Grants

•   Attendance Matters (SHS)

Schools have found that, Post Covid, chronic absenteeism has increased. This grant supports a school counseling initiative to respond to individual problems with chronic absenteeism by using goal setting and positive reinforcement.

• Xylophone Troop (SES)

Many research studies have shown that singing and playing an instrument are beneficial for brain development. This grant focuses on students not in chorus or band programs. This pilot program will include xylophone/percussion sessions after
school for upper elementary students to experience a musical ensemble. 

• History Challenge (MBA)

This is an added effort to encourage student interest in learning about history. This grant supports student participation in The Great History Challenge, a nationwide online competition. It creates a unique question-and-answer game based on the National Social Studies Curriculum Standards.  The competition is available to all students grades 6-8 and can lead to regional and national levels of competition.

• Inspiring Kindness (SES)

Schools in Somers continue to work on encouraging respectful and thoughtful student behavior. This grant underwrites a speaker, Brad Montague, renowned for his ability to foster kindness, creativity, and empathy in his audience. Preparatory activities will prepare students for the visit, and follow-up activities will build on the speaker’s message and unique ability to connect with his audience. The goal is to further nurture caring and considerate behavior.

• Voice Recorders (MBA) 

This grant focuses on students who are ahead of their English class and need more advanced activities to further their learning. The students will use the voice recorders as a part of a project in which they record interviews with people outside of class and synthesize the information into a paper or presentation. The grant underwrites the cost of the recorders.

Continued in next column.  

• ·  Soundproofing for Music Practice  (MBA)

The music program in the Somers is growing and the middle school needs practice rooms. This grant will underwrite soundproofing for the Music Library at Mabel B. Avery School, so that it can double as a practice room without disturbing adjoining music classrooms.

• Mobile Makerspaces (SES)

The High School and Middle School each provide a Makerspace in the media center, which students can access during study halls. Elementary students have no study halls, so these Mobile Makerspaces will come to classrooms and support the core curriculum by providing opportunities for project-based learning, using high-tech, low tech, and no-tech tools. Students will be introduced to design thinking as a problem-solving framework.

• Nonfiction Books for the LMC (SHS)

This is not a traditional area for the Foundation to fund, but the Library Media Center has been using almost its entire budget renewing databases and yearly subscriptions.  As a result, the LMC’s nonfiction selections are drastically outdated. This grant will begin to bring the collection up to date so that it provides accurate, current information and is usable for student research projects. 

                 Professional Development Fall 2024

Although this initiative was formulated in Spring 2024, all the grants were awarded during the fall grant session beginning on July 1, 2024.  Twenty-three Somers Elementary School teachers were awarded SEF professional development grants allowing them to participate in LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) literacy training.  LETRS provides comprehensive, intensive, in-depth training in brain science, phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and written language. With LETRS training, teachers gain a deeper understanding of the research behind the Science of Reading, empowering them to engage in meaningful discussions about instructional strategies and student outcomes. Teachers are not only prepared to employ evidence-based practices in their classrooms, but they understand the why behind the instructional practices.  One result of this initiative will be close coordination between teachers and across grades as they implement the reinforcing strategies and approaches from their in-depth training.

• · Vinyl Printing and Cutting (SHS)

The purchase of this new printer will greatly expand the applications that students will be learning in the commonly used process of vinyl printing. It will allow students with the Technology and Engineering Education Program to create everything from decals and stickers to banners and textile graphics. While learning the skills involved, the approximately 60-80 students in the Graphic Design 1 and 2 classes can also apply these skills to projects for other departments and school organizations. 

• · Art Department Color Printer (SHS)

This new printer will replace a worn out black and white model and provide added flexibility and many additional uses, such as printing accurate reference images, digital images in computer art and other courses, and mixed media processes.

• · Flexible Seating for 1st Grade Teachers (SES)

These new seating options for students will support the implementation of new teaching methods requiring more involvement and movement from students. They will also help students feel more secure when working with more difficult and challenging material. The effectiveness for student learning of these seating options is supported by considerable research and by use by other teachers in the building.

• · Film Studies Movie Theater Experience (SHS)

The purchase will provide a top-quality experience of the movies viewed so that subtleties of shading, camera angles, lighting, etc. can be noted and discussed as part of the artistic presentation of the director. This will help students analyze a movie’s effects on a more sophisticated level.

• · Communication Boards for Outdoor Play Areas (SES)

These boards facilitate communication for individuals who have communication differences in speaking or verbal expression. These individuals will be able to communicate more easily with peers and teachers. On one side, the board has pictures depicting 48 basic words and concepts such as “throw,” “sit,” “come,” “swings,” “thirsty,” and “hurt” that students can point at to communicate with others.  The other side has letters and numbers arranged as a keyboard to allow a student to point and spell out their need, idea, or problem.

The number of students who use Alternative Augmented Communication (AAC) Devices has increased and those devices are difficult to use in a playground setting. The boards will make it much easier for these students to communicate and participate with others. 

Continued in next column.

•     ·Slab Roller Replacement (SHS) 

A slab roller rolls sheets of clay to the desired thickness, so that students can use it for their artistic creations. The old slab roller is inoperative and of inferior quality, and students spent class time rolling their own clay with wooden rolling pins, a laborious and inefficient use of their time. The new slab roller is very high quality, will operate efficiently, and will last for a long time. The 80+ students who take ceramics every year will all benefit by the addition of this equipment. 

• · IPadPro for Music Classes (MBA and SHS)

This technology will allow the choral Director to project the musical score a group is working on while in rehearsal.  The teacher can read from parts of the score and annotate them for the students, or she can quickly direct students to a section, zoom into it on the screen and highlight specific voicings, rhythms, or terms.  A page-turn pedal allows the director to turn the pages of the score with her feet, keeping her hands free for directing. The grant includes separate pedals for each school so that only the IPad needs to be transported.

• · Non-Permanent Vertical Surfaces for Curriculum Collaboration (MBA and SHS)

Research suggests that erasable, movable surfaces can stimulate more creative and useful problem-solving discussions than traditional approaches using paper posted on walls. These surfaces will be used primarily to enhance curriculum development and planning but will also be available for teachers to use them for problem solving in the classroom.

• · Outfitting the Robotics Club (MBA)

The grant will purchase robot kits that will allow students to develop their skills and compete in the regional Robotics competitions. Robotics is an important field within the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. Although students are introduced to robotics through the technology education curriculum, this club will allow students to pursue their interest in a much deeper and more concentrated way. 

• · Tuba for Middle School Band (MBA)

This grant will create another option for the many students now moving into 6th grade who want to continue their studying of an instrument. This tuba is ¾ size, specially sized for younger players who would like to try the Tuba.