Grants awarded to Chatham Public Schools
Chatham Education Foundation
The Chatham Education Foundation, a leading provider of private funding to the School District of the Chathams, recently announced that it has distributed over $27,000 in grants to fund the following educational programs and special projects during the second grant application cycle of the 2022-2023 academic school year:
K-12 Art Show (District)—submitted by Lauren Spooner
This grant will fund additional permanent and sustainable portable display pieces to supplement those funded by CEF in 2017 for the annual K-12 district art show so that even more SDOC talent can be showcased. Display pieces will be allocated to each district school to be used by teachers for other events.
Director of Arts and Languages Lauren Spooner said “We will expand our collection of permanent display panels to improve the annual district art show and eliminate the need for temporary and less durable displays.”
Coding with Marty: Interdisciplinary Robotics Initiative (Lafayette Avenue School)—submitted by Jennifer Cifrodella, Kyle Kermick
This grant will fund “Marty” robots, which were previously piloted at Lafayette Avenue School. The robots will be used during the Hour of Code and in the Design & Technology Humanoid Robots & Coding Unit. Teachers will connect Chatham Middle School and Chatham High School robotics students and club members with younger students and will work with K-3 schools to have Design & Technology teachers utilize Marty.
According to the grant applicants, “This classroom set of “Marty” robots will allow each student in the class to engage in hands-on, project-based learning experiences that make use of STEM subject learning, computational thinking, cross-curricular opportunities, and cooperative learning experiences. Coding these robots will provide meaningful experiences in order to expose them to the opportunities open to programmers and engineers while exploring math and science.”
Building Student Autonomy Through Reading and Surroundings (Chatham Middle School)—submitted by Lisa Calamari, Sarah Pasternak-McGinn, & Kristine Quintero
Purchase supplemental texts for three sixth-grade ELA class libraries along with flexible seating options such as benches, ball chairs, adjustable stools, and floor chairs. According to the grant applicants: “The objective is to promote self-selected books and seating in order to positively impact social emotional growth and make connections to our current units of study in ELA. We want students to have choices for independent reading novels that are informational genres and high interest novels with flexible seating options to promote a high level of engagement.“
Chatham Education Foundation is a privately funded organization dedicated to supporting educational excellence in the School District of the Chathams through parent and community donations. Founded more than 25 years ago, the CEF has funded over 260 grants for a total of $1.6M. The CEF supports initiatives that would not otherwise be funded through the traditional SDOC budget, impacting students in all six SDOC schools. The CEF’s charter has principal focus on innovative learning spaces, educator growth, student well-being and student learning. The most impactful grants have been those that help SDOC stay at the forefront of implementing new educational research and technology. The board will continue to evaluate grant applications throughout the year.
Individuals interested in learning more about the Chatham Education Foundation, or financially supporting its efforts, are encouraged to visit chathamedfoundation.org.
Courtesy photo
