2012-13 Springfield Education Foundation Grants

18 grants, totaling $30,143

12 schools and two district-wide grants

Impacting over 6,500 students directly and over 30 educators

           

2012 Innovative Educator Grant

Eleven total

Seven schools and two district-wide grants

Impacting approximately 3,798 students this year in the classroom and others district wide

Totaling $27,164.42

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #104

Title: ChromeBooks for Collaboration

Grant: $1,829.90

School: Agnes Stewart Middle School

Educators: Jennifer Utt, Robin Furrer, Audrey Stepp

Grade(s): 7,8

Subject Area(s): Language Arts, Science, Social Science

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 660

 

This grant will fund five additional ChromeBooks and allow more students to be working on the computers at the same time. This is especially important when students are collaborating across grade levels with larger classes. Students will improve their writing skills and learn how to give and take criticism, while developing valuable skills that transfer to career and college.

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #105

Title: Going Digital with TAG-Specific Units of Study

Grant: $2,800

Schools: Kindergarten through 8th

Educators: Paul Weill, District Curriculum Director and TAG Contacts at each school

Grade(s): K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Subject Area(s): Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Language Arts, Math, Music, Physical Education, Professional/Technical, Science, Social Science, Theater/Drama

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 258 K-8 TAG Students

 

Our district’s Talented and Gifted students do not consistently receive the instruction and the academic challenge they need to develop their full potential. This grant will help to create and disseminate state-of-the-art web-based TAG-specific units of study. This is the first of its kind in the district and in the State of Oregon. The results of this project will be shared statewide. All talented and gifted students in grades K-8 in the district will participate in and benefit from the use of these new web-based resources as a part of his or her TAG instructional program. Students will be accessing these new web-based resources as academic enrichment during in-school TAG instruction and at home as part of their extended learning opportunities. This grant is supported by three TAG experts from Oregon Department of Education and the University of Oregon.

 

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #106

Title: Help Us Do the Write Thing

Grant: $2,987.28

School: Page Elementary

Educator: Patti Webster

Grade(s): 2,3,4,5

Subject Area(s): Language Arts, Technology

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 150 students annually

 

This project provides an alternative writing tool to help inspire second grade writers. Students will use an iPad app called StoryBuddy to author, illustrate, narrate, and publish their stories or to research in collaboration with a 5^th grade helper. Our entire school will be able to read the student work saved on the iPads and student work can be emailed home or anywhere for family and friends to enjoy and see what our students have learned. Excitement about writing, rather than dreading the writing experience, is our expectation for students with the introduction and use of this new technology. This grant will purchase seven iPads, cases and apps adding to the school’s technology.  These will be the first iPads for the school.

 

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #107

Title: iPads for iWant to Go to College

Grant: $2,973

School: Thurston High School

Educator: Linda Urness and Career Counselors

Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area(s): College & Career Center, Counseling Department

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 1483

 

This grant purchases seven iPads for the College and Career Center, counselors, Aspire volunteers and visiting university representatives to use with students and parents with existing online curriculum tools to help plan for the student’s bright and successful future. This creative initiative supports our district, school and department goals of increasing students going to college. The availability of iPads will allow more personalized one-on-one online interactions to occur easily and more often.

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #108

Project Title: iPads to Help Students Learn English

Grant: $996

School: Riverbend

Educator: Bryan Reed

Grade(s): K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Subject Area(s): Language Arts, Science, Social Science, English Language Development

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 152

 

This grant helps students in the English Language Development class improve their proficiency in English by using iPad apps to scaffold and practice academic language. It also involves using the iPads to create targeted language samples and share them with regular classroom teachers who are collaborating in this project. Responding to the state’s changing requirements, ELD teachers in Springfield are basically building lessons and instructional materials from scratch and will be using the iPads to help them. Four 4th grade teachers from different schools will share their work developing curriculum and best practices for this program.

