SONIC®

Drive-In recognizes area teachers

Area educators are among those recognized by SONIC® Drive-In restaurant chain for their efforts in their classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a media release, restaurant officials outlined the purpose of the award as follows:

“To honor the creative efforts teachers have made to maneuver their ever-shifting learning environments and keep students engaged this past year, SONIC® Drive-In donated $1.5 million to teacher requests on national education nonprofit site DonorsChoose on Teacher Appreciation Day.

“As part of SONIC’s ongoing Limeades for Learning initiative, the $1.5 million donation helped fund more than 7,000 teacher requests across the country in need of critical resources, including 10 teachers in the Allentown area who received a combined donation of $737.

On Teacher Appreciation Day recently, SONIC® Drive-In matched 50 percent of each donation made to all teacher requests on DonorsChoose.

The following teachers at nine schools received funding:

•Mrs. O’Brien at Brigadier General Anna Mae Hays School for the project “Books For Home”

•Mrs. Burgos at Francis D. Raub Middle School for the project “Middle School Mathematicians Need Safe Hands-on Engagement”

•Mrs. Shivick at Harrison-Morton Middle School for the project “Give Our Eyes a Break!”

•Mrs. Billie at Jefferson Elementary School for the project “Building Language Bridges of Inequity Through Virtual Realit”

•Mr. Stahl at Lehigh Parkway Elementary School for the project “We Will No Longer Whisper Our Success”

•Ms. Pickar at Mosser Elementary School for the project “Surprise Box Items For Being Good Role Models”

•Mrs. Franklin-Ledyard at Ritter Elementary School for the project “Exploring the World With Books!”

•Mrs. Nemes at Ritter Elementary School for the project “Back to School With Books!”

•Mrs. Sugra at Salisbury Elementary School for the project “STEM Bins to Engage, Create and Collaborate!”

•Ms. Solis at Union Terrace Elementary School for the project “Drawers for Student Organization!”

•Ms. Solis at Union Terrace Elementary School for the project “A Welcoming Environment for 3rd Grade”

“Teachers took this past year head-on, engineering a variety of innovative methods to keep their students learning in both in-person and virtual classrooms,” Lori Abou Habib, chief marketing officer, said in the media release.

“We express our gratitude to teachers like these, who create inspirational learning environments for students during a challenging time. With SONIC’s $1.5 million donation match, we were able to help teachers access much-need supplies to successfully complete this school year,” she added.