vernon robison

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Dr. Anne Rice

Public education in Virgin Valley and Moapa Valley lost one of its most powerful allies and supporters earlier this month. Dr. Anne Rice, a longtime Mesquite resident, passed away on August 13, 2022 at the age of 94.

Dr. Rice, with the administrative assistance of his dear friend Jim Wilson (who passed away in July 2021), is the founder, funder and It has, among other things, offered Chromebook computers. To all students in Moapa Valley, Virgin Valley and Beaver Dam, Arizona schools. Over the past seven years, she has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to projects and suggestions from local teachers and school administrators to enhance the education of school children.

Education ran deep in Dr. Anne Rice’s soul. She was a lifelong learner and an educator. She began teaching high school home economics at the age of 19 after earning her bachelor’s degree from Georgia State Women’s University.

Dr. Rice received a Master of Science degree from the University of Georgia in 1951 and a Ph.D. in economics, sociology and personal finance from Florida State University in 1964.

Dr. Rice was a professor of family finance and investment for many years at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
She was the author of two college textbooks and several articles on family management.

Dr. Rice was married to Myron Rice, known as “Mike”. The couple had been married for 52 years. They moved to Mesquite in 1998.

Rice began funding local school projects in 2015. She was in an educational grant program called Adopt a Classroom. The platform connects willing donors with teachers who find a need in their classroom and apply for a small grant to meet that need.

Dr. Rice had expressed interest in using Adopt a Classroom to help fund projects in local schools. Grant of Logandale noticed this when a small group of teachers at Bowler Elementary School noticed this, and in each classroom he wrote a grant asking for funding for her set of five Chromebook computers. Rice funded this request.

The word spread quickly. Hal Mortensen, the principal of Ute Perkins Elementary School, quickly became aware of the problem and made another request to his school. For this reason, he contacted Dr. Rice directly and asked if he would be willing to give all of his 150 students at the school his Chromebooks for classroom use at that time.

“I knew I wanted the moon, but she didn’t rule out the idea,” Mortensen said. “She and Ms. Wilson came to school, took a tour, asked some questions, and lo and behold, it was funded.

Around the same time, Shauna Jessen (then Principal Grant Bowler) was making similar demands to all students at schools larger than hers. Bowler had her 550 students that year, which was a much higher order. But again, this request was carefully considered.

Jessen said he has put together a detailed plan showing how the Chromebooks will be used in schools and the benefits they will bring to local children.
“She was a knowledgeable business woman and a knowledgeable educator,” Jessen said of Dr. Rice. “She knew she needed to have a strong plan. She can’t just have wishes and hopes.”

Rice eventually funded Jessen’s proposal as well. The student’s performance the following year improved significantly at school.
“Then she fell in love with our school,” Jessen said.

Rice frequented the schools she helped. She interacted with her children, asked them how they were using their Chromebooks, and she listened intently to their answers.

“Every time she visited Perkins, she would interact with each child individually,” recalls Mortensen. “She would kneel with her students at eye level and talk to them. Her kids knew she just loved them.” “

She loved telling her children stories about her experiences as a student and how she struggled to finish college at a time when it was difficult for women to finish college.
“She liked to tell the story of how she was the only woman in college and that she only went to school at night because it was the only time women could go to school. I did.”

Dr. Rice was often invited to special school events and was always recognized as a guest of honor. One year she was invited to a special Christmas program at Perkins. Mortensen announced her attendance and received a standing ovation from both her children and parents.

After the grant to Bowler Elementary School, other schools soon received similar requests. Soon, students at Moapa Valley High School were receiving Chromebooks through “Get Smart” funding.

Mack Lyon Secondary School received another grant to provide similar technology to its students. Get Smart also funded her Chromebooks for all students at her four public schools in Virgin Valley and a school in Beaver Dam. In all, nearly $500,000 of Get Smart funds were invested in Chromebooks for local kids.

Still, it didn’t stop there. Rice remained involved with local schools, funding more grant requests when needs large and small arose.

Just a few years later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and abruptly closed all schools in Clark County School District. Thanks to Rice’s generosity, local schools were better equipped for distance learning than others.

“When COVID hit and things suddenly shut down, we said to our boss the next day, ‘Okay, let’s continue school with distance learning.’” “All of our kids already have Chromebooks. We didn’t have to wait for the district to be ready and supply, we were ready, we had been using this technology for five years already, but the school district He kept saying, “What we do for one, we must do for all.” Therefore, it was not possible to start distance learning immediately. ”

Still, schools in Moapa and Virgin Valley were ready when hybrid and distance learning resumed in the fall of 2020. This was a direct result of Dr. Rice’s generosity.
“I can’t even imagine what we would have been without Anne Rice,” Jessen said. “We would have scrambled with paper parcels like other students in the district and stood on our heads to continue teaching without technology. We were ready to be picked up, and thanks to Dr. Rice, we were off to a really good start.”

Maurice Perkins, principal of Hughes Middle School in Mesquite, said: “Her love for the students here was unmatched by anything I have ever seen. Her smile and generosity will be missed.”

Local principals thanked Rice and the big change this one generous person made for the students in their area.
“Remember the first date when she first came to our school and looked around to see how she could help,” Mortensen said. Looking forward to 6 or 7 years. What changes have you made in the lives of your students? ”

“I think about how humble, generous and beautiful she was,” said Riley Frey, principal of Virgin Valley High School. She came home warmed by that light, and she was all about building everyone else around her.”

Most recently, Frey worked with Dr. Rice on the establishment of the new STEAM Center developed by the Mesquite Works organization at the Mesquite Plaza Shopping Centre.
“She quickly realized that the STEAM center was a great opportunity to see kids interested in their lives and looking for something innovative,” says Frei. . “For her, it was a no-brainer. She helped us a lot early on to get things on track.”

Jessen remembered Dr. Rice as someone who was always looking for better, more innovative ways to educate himself and others.
“In the end, Dr. Rice was the perfect example of how to be a lifelong learner,” Jessen said. “If anyone wants to know what it’s like for Anne to keep learning until her last breath. And I admired her so much for that. She didn’t let age stop her.” She continued to grow in every way.”