The School Foundation awards $101,702.92 in grants to Florence School District One for 2010-2011!
Check presented to FSD1 at board meeting on June 11, 2010
L-R: Porter Stewart, FSD1 Board of Trustees, Trisha Caulder, School Foundation Grants Chairman,
Jeff Helton, School Foundation Chairman, Dr. Allie Brooks, FSD1 Interim Superintendent
MAJOR GRANTS AWARDED
Ready Children/Ready Schools/Ready Communities
Dr. Floyd Creech
Florence School District One - $42,000.00
Ready Children/Ready Schools/Ready Communities proposes to increase the number of children entering school ready to learn by:
Educating parents and caregivers of young children;
Equipping schools as responsive places for young children and their families; and
Elevating community awareness about the physical, cognitive and emotional needs of children before they enter school.
This proposal will expand school readiness programs from a school program into a community effort linking children, parents, schools, child care providers, faith-based programs, community leaders and businesses. Research has documented the needs of young children from birth to age 5. This proposal activates this body of research. The impact that has been documented in similar efforts and described in this proposal will become a reality for Florence School District One. It will impact every school within the district in positive ways by assuring that more children enter school ready to learn.
The impact of one more child entering school ready to learn can often offset the entire cost of a school readiness program. Sustaining Ready Children/Ready Schools/Ready Communities in the future is possible. The goals and objectives have measurable outcomes and will demonstrate the effectiveness of the program and the long term impact on the Florence Community.
Math Nspired Alisa Hobgood West Florence, South Florence and Wilson High School - $24,668.38
Algebra teachers in Florence School District One will receive training to implement the TI-Nspire and the TI-Navigator technology into the classroom. Teachers will gain knowledge in how to access and utilize the Texas Instrument Lesson Resource Center. This is a web based center that contains classroom-ready lessons. Self-paced online professional development resources are also available on this site. Math Nspired utilizes the power of TI-Nspire technology to help students build a deeper understanding of the math concepts that they struggle with the most. Teacher training and communication will take place monthly during the school year. Teachers will utilize the mobile TI-Technology center at least every two weeks to enhance the algebra curriculum.
Students will be introduced to the TI-Nspire graphing calculator and the TI-Navigator system. Since the TI-Nspire is a document based device, students will be able to store documents in the device for later retrieval and analysis. Students will maintain an electronic portfolio of mathematical documents.
The Math Nspired project will improve the mathematics curriculum for Algebra students at the three high schools in Florence School District One: South Florence High School, West Florence High School, and Wilson High School. Students will use dynamic technology to study important algebraic concepts. The major outcomes of the project include reinforcement of curriculum goals, real life applications of mathematical functions, improved algebraic reasoning capabilities for students, and improved standardized test scores.
F.L.A.S.H (Families Learning Arithmetic at School and Home) Carrie Ann Brigman Briggs, Dewey Carter, North Vista, Savannah Grove, Timrod and Wallace Gregg - $20,072.00
The F.L.A.S.H. grant will fund handheld electronic devices called FlashMasters that have been proven to increase recall of basic math facts. A FlashMaster is an 11-ounce computer that makes flashcards obsolete. It is a portable self-checking device that offers immediate feedback. With the FlashMaster, students will have the opportunity to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts in a fun, innovative, and efficient manner. The FlashMaster can be used anywhere at any time – the classroom, car, living room, or while waiting in the doctor’s office.
Students will be able to use the FlashMaster in the classroom and check them out for home use. This will enable parents to become more involved in their child’s education by giving them an opportunity to work with their children while using the FlashMaster.
Teachers and students will be trained on how to use the FlashMasters in the classroom. A peer-mentoring program will be established whereby older students will train younger students to use the FlashMaster. Parents from all six targeted schools will be given the opportunity to attend a community parent workshop on the use of the FlashMaster. Currently, many students struggle with the basic concepts in mathematics. FlashMasters will help these students overcome this struggle and allow them to become better critical thinkers and problem solvers. Mastering basic facts will also heighten confidence and create a more positive attitude towards mathematics. The F.L.A.S.H. program will have an immediate impact on students and will provide a more solid foundation for middle and high school students. Finally, improved proficiency with basic facts will have a positive effect on test scores for not only the targeted schools but also the district.
BOOKS FOR BREAKFAST, NUTRITION FOR THE MIND Sharon Thames North Vista Elementary - $10,000.00
Books for Breakfast addresses four main areas of concern for second graders at North Vista: Reading comprehension, writing, integration of content areas into English Language Arts (ELA), and parent participation. The intent of the grant is to seamlessly weave these four areas together to increase students’ scores on formative and summative assessments.
