Newton High School will be among the Iowa schools benefiting from a donation announced Thursday by actor and Cedar Rapids native Ashton Kutcher.
According to the Associated Press, Kutcher and other well-known entertainers and other celebrities made donations this week to hundreds of school programs as part of a coordinated "#bestschoolday" effort to fund specific school programs. Kutcher made a YouTube video to announce he's funding 132 school programs in Iowa, and expressed his gratitude to teachers for their role in his development.
One of the beneficiaries of Kutcher’s donation is the Up Standing Classroom Project in Newton. Kutcher donated more than $2,300 to help purchase eight “standing” desks.
Laura Sherratt, a Newton High School at-risk teacher who works with the program, was excited to share her gratitude that well-known person from Iowa would acknowledge teachers and students in such a public way.
“Ashton Kutcher, out of the kindness of his heart, wanted to give back to the education system and teachers because of the wonderful education he received and the teachers who believed in him,” Sherratt said. “As a teacher I want to make a positive impact on each and everyone of my students and help them be successful.”
Sherratt had posted previously on DonorsChoose.org about the need for the desks.
“I have multiple children in my classroom with ADHD or ADD and these desks could be extremely beneficial for those students as well as the ones around them,” Sherratt wrote. “For students with ADHD, moving and fidgeting is an urge they cannot resist, it is a natural way to help regulate symptoms and facilitate learning. Students standing in the classroom are more engaged, classroom management is easier, more active learning, greater creativity, test scores are higher, and a very beneficial topic for my students is the students can shift their bodies and change position when they need to stay focused.”
Kutcher and Twitter co-founder Evan Williams are among nearly 60 athletes, business leaders, celebrities and philanthropists who pledged a total of about $14 million this week to fund nearly 12,000 projects across the nation this week.
Teachers posted their requests on DonorsChoose.org, where they asked for things such as books, tablets, art supplies and field trips.
Kutcher, who attended Washington and Clear Creek Amana high schools, went from modeling to acting, gaining fame for his role in “That 70s Show.” In recent years, he is best known for the show “Two And a Half Men” and the movie “Jobs.”
Sherratt said Kutcher’s generosity shows he cares about students’ educational success.
“By Ashton funding my Up Standing Classroom Project, he will help my classroom be conducive to academic and personal success,” Sherratt said.
Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com