The Bedford Education Foundation is proud to announce the funding of seven grants in our Fall 2017 grant cycle, totaling $11,000. Congratulations to all of our grant recipients! To date, the BEF has funded over $200,000 towards creative and innovation projects in the Bedford Public Schools.
SCREEN FREE CODING – Davis School
Davis Kindergarten teachers Jaclyn Bentinck-Smith and Stacy Vallely were awarded a $2,900 grant for Screen Free Coding Equipment for all of the Kindergarten classrooms. This is a great way to introduce logic and coding without exposing children to more screen time. Every Kindergarten classroom will receive a Robot Mouse activity kit with an extra programmable mouse, plus a Let’s Go Code activity set. In addition, three KIBO robots will be shared amongst the Kindergarten classrooms.
EXPANDING EXPRESSION TOOL PROGRAM – Lane School
Lane School Speech and Language therapist Nadia Trant was awarded a $500 grant for an Expanding Expression Tool program (EET). EET is a multi-sensory approach for improving oral and written language, using a systematic, semantic, and hands-on methodology for organizing and describing. EET is a creative and innovative hands-on tool that will help students with their writing, close-reading and speaking skills.
SHAKESPEARE NOW! – JGMS
JGMS 8th grade English teachers Denise Breakall and Peter Jacob-Dolan were awarded a $1,200 grant to bring the Shakespeare Now! Theater Company to JGMS to perform Romeo and Juliet this coming Spring. We expect that this creative and innovative pilot program will resound with students and help many better understand and connect with Shakespeare.
MINDFUL MOMENT ROOM – JGMS
The JGMS Guidance Department was awarded a $1,850 grant for Creating a Mindful Moment Room. The grant will provide resources and curriculum necessary for the complete transformation of Room B241, an alternative setting room in JGMS, often used for in-school suspensions, into a Mindful Moment Room, a safe place for middle schoolers to reconsider their choices while learning to decompress, reflect, and participate in sensory-based activities. This grant will help create an environment more conducive to early adolescent students’ engagement in deep, reflective thought, especially when confronted with social and emotional stress, in the hopes that coping skills improve and translate into a more positive school and classroom experience. We are proud to be a part of this ongoing initiative at JGMS.
COSTUME & PROP INVENTORY SOFTWARE – BHS
BHS theater director Katrina Faulstich was awarded a $720 grant for Costume and Prop Inventory software for the BHS theater department. The costumes and props used for BHS performances (and eventually JGMS performances) will be organized and catalogued so they are easier to find. Students will also be involved in this effort. The new software should allow the department to reuse more items, share resources with other schools, and spend more time working with students on the creative process.
DIGITAL CAMERAS – BHS
Art Director Sean Hagan was awarded a $2,800 grant for five DSLR Cameras for a new BHS Digital Photography class, proposed for the 2018-2019 school year. These sophisticated cameras will offer students a much higher level of control, finesse, artistic choice, and creativity in their photography work than the various hand-held devices often used. Mr. Hagan envisions these cameras being used in a multitude of ways going forward, including the potential for high school students to give back to the Bedford community with their photography skills.
VISITING WRITERS’ SERIES – BHS
BHS English teachers Patti Messenger and Jillian Butler were awarded a $1,000 grant for
a Visiting Writers’ Series. This program will allow for students to read selections from several authors and then have these authors come to BHS individually to discuss this work and process in a workshop format. This innovative program will help humanize the work and the writing process as well as allow students to think more critically about writing as a profession.
Davis School teachers Susan Nocera and Amy Corssino were awarded a $1,300 grant for a Buddy Bench for the Davis School playground. A Buddy Bench is a colorful, clearly marked bench designed for students who may have difficulty navigating the process of finding playmates, or finding the confidence to join in, at recess. It will give students the opportunity to both reach out for help and give other students the experience of offering themselves as a friend. The goal of the bench is to teach students to reach out to one another, to eliminate loneliness and to foster friendships on the playground.
Fourth grade teacher Julia Herman was awarded a $1,000 grant for a SMART Document Camera SDC-450 for her classroom. During the school day, the document camera will allow Ms. Herman to instantly share student work and demonstrations with her class and give students the opportunity to share their own learning and process with their peers. Additionally, the document camera can be used to create recordings that students and parents can access at home.
Lane School was awarded a $500 grant for materials and supplies for the Lane School Chicken Coop Project led by Keith Kinney and Jean Mickel. Keeping live chickens allows Lane School students to investigate external and internal structures of animals as well as deepen their understanding of animal adaptations. This funding will allow Lane’s creative and innovative school-wide endeavor to flourish in the coming year.
BHS Robotics teacher John O’Connor was awarded a $2,800 grant for a robotic model sailboat project. In class, the students will expand their programming and operating skills by working with a 3 foot robotic model sailboat with on-board computers, sensors, and servo motors. The students will take what they know about sailing and teach it to a computer. The computer can “feel” using sensors, “think” with the program the students write, and “act” via servo motors controlling rudders and sails.
BHS English teachers Cassie Dresser and Sarah Kane were awarded a $450 grant for a classroom set of graphic novels and adapted texts for struggling readers. These texts will allow students to access the original texts in creative ways that will increase the amount of class time analyzing literature and decrease the amount of time spent on basic comprehension of the texts.
BHS teachers Kimberly Comeiro and Victoria Breslin were awarded a $1,300 grant for Project Adventure Challenge Course Team Building program for the students in the STEP program, a therapeutic program for students who struggle with social-emotional challenges. Project Adventure in Beverly, MA has designed a curriculum that focuses on building trust, teamwork, self-confidence and empathy. Skills learned from this exciting hands-on experience will be integrated into the STEP classroom and carry beyond the students’ time at BHS.
Bedford Education Foundation 