Picture books that correlate to state standards in ELA, math, science, and social studies will be ordered for each classroom. At the beginning of each month, parents will be invited to a “Books for Breakfast” meeting where they will get an overview of the books that will be shared in class, as well as the standards that the books address. Each parent who attends will get his/her name in a drawing to win one of the books highlighted for the month.
During the week, students will take home a different book each night to share with parents. Parents will be encouraged to read the book to and with the child. At the end of each week, students will take a dialogue journal home for parent and child to reflect about any book read during that week. Each Monday, students will bring the dialogue journals back to class. The teacher in each class will respond to journal reflections of parents and students before the end of the week.
By the end of the school year, parents and students will have shared approximately 120 books. Because there will be written conversations between home and school regarding the books, positive communication will have developed. Students will begin to value writing as a legitimate communication form. They will also begin to see connections between content areas and ELA rather than viewing them as separate entities. Ultimately, students’ scores on formative and summative assessments will increase because of the deeper conversations about books at home and at school along with supportive classroom instruction.
MINI GRANTS AWARDED
Today, Tomorrow and Yesteryear Wallace Gregg Elementary -$500 Anne Darby Hunter
This grant will enhance the American Revolution social studies lessons of all 3rd grade Wallace Gregg students while also integrating reading, music, physical education and science standards in the interactive experiences the grant will help to provide. After classroom lessons incorporating the new supplemental books and videos provided by the grant, a living history Swamp Fox Day will be held right on the grasses of Wallace Gregg where Francis Marion himself once roamed. Swamp Fox Day will combine the free living history exhibits to be presented by the Revolutionary War re-enactors of the Hughes Giles Regiment from Brittons Neck with hands-on activity centers developed from grant resources. Students will step back in time and play 18th century games and make 18th century crafts. South Carolina history will go beyond the classroom and the mundane to become a living, breathing part of each child’s experience.
Books! Books! Books! Savannah Grove Elementary School - $500 Chasity Brown
First-grade students at Savannah Grove will learn to love reading while becoming better readers. The students will be able to enjoy reading because they will have books written at their reading levels. Experts in the field write that children need to practice if they are to become good at reading. Not only should they practice, but they should practice with books that are written on their individual reading levels. The saying “one size does not fit all” can definitely be applied to reading. First graders vary in their reading abilities, interests and experiences. Therefore, it is important to provide students with a large variety of books specific to their reading levels. Children learn to read when they are able to select appropriate books.
It is Rocket Science After All Stage III Wilson High School - $500 Cliff Moriarty
The Wilson High School Rocket Club is a member of the nationally recognized “Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC)”, an organization of rocket clubs in America. Each rocket club must design, build and fly a model rocket that meets the established parameters of flying 825 feet, takeoff and landing in 40-45 seconds with a payload of one raw egg. The purpose of the club is to promote excellence in academic achievement, build community involvement, and foster scientific problem solving and critical thinking skills in students as well as to bring innovative leadership opportunities to Wilson.
Smart Sacks Delmae Elementary School - $500
Jenny Rogers and Ginger Baggette
This is a grant that will build the home/school connection in the early years of school. Smart Sacks aim to get both children and parents excited about learning with take-home learning book bags filled with fun, hands-on activities that reinforce basic readiness skills. Activities range from alphabet exploration to weather wonderings and are based around state standards. Bags will be rotated weekly among students and will serve to strengthen the current curriculum in the classroom while sending home strategic and hands-on ways the parent can provide support and take an active role in their child’s learning through easy directions and simplistic activities.
Motivating Mathematical Thinkers Delmae Elementary School - $469.54
Alaina Pitts
Have you ever wondered how to motivate a child to become more interested in math? What is it that keeps students from mastering basic math skills that lay the foundation for future math learning? This grant is designed to increase student achievement through the use of educational math games that engage, motivate and make learning fun. Math is hard work, but through a gaming approach, teachers can capture student attention and foster learning. This grant will allow for the purchase of standards-based math games which will be used during small group instruction and differentiated according to student needs. In these classroom experiences, students will be allowed to work cooperatively, problem solve and communicate mathematical skills.
Ocean Delights Delmae Elementary School - $500.00 Angela Taylor
Have you ever looked at a picture of an ocean and asked what might swim beyond where your eyes can see? Or exactly what does the starfish eat or what does a seahorse do when it needs to rest? These and many other questions will be addressed through the implementation of the Ocean Delights grant project. Perhaps the most delightful element of the unit is that students will be able to brainstorm questions and find answers in books written at their independent reading level! Through the Ocean Delights unit, students will read, perform, write and explore Science as it relates to the ocean; in addition, they will be able to share theirwork through a service project that will benefit orthopedically disadvantaged students in the district.
