Fall 2011 Grant Awards

1.      iPad-Reading Records for the 21st Century ($580) Donna Frecker, PVE; With the purchase of an iPad, the teachers will be able to easily determine a student's reading rate, accuracy rate, self-correction ratio, fluency score and comprehension score.    This device saves each reading record in a PDF file and also imports student lists and uploads student records to an online data management system.

2.      Can You Hear Me Now? ($1,763) Kyla McDaniel, Stonegate; Funding of this grant allows a classroom sound system to be purchased.  This system amplifies the teacher's voice an extra 8-10 decibels to reach each member of the class.  This device can greatly increase speech perception, increase attention to the instructor for longer periods of time, result in better behavior among students, decrease special education referrals, and assist with second language learners. This system also decreases the need for teacher repetition, allowing for more instructional time.  The students will gain more confidence and increase reading fluency as they too will get to use the sound system while reading aloud with a hand held microphone.

3.      Face-to-Face:  iPad2s in the Classroom and at Home ($1,602) Cathy Daugherty and Leslie Daugherty, PVE; This project will provide live interaction with a homebound student or students in other classes or buildings using an iPad.  Apps will be used to enrich and remediate in language arts, math, science and social studies.  The programs available on the iPad will allow for opportunities to create digital projects to be shared with parents and other students.

4.      Learning with iPad ($1,250) Jennifer Davis, ZCHS; Students in the life skills classroom often have trouble fitting in with their peers, but most have a shared interest in technology and the internet.  This device will allow them to share their thoughts and ideas using pictures as many of the students are nonverbal or have limited language use.  The iPad will also help teach touch and fine motor skills through kinesthetic learning which is effective in working with autistic students.  They will be able to take pictures and video of themselves, and their peers, acting appropriately/inappropriately in social situations. This video modeling is a useful tool to help improve students' interactions when they see themselves in specific situations.  They will also learn how to email, blog, use music or view pictures as a way to soothe themselves when anxious, and improve vocabulary skills.

5.      Amazing Animation ($1,350) Sarah Daniels, Stonegate; The funds from this grant will purchase 2 8GB flip video cameras and two Dell desktop computers to be used as a way to tie concepts in art and technology together.  Students will use the cameras to create their own stop-motion animated movies and then transfer the movies to the computers in the classroom to share.  While they are designing their video games and movies, they will need to create a script and a story to accompany their game or movie which involves story telling and literacy.

6.      A is for Apple:  iPads for Kindergarten ($3,097) Michelle Weesies, PVE; With the purchase of 2 iPads, these young students will have an opportunity to use hundreds of apps for learning in math, science, handwriting, reading, language arts, phonics, social studies, and fine motor development.

7.      Can't Touch This! ($1,250) Amanda O'Donnell, ZCHS; The purpose of this project is to give students with fine motor impairments the ability to participate in the functional academics curriculum including writing, reading, math, social studies, and individualized study.  Currently, these students have an adult scribe who writes for them or they use computers that have a separate screen and keyboard, which is a challenge for these learners.  The iPad provides students access to the curriculum without these barriers. This device also has several apps that help students work on fine motor skills.

8.      Successful Studying Students ($622) Kelli Barbuch and Margo Hoaglan, ZCHS; With the Teaching Study Strategies program, the students will have the ability to review and work on 11 study skills needed to succeed, including memory strategies, note taking, and solving word problems.  With this program they are able to practice at home as well by accessing the link provided on ANGEL. 

9.      Chute Outside of Your Comfort Zone ($417) Jennifer Davis, Stephanie Harrison, ZCHS;  This grant allows students in the Life Skills program to participate in activities using the parachute and the Kin-Ball with typically developing peers.  These activities will promote upper and lower extremity strengthening, trunk control, core strength, proper body mechanics, direction following, and active range of motion.

10.  You Wouldn't Want To Miss Out on These High-Interest Nonfiction Texts! ($764)  Katie Gray and Hallie Monoghan, ZMS; This grant will provide 12 books from the You Wouldn't Want to Be series of illustrated nonfiction books.  These books delve deeper into current social studies topics and provide students with more information, trivia, and interesting tidbits to pique hesitant readers' interests.  Students will gain additional knowledge about explorers and exploration, pilgrims, colonists, and the American Revolution while focusing on nonfiction reading comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary development.

11.  Reading About the Little Rock Nine ($843) Ryan Batsie and Tim Yovanovich, ZWMS; This grant will purchase two books for an interdisciplinary project between the language arts and U.S. history classes.  The books are entitled Warriors Don't Cry and Days of Courage.  Students will observe modeled reading, participate in shared reading, write comparisons of differing points of view and write about the motivations of different groups/individuals presented in the books.

12.  Full Speed Ahead with an Eye on the Past ($7,912) Deb Krupowicz, ZMS; This grant will purchase numerous resources to enhance students' experiences in language arts and history by developing an integrated humanities curriculum.  The sixth graders will study the world from ancient times through the World War II era.  Funds will allow a library of resources to be established that will provide in-depth literature studies across the time periods mentioned. 

13.  Building Literacy Skills Using Tiny Miracle Machines (iPads) ($2,375) Laura Czerwionka and Joy Manna, Union; This classroom divides students into differentiated guided reading groups based on their reading abilities.  The iPad makes this time much more active and captivating for the students as they work on approximately ten reading activities and exercise.

14.  Promoting Literacy in 8th Grade Science ($1,451) Jenna Bowling, ZMS; This grant provides high interest, content rich books that can engage students in learning about science.  Studying the scientist who have conducted many of the experiments and research that are the foundation of modern scientific knowledge will help to connect students to the science by leaving a lasting impression of the impact that these scientists have had on the everyday lives of people in this century.  They will read and discuss the biographies of the scientists Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, and Albert Einstein.

15.  Clay Works With Don Edwards ($2,400) Scott Miller, PVE; Don Edwards, a local pottery artisan, will work with every art class and every student to demonstrate the method of throwing clay using a pottery wheel.  The finished pottery pieces will be on display during the annual Pleasant View Elementary Arts Fair.

16.  Composers at Work ($2,766) Liz Leatherberry, ZWMS; This grant would commission a new work written by established composer, Rick Kirby, for the ZWMS 8th grade Wind Band.  Students will work side by side with the composer throughout the year on commissioned projects for one another to prepare and perform. Students will have the opportunity to showcase their works alongside the 8th grade Wind Band commission during the 2012 Spring Concert.  This grant will provide students with real world insight into the composition process from start to finish.  

17.  Education on the Go ($768) Patti McNally, ZCHS; This grant allows the purchase of an iPad for the Learning Center Resource Room.  This will facilitate student learning through a smoother and quicker response from the teacher.  The objective is for the instructor to increase the speed in which she may access a variety of materials matching the varying needs of students who come for supplemental help.

17 awarded for a total of $ 31,210

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