News from the NEF

At the Needham School Committee meeting on November 26, the Needham Education Foundation (NEF) announced the recipients of five grants totaling $30,713 in its fall grant cycle.

Awarded grants include:

Middle School Humanities Teachers Attend National Conferences
Fifteen High Rock and Pollard Middle School ELA and Social Studies teachers will attend their respective national conferences, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and National Council for Social Studies (NCSS). It will be the first time that ELA or social studies teachers from all three grade levels attend a conference together, allowing them to engage in ongoing professional conversations about their learning and implementation in their classrooms.
—Awarded to Liz Welburn, ELA Chair, Grades 6-8 and Brooke Kessel, Social Studies Department Chair Grades K-8

Teen Mental Health First Aid Instructor Training
Teen Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructor training will be provided to six Health and Wellness teachers at High Rock, Pollard, and Needham High School. By equipping these educators with the skills to identify and assist students experiencing mental health challenges, the aim is to foster a more supportive school environment. MHFA is an evidence-based curriculum that teaches teens how to support a friend or peer struggling with mental health issues.
–Awarded to Denise Domnarski, K-12 Director of Physical Education, Health and Wellness and Sara Shine, Director Needham Youth and Family Services

What Is Normal Anyway?: A (Stigma-Obliterating) Disability Film Series
Four evenings of disability education will be funded to benefit the Needham community, with each evening including a documentary screening followed by a panel discussion taking the topics raised in the films and exploring how they affect or influence the experiences of youth in Needham, where over 1,000 students, or one in five, receive special education services in the schools.
–Awarded to Jenn Scheck-Kahn, Parent; Sasha Yampolsky, Parent; Meera Sunder, Parent; Andy Wizer, Community Member; and Diane Simmons, Director of Strategic Planning and Community Engagement

Creative Dance Residency: Giraffes Can’t Dance
A creative dance residency for the kindergarten students at Eliot Elementary School will explore social emotional learning concepts through literacy, movement, and music. Students read the book Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees and learn about Gerald, a giraffe who struggles with confidence, and a community that works to learn acceptance while dancing together in the jungle.
– Awarded to Jo-Anne Bagley, Kindergarten Teacher and Valerie Maio, Dance4All Teaching Artist

Empowering Student Voices: A Technology Innovation Space
A dedicated Technology Innovation Space will be created at Needham High School to foster student creativity, collaboration, and technological proficiency. Grant funds will be used to purchase high-quality podcasting equipment, including microphones, mixers, headphones, stands, and sound-dampening equipment to cultivate students’ digital literacy skills, inspire innovative thinking, and promote authentic learning experiences, all while building skills in using professional technology equipment.
– Awarded to Sam Bookston, Technology Integration Specialist and Joshua Yankell, Technology Integration Specialist, Needham High School

What does the NEF do? What kind of grants does the NEF fund? What is the best way to support the NEF? Find out the answers to these questions and more by clicking on the flyer below.

At the Needham School Committee meeting on May 21st, the Needham Education Foundation (NEF) announced the recipients of six grants totaling $41,407 in its spring grant cycle.

Awarded grants include:

YA Literature: Diverse Voices
Class sets of contemporary young adult (YA) novels, teaching resource volumes, and an author visit by one of the selected YA authors to support a new full-year course offering for 12th graders at Needham High School entitled “YA Literature: Diverse Voices.” Texts will include complex human dilemmas, along with compelling, disconcerting characters, and challenge readers to re-examine their understanding of the world.
— Awarded to AnnMarie Kannon, High School English Teacher

Drama Center Props
Furniture and equipment, including kitchens, market stands, cash registers, kitchen equipment, and numerous food items, with many from different cultures, to support diverse and educational dramatic play centers in all five kindergarten classrooms at Newman Elementary School. Drama centers support a variety of skills, including creativity, social skills, language, and organization. While utilized throughout the year, the items will be especially helpful during the “Our Community” curriculum unit, in which students learn about what it means to be a community member and the different places in our community.
— Awarded to Lesley Stroud, Kindergarten Teacher

Bringing the Portrait Competencies to Life: PONG Picture Books
Five picture books for each of the K-5 classrooms in the Needham Public Schools that in a developmentally appropriate way, will introduce and reinforce one of the Portrait of a Needham Graduate competencies – Creative Thinkers & Problem Solvers, Responsible & Resilient Individuals, Socially & Culturally Responsive Contributors, Communicators & Collaborators, and Empowered Learners. During designated weeks of the school year, each competency will be highlighted, providing an opportunity for teachers and students to identify the competencies, discuss them, and consider how they show the competency in their own lives.
— Awarded to Caren Firger, Newman Assistant Principal, Chris Gosselin, Director of Instructional Technology and Innovation