P.E.T.S. Moore Intermediate - $500 Shellia Daniels Anderson
P.E.T.S. is a project designed to motivate second grade students to read by Providing Essential Trade books for Students and increase their reading levels. This project will help improve students’ attitudes toward reading and upgrade their writing abilities. Students will become members of a book club and parents will have the opportunity to get more involved with their child’s education by becoming reading buddies and also earning club membership. Each month, special hands-on activities will be incorporated such as a “Novelty Treasures” treasure hunt for dinosaur bones which will relate to the book Dinosaurs Before Dark. Students will also create responses to literary texts through a variety of methods such as writing, creative dramatics, and the visual and performing arts.
Picture This! Timrod Elementary School - $500 Debra Purvis
Kindergarten students will be photographed participating in daily classroom experiences, hands-on experiments, field trips and other special occasions during the school year. Students will choose and write about several of their favorite photographs each month. By the end of the year, each student will have a bound book of his/her writing samples and photographs. Students will share their writing with other students and parents to develop oral communication and vocabulary. Students will also be introduced to writing through technology by creating documents and using child-friendly publishing programs such as Smilebox.
Running Robots Delmae Elementary School - $495 Debbie Chapman
This program is designed to educate all third and fourth grade students at Delmae about robot programming. Students will use an NXT robot and software, computer programming, downloading and actual robot performance to put “hands-on minds-on” learning into action. Students will have the opportunity to compete in a robotics challenge at a regional level. Science standards which address concepts and processes will be addressed throughout the year.
Integrating Learning into Life Lester Elementary School - $498 Linda Bartlett
Many second grade standards are not only necessary for preparing for success in third grade, but for leading healthy, successful lives as adults. Through this grant, students will develop a knowledge of and understanding of real-life skills related to math, reading, economics and health. Through hands-on activities, students will be able to follow a recipe, measure ingredients, and time cooking; read written instructions; learn how to read and understand nonfiction writing; understand basic economic issues, such as supply and demand and retail pricing; and read and understand nutrition labels. A parent workshop will share the goals of the grant and give parents ideas of activities that they can do with their child at home.
An additional source of funding for grants is DonorsChoose.org, an online charity where you can list your classroom needs. Donors from across the country visit this site when they have education funds available.
Updates on '08-'09 Grants
Updates on '08-'09 Grants
BRIDGING THE DIVIDE (Major Grant) Southside Middle School
Submitted by Liz Collins
The School Foundation grant at Southside is in full swing. Students in 7th and 8th grade pilot classes have transitioned well to the online delivery of content material. Students are using "Blackboard" - an online system that allows them to access notes, listen to lessons through mp3 podcasts, take tests and submit unlimited digital documents and projects online. A podcasting class was started to specifically teach students how to use Mac programs to create quality presentations for peers and teachers on a variety of subjects. The latest projects include the creation of public service announcements using video cameras for filming and i-movie as an editing program. In the past months, students have used the GarageBand program to create educational podcasts for teachers on a variety of subjects including geologic time for 8th grade science, propaganda for Language Arts and the Enlightenment for 7th grade Social Studies. They have also created Radio theatre programs for Language Arts. In January, classes will be creating "math moment" films and will begin video projects for 8th grade Social Studies. There is currently a waiting list of students eager to join in this exciting new learning experience.
Student working on sound in GarageBand
to export music to a public service announcement.
ROUND TABLE READERS (Mini Grant) West Florence High School
Submitted by Sissy Smith
Thanks to the Round Table Readers grant, West Florence students are enjoying reading and discussing some of the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees. The grant funded two sessions of an after-school book club devoted to discussing these high-quality young adult novels. About 25 students, teachers, and community members have attended each of the two sessions with an additional 25-30 students reading each of the books. Gina Lee, a teacher who is a participant in the program, indicated that she was "amazed at the depth and perception" of the students who participated in the first session. Lee was "awed by how well the students could analyze a book." She indicated that the students who participated in the process had "become critics and readers" and that they were learning to write as well as to read. Lee indicated that being part of this process made her "proud to be a teacher at West Florence High School." Learn more about the Round Table Readers on their website.
Round Table Readers discussing latest novel.
COOKING AND EATING OUR WAY THROUGH THE STANDARDS (Mini-Grant)
Lester Elementary
Submitted by Maggie Rodgers
We have really enjoyed using the grant we received from The School Foundation to help fund the cooking activities we do in class. We typically do one to two cooking activities per month. The students are learning many skills including reading comprehension, language usage and math. The students love "Cooking Fridays" and work very hard during the week to ensure they will be able to participate in the cooking. Some of the students wrote what they like about cooking and here are some of their statements:
“Cooking activities are fun. I also like helping the teacher cook. The food is great!”
