Douglas Elementary celebrates 100K donor

TYLER – Jack Benson, a former Douglas Elementary School student visited the campus Friday to celebrate his recent donation of $100,000 to the school. The staff and students made it special for for Mr. Benson, welcoming him with a special “Thank You” parade. According to a release from Douglas Elemetary, school personnel took Mr. Benson on a tour of school grounds and showed him the areas in which his generous donation will be used. The plan is to install new playground equipment and create a covered outdoor learning area for students.

As the tour progressed Mr. Benson said that, “Douglas holds a special place in my heart,” Benson said. “It shaped my childhood, and I always knew I wanted to give back.”

The release from Douglas said one of the items being added to the outdoor learning area was water access. This is designed so students can explore the science related to water and the environment. Plus, the area will be equipped with hardware such as microscopes to give students an even closer look at their natural world firsthand.

“The vision for this outdoor learning space is to extend the classroom outdoors, benefiting children across all elementary grade levels,” Benson said.