(above) CFEE Board at the 6th Annual Trivia Night, Kenilworth VFW
More than $33,000 in grants awarded to schools
The Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence (CFEE) is a non-profit, community-based philanthropic foundation, whose mission is to foster academic excellence, promote innovation, and enhance the vitality of the Cranford Public Schools by generating additional resources through community involvement. Grants are awarded to educators who will use the funding to advance this mission.
The CFEE is proud to announce they have awarded more than $33,000 in grants to the Cranford Public Schools for the 2023-24 academic year, which the Cranford Board of Education formally accepted this past August.
Fourteen projects received funding this year across the categories of Makerspaces/Innovation Zones, Innovations in Classroom Design, Differentiation / Personalization, Technology Integration and Innovations to Support School District Goals.
(above) Cranford High School Wellness Room -2023 Grant Recipient
Yvette Andriola and Anne Marie Miller of Hillside Avenue School, who were awarded a grant for a reading intervention program, say “The reading initiative grant will not only promote differentiation within our learning environment but also create valuable intervention and enrichment opportunities for our students in the areas of reading/listening comprehension, memory, vocabulary, abstract thinking, and writing skills. We are confident that we can make a profound and lasting difference in the lives of our students, nurturing their abilities and fostering a love for learning that will accompany them on their educational journey.”
Grant funding for the 2023-2024 year was generated from the 6th Annual CFEE Trivia Night fundraiser, held last February at the Kenilworth VFW and philanthropic donations throughout the year. Thanks to everyone in the community who attended, with 39 teams vying for the championship and special shout out to DJ Randy Geis, emcee Danny Murphy, photographer Christopher Gosier, guest presenter Bernie Wagenblast and Trivia Master, Brian Andrews.
CFEE would also like to thank Cranford’s Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Scott Rubin, for stopping by and top contributors MWT Builders, Cranford Jaycees, Brighton Air Corporation, and Lincoln Investment for their generous sponsorship of the event. Other local businesses, Cranford families and community organizations also supported the event with sponsorships ranging from $150 to $5000.
Dr. Scott Rubin said of the CFEE “Thank you for all you do in support of the Cranford Public School District. I am truly heartened by your generosity, and that of the community, and excited about the positive impact the CFEE efforts will have on the District.”
(above) Cranford High School Wellness Room
Grant Spotlights
Manufacturing in Engineering: Using a Laser Cutter for Production (multi-school)
Goals of this project are to encourage student investigation of career possibilities in the areas of STEAM including computer aided design, manufacturing, and fabrication technologies. Providing students with opportunities to develop their technology skills through the use of programs and applications on computers and tablets.
The Visualizing and Verbalizing® (V/V®) program (Hillside Avenue School)which develops concept imagery as a basis for comprehension and higher-order thinking. This initiative promotes differentiation within the learning environment but also creates valuable intervention and enrichment opportunities for our students in the areas of reading/listening comprehension, memory, vocabulary, abstract thinking, and writing skills.
Innovated Interventions (district-wide) This multi-sensory approach to reading is geared toward helping students overcome literacy struggles. By using multi-sensory tools to teach phonics sequentially, students are able to learn cognitively and become more confident in their reading, writing, and language skills.
Sphero indi- Screenless Coding Driven by Color (multi-school)- With the addition of Sphero indi to the Library Media Program, robots will be primarily used during the Coding/Makerspace units with the PreK-2 population. The purpose of these robots is to introduce students to computer science and participate in screenless coding. Students will discover how to code Sphero indi through color. Sphero indi robots will spark imagination and empower students to design and build their own mazes and apply problem solving and computation thinking skills.
Wellness Room (Cranford High School)- The creation of a Wellness Room at Cranford High School is designed to promote and support the mental health of students and faculty individuals, as well as the school as a whole. The expectation is that students and faculty will utilize de-escalation and grounding techniques in an aesthetically pleasing and naturally calming environment. This initiative aligns with the current district strategic plans to promote continuous improvement, awareness and a culture of student safety and wellness.
The Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence, relaunched in 2014, is a nonprofit, Cranford-based foundation that supports excellence and innovation in the Cranford public schools by generating resources through community involvement.
For more information on volunteer opportunities and how you can donate, visit cranfordfund.org and follow the Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence Facebook page for news and updates.