 

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #109

Project Title: iPod iRead iLearn

Grant: $3000

School: Ridgeview

Educator: Michele Reiersgaard, Neil Baird, Amy Bernatz

Grade(s): 1,2,3,4,5

Subject Area(s): Language Arts

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 180

 

 

Students will use iPod touches and microphones to record and listen to themselves reading a passage to increase reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. They will also use their iPods with appropriate applications for other subject areas.  These iPods will help our youngest students at  Ridgeview meet and exceed their benchmark goals.  Based on a successful program conducted in Escondido, this program has effectively and impressively grown word comprehension and reading in a short period of time with the use of iPods.  Ridgeview has the goal of 100 percent of their students meeting their reading benchmarks…and this grant will help them achieve that goal.

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #110

Project Title: iPod Touches for Literacy

Grant: $995

School: Springfield High School

Educator: Alyssa Dodds

Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area(s): Language Arts

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 150

 

iPod Touches for Literacy is a project where Alyssa’s English students will utilize the iPod touch to further their vocabulary growth as well as create their own films and podcasts. Students will be able to further their literacy skills by using a thesaurus and dictionary to look up weekly vocabulary words more efficiently and accurately to help them pass the OAKS assessment ,as well as to improve their own writing. Students will also be able to create films and podcasts individually and in groups that

they can then analyze and apply elements of literature to throughout the semester.

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #112

Special Award Honoring Hamilton Construction Company

Project Title: Legos, Robotics and Engineering

Grant: $3,000

School: Thurston Middle School

Educator: Katie Corwin

Grade(s): 7, 8

Subject Area(s): STEM

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 400

 

This project is intended for students in grades 7-8 to help them meet the most current state science standards. Students will experience hands on engineering practice through the use of Lego robotics kits, and will also have an opportunity to perform scientific inquiry using the robots they design. Students will focus on activities within the STEM initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and will also learn to gather and analyze data. These Legos will actually be used with Venier Probes to make robots that were purchased with SEF grant funds last year.

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #113

Project Title: Light it Up Blue!

Grant: $3,000

School: District-Wide

Educator: Laura Scruggs

Grade(s): All

Subject Area(s): Fine Arts, Foreign Language, Language Arts, Math, Music

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: All

 

The grant provides the resources to increase community and staff awareness of autism. We are currently working with 218 children with autism in our district. This grant will help families discover the signs of autism, increase community support, and provide teachers with classroom strategies that work with our kids.  The grant will help create a parent group focused on impacted students. The grant will provide resources for the entire district to focus attention on autism throughout the month of April (Autism Awareness Month) by joining the world-wide event “Light it Up Blue!” A weekly newsletter will also be produced for teachers that will contain useful strategies for working with children with autism.

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #114

Project Title: Our Origins at OMSI

Grant: $2,583

School: Gateways High School

Educator: Paul Weill and Emerald Crafton

Grade(s): 9, 10, 11, 12

Subject Area(s): Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Science, Health, Social Studies

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 100

 

This grant will fund a field trip for the entire student body…all 10th-14th graders from Gateways High School to go on a field trip to OMSI to the “RACE: Are We So Different?” exhibit, and attend an OMNIMAX movie: “The Human Body”. This is the first national exhibition to tell the story of race from biological, cultural, and historical points of view. This trip will be a key component of a multi-subject unit of study involving all staff and students.  This field trip will utilize curriculum from all classes and the museum itself. Educational research has concluded that the most effective and direct approach to building academic knowledge and vocabulary is through field trips that provide a variety and depth of learning experiences.

 

Innovative Educator Grant: #116

Project Title: Probing for Scientific Literacy

Grant: $3,000

School: Briggs Middle School

Educators: Zach Alder, Michelle Olson, Bobbi Dano, Jean VanMoorlehem

Grade(s): 7, 8

Subject Area(s): Math, Science

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 265

 

Students will use Vernier probeware to perform inquiry experiments at school centered on ecology and water quality. Students will also participate in a study of water quality at Garden Lake Park in Creswell in which they will be attempting to reduce the impact of blue-green algae within the park. Results of the field study at Garden Lake Park will be presented to the Coast Fork Watershed Council as well as the Creswell City Council. This grant will purchase the equipment to conduct these experiments. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that supports the use of computers and the data acquisition devices to increase test scores.

 

 

 

2012 Cutting Edge Grants

Seven total.

