

The grant is more important than ever considering the low education budgets across the nation.

“Throughout the country, there is a huge lack of funding for education,” Veraldi said.

She teaches over 600 children and wants them to learn they can use technology for health and fitness.

Ultimately, Veraldi wants to encourage the kids to make exercise a healthy habit.