Houston Teacher Receives Grant to Build Educational Fish Tank

By THC Staff | August 25, 2017

 

“I was ecstatic. My students were ecstatic, the staff was ecstatic,” Alief Elsik High School’s Aquatic Science teacher James Jubran told ABC 13 after he received a $25,000 State Farm Neighborhood Assist Program, beating out 2,000 other applications. Jubran wanted to bring more life into his classroom, literally. He put together a plan for a 1,100-gallon fish tank to reside in the cafeteria for all students to enjoy and learn from. The news says it’s the largest fish tank in a high school in America.

Jubran will be able to use the tank as a tool to talk about the environment and underwater ecosystems. “It will not only enhance the Aquatic Science program on campus, but this will enable elementary and middle school classes from across the district to take mini field trips and visit,” John Dawson from FOX 26 News wrote on his Facebook page along with photos of excited Houston students standing near the sophisticated tank.

ABC 13 says that currently, the tank has nine different species of fish from across the globe. “These fish are way beautiful than the fish I’ve seen ever,” student Parriss Hollins told the news.