Polar GoFit with Polar E-Unite Heart Rate Watch
Sixty Polar E-Unite wrist-based heart rate monitors, the Polar GoFit app license, and virtual training sessions to introduce this new technology in Wellness classes for all students at High Rock Middle School. By allowing students to visualize their heart rate in real-time, the heart rate monitors will allow students to monitor their exertion levels, perform data analysis, promote personalized learning and goal setting, and build a foundation for lifelong health.
— Awarded to Jonathan Grant, Wellness teacher, Dan Amato, Wellness teacher, Denise Domnarski, Wellness Director

High Rock Community Service Learning Garden
Construction costs and materials to build five raised garden beds at High Rock Middle School which will be used to grow herbs and vegetables to be donated to the residents of the Linden Street Needham Housing Authority located across the street from the school. Students will choose which crops and herbs to plant after researching the needs of the Linden Street residents and the best short-season crops that will maximize food production within the academic year. Students will also plant, maintain, and harvest the crops.
— Awarded to Stephen Miller, 6th grade science teacher & CSL Coordinator; Dr. Jessica Downey, Principal High Rock School

Powering Up Access: Playaways for the Newman Library Collection
Fifty Playaways (standalone audiobook players) and two bookcases to offer a portable, screen-free option for all students at the Newman Elementary School library. Each Playaway is for one fiction or nonfiction title. Audiobooks help students develop listening comprehension skills, explore texts beyond their reading level, and connect with different cultures or experiences in a meaningful way. 
— Awarded to Jennifer Murray, Library Teacher

At the Needham School Committee meeting on March 5th, the Needham Education Foundation (NEF) announced the recipients of eight grants totaling $43,258 in its winter grant cycle.

Awarded grants include:

ISTE Conference Professional Development Opportunity
Technology Integration Specialists from Broadmeadow, Eliot, Mitchell, Newman, and Needham High School will attend the 2024 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Live Conference to learn current pedagogical strategies, curricular innovations, and new techniques in using technology to create high-impact, sustainable, and scalable learning experiences for all students.
— Awarded to Barbara Tennyson, Eliot; Dana Cantor, Newman; Gershona Fein, Mitchell; Technology Integration Specialists

Rubik’s Cube Mosaics
A set of Rubik’s Cubes to create mosaics using specific patterns, as well as both beginner and advanced versions of the Rubik’s Cube for exploration will provide an opportunity for High Rock students to participate in creative, engaging, and collaborative problem solving activities. This is an Express grant from a 2018 grant awarded to Needham High School.
— Awarded to Erin Mack, Technology Integration Specialist

3D Printing Exploration
Two 3D printers will allow High Rock to explore how 3D printing can motivate students, connect to the curriculum, create engaging lessons, and empower students to become designers and creators using this innovative technology. The printers would allow students to print a 3D model of the artifacts they are studying in the archaeology unit of their Social Studies classes.
— Awarded to Erin Mack, Technology Integration Specialist, Maureen Trowbridge, Social Studies teacher

Year-Round Book Clubs
The addition of contemporary, high-interest, grade-appropriate texts will support year-round, informal book clubs that meet briefly every Friday in all Pollard 7th grade ELA classes. By adding a structured time and social component, the program has had success in increasing students’ independent reading.
— Awarded to Liz Welburn, ELA Department Chair, Grades 6-8

Spanish Storytelling Workshop
All elementary Spanish teachers will attend a professional development workshop with educator Carolina Gómez to learn how to incorporate storytelling into language learning for grades K-5 across the district. Stories provide an engaging way to access the target language, in addition to supporting student social and emotional learning by allowing them to participate and show what they know in a low-stakes manner while using different skill sets.
— Awarded to Delia Jodrie, Elementary Spanish teacher

Sensory Support Tools
All first grade classrooms at Broadmeadow will receive sensory-friendly seating options and therapeutic tools to support students’ efforts to regulate their own emotions and behaviors and to bolster their individual achievement as well as the time-on-task for the class as a whole.
— Awarded to Cara Karelitz, Parent, Lillian Chen, 1st Grade teacher

Civil Rights: Bringing History to Life
Performances of “The Right to Dream” by Living Voices, in addition to new high-quality, accessible, and diverse classroom reading materials about the Civil Rights Movement will support social studies and literacy integration for all grade 5 students across the district. Live theater and literature will enhance classroom ​instruction on the “Slavery, Civil War, and Civil Rights” unit of the new elementary social studies curriculum.
— Awarded to Brooke Kessel, Social Studies Department Chair, K-8, Jennifer Collings, Broadmeadow 5th grade teacher, Stephanie Hamel, Broadmeadow 5th grade teacher, Lisa Messina, Literacy Director K-8

