YORK EDUCATION FOUNDATION GRANTS FOR THE 2012 – 2013 SCHOOL YEAR
The York Education Foundation funded seven grants for the 2012-2013 school year, with four grants at York High School, one at York Middle School, one at Coastal Ridge Elementary School, and one at Village Elementary School.
Technology Integration and Visual Literacy, Tara Morin, VES:
This grant will provide funding for the purchase of a Promethean ActivBoard in the VES art classroom. This technology will change how all students at VES learn about and interact with art work, giving them the opportunity to immediately see the impact a change can make to an image, use more advanced programming to practice art skills and learn art methods and concepts. The board supports the curriculum goal of visual literacy by enabling students to dissect and comprehend complicated images.
It’s Not Easy Being Green,Thomas Charltray, CRES:
This grant will provide funding for the purchase of a professional-quality, portable green screen with lighting, for use at CRES and VES, to support a wide variety of curriculum-based classroom and grade-level projects. This new technology will improve the quality of current productions while encouraging new, innovative uses of video technology for all elementary students.
Think It, Speak It, Create It. Writing for Non-writers, Cathy Wyeth & Sally Brown, CRES:
This grant will provide funding to purchase dictation software and related technology to support students with issues that impact their ability to complete writing assignments. This software allows students to speak their thoughts, which will be translated into written words. The student can then focus on editing, organizing and enhancing their work, rather than spending valuable time struggling to get words on the paper. The goal of this project is to give identified students at CRES the opportunity to produce written assignments with less challenges than they currently have, increasing their confidence and their desire to write.
“Little Bits” for Electrical Engineering, Dave Southard, YMS:
This grant will provide 8th grade students the opportunity to work with advanced electrical circuits the use of Little Bits, which are electronic building blocks that allow students to experiment with touch-sensitive circuitry, voltage regulation and motion sensitivity. Through this project, art and electrical engineering students will have an interdisciplinary experience, working together to design and create moving art/robotics.
World Languages Film Library, Renee Fifield, YHS:
This grant will provide initial funding for the establishment of a world languages film library at YHS. The World Language teachers have collaborated to develop a unit on contemporary film, designed to support curriculum goals, such as describing practices of the cultures, comprehending conversations, identifying and explaining the significance of works of art, architecture, historical artifacts, etc., to name a few. By giving students a choice of films to watch and critique, both verbally and in writing, their understanding of the language and appreciation for the culture will grow.
Special Needs Yoga Teacher Training, Marie Enright, YHS:
This grant will provide funding for the professional development of an ed tech to participate in a yoga instructor training program, My OmAbilities, which specializes in facilitating yoga programs for special education students. The goal of this training is for the instructor to offer yoga to these students in order to help reduce their stress while increasing their strength, flexibility, focus, self-esteem, ability to collaborate. Over time, it is anticipated that other special education providers will be trained, to further enhance the impact of this offering to students.
Collaborating with iPads via Apple TV, Martha Borden & Bryan Thompson, YHS:
This grant will provide funding for the purchase of Apple TVs to be used in conjunction with the iPads already in existence throughout the school district. This project will change the dynamic of the classroom, allowing for interactions between teachers and the entire class in a way that is currently impossible. Students can share their work from their desks, participate in class activities and discussions, privately ask questions. This interaction will enable a teacher to formally assess students’ learning and understanding in real time, and instantly modify lessons based on this assessment.