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November 20, 2019Schenectady Teachers Receive Grants
The Board of Directors of the Schenectady City School District Educational Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the fall 2019 grants. There were 59 applications totaling $89,667.00 and the Board of Directors awarded grants to 27 applicants in eleven schools for a total of $25,305.70.
The single largest grant was given to Zack Butts and a team of teachers at the Steinmetz Career and Learning Academy. They have designed an inter-disciplinary project revolving around the creation of a greenhouse. It is a collaborative effort of Science, Construction, Earth Science and Culinary Arts teachers and students. It helps students bring their talents to many aspects of the Steinmetz program. Another large grant was awarded to Rebecca Benjamin and her colleagues at Pleasant Valley. Their fourth graders will be presented with a theme and each student will create a book based on that theme. The books will be published and distributed to the students and their families.
Let’s take a look at some of the other reflecting these themes of STEM and Literacy. Literacy is the key to all learning and the foundation recognized this with grants to a number of teachers. Ashleigh Caster at Hamilton will create listening centers with audio books which her second graders will use to improve their listening and reading skills. Elizabeth Mark’s Mont Pleasant students will read The Last of the Mohicans and visit Fort William Henry to reinforce their reading. At Oneida, Daniel O’Brien will buy a C-Pen Reader which will help his students improve their reading skills by engaging them more with the reading they do. Patricia Wood at Hamilton will purchase books and bags which will allow students to take books home to share with their families.
STEM was a major focus of the teacher applicants who received awards. James Hutson (Oneida) will buy videos in The Unlectured Series for his Living Environment students and Jolina Kerr, who is also at Oneida, will subscribe to Generation Genius, a science series for her seventh grade science students. Kim Lencewicz (Mont Pleasant) will take her special education students to the Rubenstein Museum in Syracuse, while Helen Lucas (SCLA) will take her Biology and Earth Science students on a field trip to the Adirondacks. Kristin Marotta (Lincoln) will buy a Green Screen set up so her science students can create visual reports on their science projects. Jennifer Riley (Van Corlaer) will create a lunch club for STEM activities.
Jackie Rowen (Oneida) is buying Cublets Creative Construction Plus for her 7th grade technology students for their construction and robotics projects. Also at Oneida Mike Sheridan will buy drones for use in technology classes and social studies classes. Margaret Tufo (SCLA) will take her students on the Lake George Gloating Classroom. Students studying geography and archeology under the guidance of Leanne Vacca (Central Park) will research ancient civilizations and create artifacts to be displayed in a museum exhibit.
The arts have always been a focus of the SCSDEF. Josh Casano will buy audio interface bundles which will allow his students to use their computers to create music productions, While Tracy Gelston will buy new bows for her violin students. Students at Lincoln will use color coded xylophones under the guidance of Mary Hall. Mike Lawrence (Oneida) is creating a guitar club with his grant and Heather O’Leary (Hamilton) along with Alex Torres is buying drums for a Latin Rhythm band for Hispanic students. Lastly, Michele Stewart-Mannino at Mont Pleasant, who is the advisor to the Drama Club, is buying dance mirrors for students to use to improve their dancing skills.
Learning how to deal with the world is often a difficult challenge for students. Christine Bernard (SCLA) works with autistic students. Her students will learn how to make muffins and will sell them one day a week to school staff, so they develop cooking and commercial skills. Two teachers at Washington Irving received grants for them to help students develop coping and self-management skills. Mary La Fountain and Martha Klein have created a Place of Peace Project, so that students can better learn how to manage their emotions and work with others. This is the third year they have received grants for this project. Alexis Rytel is new to Washington Irving and she will use her grant to provide flexible furniture, sensory items, and hands on learning materials to help her students become better learners.
Healthy minds go hand in hand with healthy bodies. Sixteen girls at Mont Pleasant will participate in Girls on the Run Program which will help them learn more about themselves, cultivate empathy and develop positive self-images. Students need to lead healthy lives and not all students can participate in the traditional tram sports , so Susan Turner (Paige) will use her grant to buy other kinds of equipment for her Physical Education students
Congratulations to the grant recipients and the other teachers who had the dedication to take the time to apply for grants to better the lives of their students. The foundation encourages staff members to submit proposals for the next round of grants in the spring of 2020. Visit their website http://www.scsdeducationfoundation.org for more information. If anyone wishes to support learning activities such as these, they may do so by attending the Education Celebration at Proctors on January 16 or by making a contribution to the Schenectady City School District Educational Foundation, Box 3956, Schenectady, N.Y. 12303.
