The Boardman Schools Fund for Educational Excellence (BSFEE) Board Members have completed their Grant in Action visits, with the final stop taking them inside Boardman High School's Spanish 3 and Italian 3 classrooms.

Thanks to a BSFEE grant, students are using virtual reality (VR) headsets to explore Spain and Italy, bringing language and cultural lessons to life. Five BHS foreign language teachers — Melissa Flood, Leah Muntean, Erica Shonn, Gianna Pischotti and Katelyn Kridler — collaborated on the grant application to bring this technology to their classrooms.

Superintendent Chris Neifer and BSFEE Board Member Rachel Boyer visited to see the technology in action as students explored new places through the headsets. Classmates joined the experience by following along as virtual tour guides, mirroring the headset experience on their Chromebooks.

The excitement was evident as students discovered new places and cultures, with plenty of "This is so cool!" reactions.

The next grant cycle has already begun and we should know soon, which creative ideas become reality, as the next round of teacher grant winners is chosen for this school year.