Enrichment Programming
Educational enrichment activities will complement the tutoring program at the Needham Housing Authority facility on Captain Robert Cook Drive for their students who attend the Eliot, High Rock, and Pollard schools. These activities include a painter from Gorse Mill, musician David Polansky, a Jamaican storyteller, a historical reenactor, and field trips to the Larz Anderson Auto Museum and Worcester Science Center.
— Awarded to Penelope Kirk, Board Commissioner for the Needham Housing Authority

Needham Education Foundation, Winchendon Community Action Council, Second Chance Animal Services, take top honors

(Leominster, Mass.)—As part of a year-long celebration recognizing 20 years of Fidelity Bank’s LifeDesign banking approach of providing clarity, confidence and care, the bank recently awarded $20,000 in grants to help local non-profit organizations get where they want to be through its “$20K Community Giveaway” program.

As part of the program, local non-profits were nominated by the bank’s clients and the community for a chance at winning one of five awards from Fidelity Bank, totaling $20,000. The winners were determined by the highest number of votes received.

Of the 12 local non-profits nominated for the program, five received the most votes:

First Place ($10,000 grant): Needham Education Foundation
Second Place ($5,000 grant): Winchendon Community Action Council
Third Place ($3,000 grant): Second Chance Animal Services
Runners-Up ($1,000 grant each): Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center, The Virginia Thurston Healing Garden

“We are so excited and honored to take the top spot in Fidelity Bank’s $20K Community Giveaway,” said Sarah Winig, administrative director, Needham Education Foundation. “These funds will be immensely helpful, particularly this year as we are embarking on a collaboration with the Needham Public Schools to bring transformative change to the district through equity-centered professional learning for their educators and administrators, in addition to the grants we fund for innovative educational programs in the schools.”

The finalists included Abby’s House, Centro Celeste, Fab 5, Ginny’s Helping Hand, Listening Wellness Center, Montachusett Veteran’s Outreach Center, NEADS World Class Service Dogs, Needham Education Foundation, Second Chance Animal Services, the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden, Why Me & Sherry’s House, and Winchendon Community Action Council.

The LifeDesign banking promise is focused on a unique four-step C.A.R.E. methodology that includes connecting, analyzing, recommending, and executing a plan to help clients accomplish their goals and help make sound decisions about their lives, their businesses, and their families.

“As we continue to celebrate our 20th year of providing the LifeDesign promise to those we serve, we wanted to continue our mission of giving back to those in our community. Many thanks to our clients and community for sharing their thoughts and voting for their favorite non-profits, allowing us to learn more about the organizations they hold closest to their hearts,” said Ed Manzi, Jr., chairman and CEO, Fidelity Bank. “We have a very caring community and the show of support for all 12 finalists is heartwarming. We are honored to do our part to support their work.”

At the Needham School Committee meeting on November 21st, the Needham Education Foundation (NEF) announced the recipients of nine grants totaling $30,501 in the fall grant cycle.

Awarded grants include:

A songwriting residency with singer/songwriter Alistair Moock to work with all 5th grade students to create a unique school song at each of the five elementary schools. Students will learn foundational concepts for songwriting, and then collaborate with Alistair and their peers in classroom sessions to build a song based on the unique qualities and characteristics of their school.
— Awarded to Valerie Maio, Coordinator of Fine and Performing Arts and LeeAnn Sutton, K-12 Director of Fine and Performing Arts

Alternative activities for recess for students in grades 1-5 at Broadmeadow Elementary School. The activities include large yard games such as Jenga, chess, and Connect 4, Legos, and various card games, as well as storage containers and a picnic table to provide a surface where groups can play the games. These games will provide different opportunities for engaging with other students during unstructured time.
— Awarded to Chanit List, Assistant Principal, Riley Chan, 5th grade student, Henry Blackshaw, 5th grade student

A library of File Folder Games to be piloted for all students in grades K-5 at Eliot Elementary School. Each folder contains a complete game for students to work independently on developing and reinforcing various skills across all content areas, including ELA, math, coding, STEAM, and Spanish. The games help a wide variety of learners who need extra challenges or practice, repetition for mastery, or hands-on tasks.
— Awarded to Shauna Jean, Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)

The purchase of 120 books to create a trivia-style reading competition for students in grades 3-5 at Mitchell Elementary School. Students will read ten books on various topics and genres and work as teams to answer a series of questions based on the books. The competition will also develop comprehension skills, enhance memory retention skills, improve information recall, and cultivate social skills through collaboration.
— Awarded to Jennifer Guardino, Librarian

A creative dance residency for Kindergarten students at Sunita Williams Elementary School to explore social emotional learning concepts through literacy, movement, and music. Students will have the opportunity to explore social emotional learning themes in the book Giraffes Can’t Dance, and express themselves through movement, leading to a better understanding of themselves and the world around them.
— Awarded to Geoffrey Watts, Kindergarten teacher and Valerie Maio, Dance4All Teaching Artist