“I like cooking activities because we get to help cook and we get to eat the food.”
“I think cooking is educational and we are learning so when we grow up we can cook our own food. I love cooking and we have fun.”
“What I like about cooking is that you get messy and you can make all kinds of stuff.”
Cooking can be fun and educational.
FAMILY FOLK STORIES (Mini Grant) Lester Elementary Submitted by Carolyn Stroup
My students are very enthusiastic about our project, Family Folk Stories. We are immersed in reading multicultural literature and are on target with our projected timeline for Family Folk stories. We have discussed multicultural practices and have compared many personal cultural stories within our class.
We have bought cameras for students to use as they compile photo essays of people and places important to their lives and cultures. Several students have already written and published their first photo essays. Most of the students are presently developing the questions and topics that they would like to explore in their communities and families.
A fifth grade student with her essay.
Math Munchers (Mini-Grant)
Lester Elementary
Submitted by Linda Bartlett
Lester's second grade students have been learning a lot about math this fall. Monthly hands-on cooking activities have provided for four classes of children to experience a variety of math skills such as measuring ingredients, measuring temperature, weighing food items, and determining elapsed time. Suggestions for at-home math activities are being provided in newsletters sent to parents. Students and teachers are excited about these activities, and they are looking forward to our visit this spring to observe how math skills are used in a restaurant.
The School Foundation has awarded more than $90,000 in grant funding for projects for students in Florence School District 1.
“The applications this year left no doubt that there are many innovative and committed teachers in Florence School District 1,” said Debbie Hyler, executive director of The School Foundation. “The School Foundation is dedicated to nurturing and encouraging these qualities.”
Grant recipients were recognized during a reception Wednesday at the Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation Library in Florence.
Grants of $200 to $500 each were awarded in the Mini grants category, while grants of $10,000 or more were awarded in the Major grants category.
The foundation received 29 applications for the Mini grant category and 10 applications in the Major grant category.
“There were multiple projects that were worth funding,” Hyler said. “It’s a shame we can’t fund more.
“Obviously, the more money we raise, the more we can fund,” she said. “It just truly shows, to me, that there are lots and lots of great teachers with wonderful ideas.”
Grants were chosen based on innovation, creativity, educational value, student involvement and level of positive benefits for students.
“We were tremendously excited by the number and breadth of applications,” Trisha Caulder, chairwoman of The School Foundation’s grants committee, said in a press release. “It was an extremely difficult decision this year.
“The grants committee really had a difficult time,” she said. “There were so many more we wanted to fund.”
In the major grant category, Dewey L. Carter Elementary School, Southside Middle School and South Florence High School received $90,000 for a joint project called “Bridging the Divide.”
The project will target at-risk students in sixth through ninth grades. Teachers will be able to enhance instruction and engage students through the use of such technology as laptops, iPods and digital programs.
A total of $4,820 was awarded in the Mini grants category. The amount and projects are:
· $500, “Around the Town”— A project for three kindergarten classes at Henry Timrod Elementary School to develop oral language and writing skills, as well as develop an understanding of how families and communities lived in the past through a social studies unit about their community.
· $498, “Video Broadcasting” — Additional equipment to support an increase in students enrolling in South Florence High School’s Video Broadcasting class. The class produces a live morning show (Bruin News Network).
· $500, “Writing Through the Ages” — For resource books, materials and equipment for seventh-grade students in English language arts and social studies at Williams Middle School to research periods of history.
· $500, “The Round Table” — For the creation of an afterschool book club at West Florence High School.
· $500, “It is Rocket Science After All” — A project to help develop interest in science and technology. The Wilson High School Rocket Club will be able to design, build and fly a model rocket.
Five grants were awarded to Theodore Lester Elementary School:
· $500 for “Cooking and Eating Our Way Through the Standards” — A project designed to enhance the teaching of the curriculum standards for third-grade students through cooking activities and reading.
· $460, “Math Munchers” — A project designed for students to improve their math skills through cooking activities at school and at home.
· $362, “Puppets in the Classroom” — For the purchase of puppets for a five-year-old kindergarten class. The puppets will be used as a motivational tool and for academic instruction.
· $500, “Family Folk Stories” — A writing project for third- through sixth-grade students in English language arts.
· $500, “Literacy Through Listening” — A literacy project for fourth-grade students. Audio media will be used to help students improve reading skills.
Hyler said the foundation will offer a grant writing workshop Feb. 6 for schools interested in learning about writing Mini and Major grant applications.
FSD1 Unveils iMACS Donated by The School Foundation
Morning News Photo/JEFF SMITH - Steve Rummage explains the convenience of the Apple iMacs that will be added to the school district along with 25 free iPods. Unveiling took place at Florence School District One office on Dargan Street.
