The Boardman Schools Fund for Educational Excellence presented 12 teacher grants to Boardman instructors this year, worth over $27,000.

On Thursday, 27 educators were recognized by the BSFEE who are putting the money to good use in their individual projects.

"We ended up getting a $5000 grant total, Joe and I both got $2,500 each for it. It's going to be used for wireless communication headsets," David Battaglia, Boardman School Television Network filming and production manager, said. "We've had really big problems during our football games, especially during project mayhem where the kids can't hear us, especially when you're like five minutes going live it's really important to know if the students can hear us," he said.

Without the gear, Battaglia said the entire production would fall apart. The goal is for the BSFEE to help benefits students across the district and enrich their curriculum.

"We raise funds that allow educators to implement projects in their classrooms that would not be possible through the state and local funding alone," Heather Belgin, BFSEE spokesperson said.

In the languages department, teachers are using virtual reality headsets purchased for their students to be able to take a trip around the world, without ever actually leaving the classroom.

"You could go anywhere in the world, you drop down as a little pin on the ground, you could look around, you could see everything to scale," Gianna Pishotti, languages instructor at Boardman High School, said. "You can visit inside of la Sagrada Familia and Barcelona or you could be on the outside of the colosseum and look up and see what it looks like, so it really allows a lot of students who are never going to get to travel to be able to travel while they're at school," she said.

Nearly $180,000 has been awarded to district staff, in grants and projects, since the BSFEE's inception in 2009.