The purchase of eclipse viewers and equipment for students and science teachers at High Rock Middle School to experience the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Students will learn about solar eclipses, create personalized pinhole projectors, and receive solar eclipse viewers to generate excitement and encourage participation in safely viewing the partial eclipse which will occur after school, with approximately 93% of the sun obscured by the moon in Needham.
— Awarded to Tamara Hosford Keough and Steve Miller, 6th grade science teachers

The purchase of 200 headphones with integrated microphones for the world language classrooms at Pollard Middle School. Students will use the headphones with their iPads to listen to tiered authentic recordings in the target language, cultivate their listening comprehension skills, practice speaking in the target language, receive personalized proficiency-based feedback, and set goals for continued growth.
— Awarded to Elizabeth Zajac, K-12 Director of World Languages and Chris Gosselin, K-12 Director of Media and Digital Learning

Monthly community outings for all grade 6-8 students in the Inclusive Learning Center Program at Pollard Middle School. The ILC Program is a specialized classroom that serves students with severe disabilities. The community outings will allow the students to practice their community safety skills, self-help skills, activities of daily living, and functional academics in a real-world environment.
— Awarded to Kate Martin, Special Education Liaison

A workshop with Cuerd@s, an organization that provides embroidered clothing to support mental health, for students in the Connections program at Needham High School. Connections is a therapeutic program developed to meet the needs of students with emotional disabilities. The tactile nature of the embroidery serves as a built-in de-escalation technique to help remind the wearer that they are safe, loved, and valued. The workshop will provide students the chance to embroider clothing to donate to a local mental health organization and to embroider a sweatshirt for themselves.
— Awarded to Katherine McMahon, Special Education teacher

At the Needham School Committee meeting on October 17th, the Needham Education Foundation (NEF) announced $156,580 in funding to support equity-centered professional learning during the 2023-2024 school year. This funding is part of a collaborative initiative between the NEF and the district to advance equity for all students in the Needham Public Schools.

Using the Portrait of A Needham Graduate strategic plan as a guide, the district aims to create a school environment in which all members experience a sense of belonging, respect, and connection to the community. Students who experience schools and classrooms with strong social emotional learning and equity practices in place are far more likely to attend school and engage in learning, have stronger self-management, social awareness, and relationship skills, report a stronger sense of self efficacy, and perform better academically compared to students who do not experience these conditions.

Using a three-prong approach, the funding will support professional learning focused on providing educators and leaders with the tools, strategies, and knowledge needed to create the conditions for learning for all students in every classroom.

1. Leadership Academy for Educational Equity, Understanding, and Organizational Transformation from William James College

The goal of the leadership academy is to sharpen the personal and collective equity lens of the district’s leadership and to leverage leadership practices in educational equity that improve outcomes and experiences for all students. Sessions have been customized for the Needham schools based on the graduate leadership program at the Center for Behavioral Health, Equity, and Leadership in Schools at William James College which is aligned to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) administrator standards.

The entire district leadership team, which is comprised of sixty leaders, will attend the leadership academy, including administrators from each school, special education and support service leaders, curriculum leaders and department heads, Metco leaders, and central administration.

2. Teacher-focused professional development with author/educator Cornelius Minor

Through prior funding from the NEF, author and educator Corneilus Minor gave two keynote addresses last year and met with several department teams after a district-wide read of his book We Got This. That work clarified the importance of building meaningful relationships with students as well as offering key classroom strategies for building an inclusive classroom.

This funding will continue the professional development with Mr. Minor by providing opportunities for professionals to identify and practice student-centered instructional strategies, collect data to measure effectiveness, and analyze the data and determine next steps. Sessions will be conducted in groups for elementary principals, Metco educators, as well as 70 secondary humanities teachers and their directors and 70 STEM teachers and their directors from High Rock School, Pollard Middle School, and Needham High School with the goal of increasing teacher’s use of data to improve learning and provide equitable classroom practices that lift all students.

3. Consultation, training, and support for implementing Restorative Practices in schools 

Restorative Practices is an approach that focuses on developing safe and supportive communities through building, maintaining, and repairing relationships among community members. The funding will provide consultation and professional development to assist the Needham Public Schools in building awareness and understanding of restorative practices at the elementary level and to support the next stages of implementation at Pollard Middle School and Needham High School.

The goal is for educators to foster healthy dialogue and increase mutual understanding and empathy among students and staff, leading to an overall sense of connection and increasing the capacity to handle conflict in a way that promotes growth and repairs relationships. Restorative practices is also an umbrella framework that helps to pull together and integrate other initiatives like social emotional learning and culturally responsive teaching because of the shared purpose of creating the conditions for learning for all students.