“Sweet” honor for Summit School teacher: Nick O’Keefe surprised with grant for maple syrup project

Students at a La Crosse elementary school will start getting hands-on experience in the tradition of producing maple syrup.

The La Crosse Public Education Foundation surprised Summit gym instructor Nick O’Keefe with a $6,003 Gold Star Grant at school Wednesday for his syrup project.

The money will support a springtime school project, where Summit students tap maple trees near the building and cook the sap into syrup and maple sugar.

It was one of 21 grants given out by the foundation in December, adding up to $51,138.

That also includes “the exploration of educational standards through production of a short film at SOTA II, a collaborative mural at Longfellow, a set of coding robots for Logan High, and more,” according to the foundation.

O’Keefe said his project is educational in a number of ways.

“We want this grant to tie to the classroom,” he said. “There’s measurement components. Of course, there’s the environmental component, which is what our school is all about, but there’s science involved, and then there’s really just some hard work, and a long-standing Wisconsin tradition that we are bringing here to Summit.”

The foundation’s director, Nell Saunders-Scott, said roughly 40 grants adding up to around $90,000 are given out for projects in the La Crosse district all year.

“It’s just an exciting way to support the education that happens in schools, to bring enhanced experiences to students,” Saunders-Scott said.