GRANTS AWARDED 1999-2000
In the spring of 1999, CEF awarded ten grants, totaling $39,645, for the 1999-2000 school year. The grant projects reach children in each of the Concord elementary schools, Concord Middle School, and Concord-Carlisle High School.
Writing Residence for Alcott, Thoreau, and Willard Schools |
| Grant Amount: |
$6,300 |
| This grant was funded in collaboration with the Alcott, Thoreau, and Willard PTGs. It provides funding to bring in writing consultants to work with students and to help teachers develop specific strategies to enhance the writing process throughout the K-5 curriculum. |
Grounds for Learning |
| Grant Amount: |
$6,131 |
| This grant, given to Hasso Ewing and Merhnoosh Watson, provides funds to create an outdoor classroom -a natural habitaT- at Thoreau School conducive to the study of science, art, and language arts at the school. The classroom will include a native plant garden, a woodland area with picnic tables for outdoor classes, a field with a shallow pond, and natural seating. |
Technology in Elementary Music |
| Grant Amount: |
$1,329 |
| This grant to Lynne Paradis at Alcott School enables her to extend the use of technology in the music curriculum to kindergarten through third grade. With a grant awarded last school year, Ms. Paradis introduced music technology to fourth and fifth graders. Students will understand the computer as it is used with music software. They will sharpen musical concepts and take on the role of composer in creating songs and integrating classroom projects with music technology. |
Greek Mythology |
| Grant Amount: |
$850 |
| Carol Birdcall and Margrete Miner from Alcott School will use this grant to create a teaching unit on Greek mythology that incorporates literary study, drama. and art into the classroom. This early exposure to classical culture will help third and fourth graders to understand the many allusions to myth in American culture. |
Middle East Curriculum Institute |
| Grant Amount: |
$6,000 |
| CMS social studies teachers Sue Curtin and Dan Murphy will use this grant to bring expertise from university professors in the development of a twelve-week unit of study for seventh graders on the history, geography. and culture of the Middle East. This combines a wonderful learning opportunity for the teachers and the students. |
Learning Through Drama |
| Grant Amount: |
$3,060 |
| This grant funds a professionally led after-school " Theatre Workshop" for the 1999-2000 school year. Libby Hunter of the CMS music faculty and CMS parents David and Robin Zucker will administer the program. A theater education graduate student from Emerson College will facilitate the workshop. which will offer both drama education and drama-based extracurricular activities at CMS. |
Youth Technology Entrepreneurs |
| Grant Amount: |
$6,000 |
| CEF helped Elaine DiCicco to pilot the Youth Technology Entrepreneurs (YTE) program at CCl iS. The goals are to prepare students for leadership and educational achievement by helping them to demonstrate academic, entrepreneurial, and technical skills. They will teach other young people computer skills, work with faculty and staff to maintain computer networks, and provide technology support services to community businesses. |
Choices Model |
| Grant Amount: |
$2,250 |
| CCHS history teacher Denis Cleary will use this grant to apply the Choices curriculum model from Brown University to two units of study for juniors and seniors in Advanced Topics of U.S. History. The model places students in a controversial, historical moment. They must use primary sources, political cartoons, biographical information, and narrative text to discuss, role-play, and develop alternative solutions to the historical crisis. |
Teaching and Learning with the Brain in Mind |
| Grant Amount: |
$4,725 |
| CEF sent five teachers to a two day national conference at Harvard University with top experts on the latest brain-based learning research, which describes different learning techniques used by children, and how teaching methods can best accommodate these various techniques. Teachers have prepared workshops to disseminate what they learned and how it applies to our classroom and curriculum teaching methods. |
Equity and Diversity Seminar |
| Grant Amount: |
$3,000 |
| Two Thoreau School teachers, Brad Bennett and Merrie Najimy, used this grant to attend a seminar on equity and diversity as it applies to curriculum and classroom teaching. They are preparing workshops to be held throughout the year for staff to heighten awareness of gender-fair and multicultural curricula and classroom teaching methods. |
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