The Needham Education Foundation (NEF) announced the recipients of its 2014-2015 Large Grants at the School Committee meeting on January 20th. Two grants totaling over $25,000 were awarded. One grant supports a 1:1 iPad program in the Language Based Classroom at Eliot Elementary School. The second grant supports the ongoing interdisciplinary arts integration pilot by extending the partnership to 6th grade science classrooms at the High Rock School.
iPads for the Language Based Classroom at Eliot
This grant of $13,529.60 provides 12 iPads, a cart, and thirteen apps for 1:1 student use in the Language-Based Classroom (LBC) at Eliot. The students in the LBC are fourth and fifth graders from Needham who often struggle to access text-based curriculum due to learning disabilities in the areas of reading, writing, and spoken language. The use of iPads in the LBC will provide students with the means to reach their individual and collective goals across the curriculum. The iPads will also help to foster greater independence and creativity. This grant was submitted by Kimberly Hoffman and Bonnie Nguyen (Special Education Liaison and Speech-Language Pathologist).
Interdisciplinary Arts Integration Project at High Rock
This grant of $12,010 extends the large grant interdisciplinary arts project currently being implemented at the High Rock School with Social Studies and Visual Arts. This extended pilot is designed to explore the impact of an interdisciplinary partnership between sixth grade Science and Visual Arts teachers. The funds will be used for materials and additional planning and instructional time for the existing Visual Arts teacher to co-teach certain lessons in the Science classes. For example, students will work to create a collagraph plate and print that represents the atomic structure and attributes of an element from the periodic table. The pilot will be implemented in the 2015/16 school year and will impact all clusters. This grant was submitted by David Neves (Director, Fine and Performing Arts).