Six schools: one high, one middle and four elementary schools

Two music teachers, a high school teacher, one principal, a 4^th grade teacher, two 5^th grade teachers

Impacting about 2,700 students this year….and more for years to come

Totaling $2,978.16

 

 

2012 Cutting Edge Grant #3

Title: Beginning Orchestra Music

Educator: Matt Woodford, Music teacher

Grant: $300

School: Thurston Middle School

Grade(s): 6,7,8

Subject Area(s): Music

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 30

 

This grant will purchase between six and eight pieces of music for beginning orchestra to support the first year of Beginning Orchestra at Thurston Middle School. This grant drastically increases the beginning orchestra library with the help of SEF.  Instead of just melodic exercises, this grant will purchase full orchestral pieces.  Not only are these more fun to play for the students, but the students will be involved in the selection of the new music. Students are much more excited about playing music that they have selected.

 

 

2012 Cutting Edge Grant #6

Title: Dr. Seuss Spanish Reading Project

Educator: Gladys Campbell, teacher

Grant: $417.79

School: Springfield High School

Grade(s): K – 12

Subject Area(s): Foreign Language and literacy

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: Over 500

 

On March 2, Dr. Seuss’s birthday, Springfield High School students in Spanish 3 level classes visit 4 to 6 elementary schools and 5 to 10 classrooms to read Dr. Seuss books to students in Spanish. The high school students arrive at the schools, dressed up in the classic red and white Cat in the Hat, with black clothes and bow ties. It is great practice for the Spanish 3 students and very exciting for the elementary students. This grant will purchase 8 red and white striped hats, Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes and 10 Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham, books in Spanish. Reading, inspiring students to read in any language and helping them to realize that Dr. Seuss is read in many languages – inspires learning. It also helps develops speaking and pronunciation skills for the advanced Spanish language students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2012 Cutting Edge Grant #7

Title: Drums Roll and Recorders Blow

Educator: Andria Martin, Music Specialist

Grant: $500

School: Maple Elementary School

Grade(s): K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Subject Area(s): Music

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: Over 500

 

This grant purchases two tubano drums, baroque recorders, curriculum, and music for Andria’s music classes.  Children love drumming and connect to the rhythm and tempo in music. Many studies have proven how drumming is therapeutic and a vital component in community building. Students love having their own recorder that they can take home and practice. It’s a wonderful gateway instrument to band and orchestra. Andria is particularly excited to have drums for the first grade Africa curriculum!

 

2012 Cutting Edge Grant #9

Title: From Our Tank to YouTube

Educator: Eva LaMar, 4^th grade teacher

Grant: $301.02

School: Riverbend Elementary School

Grade(s): 4

Subject Area(s): Multimedia, science and service learning

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 67 in the 4^th grade this year directly, up to 400 and reaching more

 

This grant will purchase a wireless “proscope” digital microscope for use by 4^th grade science students.  Students raise salmon in the classroom and will be able to document the growth cycle with the proscope. A proscope makes the microscopic magnificent; students get excited about microscopes…as it makes the unseen visible and fascinating.  Students will zoom in closely to items, capture the images and movies, and then use these images in projects and share them on the web.  Fourth graders will then build Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) to educate the community about storm-drain run off and the damage it does to salmon habitat. 5th graders will use them to study ecosystems and riparian zones.

 

2012 Cutting Edge Grant #13

Title: School Garden: Bringing Nutrition Home

Educator: Nicola Shaddon, 5^th grade teacher

Grant: $494.58

School: Page Elementary School

Grade(s): K,1,2,3,4,5

Subject Area(s): Fine Arts, Math, Science, Social Science

Total # of Students to benefit from grant: 421

 

This grant will help create and maintain a Page Elementary school garden that will teach children far beyond what we can provide in a classroom.  Students will have hands-on learning experiences, while building their STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) skills. The school garden will promote science education while also engaging students in healthy lifestyles. This grant will help purchase materials and equipment to build and maintain the garden. This project is a group effort supported by an active School Garden Team that consists of classified, certified and administrative support, the School Garden Project and students’ families. It also connects curriculum available from the School Garden Project that aligns with Common Core Standards in reading, writing, math, and science along with the use of technology for recording the garden’s progress.