Media Release
April 10, 2007
Groton Dunstable Education Foundation
The Groton Dunstable Education Foundation
Announces Grant Awards
The Groton Dunstable Education Foundation is pleased to announce its Spring
2007 grant awards. For this cycle, the Foundation’s eighth, fourteen
grant applications totaling more than $36,000 in funding requests were
received. The GDEF Board of Directors has voted to fund eleven of
these grants for a total of $34,375.
Grants funded this cycle will provide:
-
Software
tools for creating, exploring, interpreting and printing graphs, allowing
the integration of computer graphing into many subject areas at Florence
Roche, Prescott and Swallow Union
-
Funding
for the re-installation of the District's existing WeatherBug Tracking
Station and for participation in the "Achieve" program, which allows
students to track real-time weather data in support of Math, Science,
Geography and Technology curricula throughout the District
-
A “Wild About Weather” presentation at Prescott by educator Keith Michael
Johnson about weather, including weather-related science "tricks" to
demonstrate the forces of nature
-
New programming and materials to support the 9th grade orientation
program, which welcomes all incoming freshmen and introduces them to the
High School through a variety of interactive socializing and team-building
experiences
-
The opportunity for students to work with professional artist and teacher
Sharon Wooding in the creation of a permanent mural for the hallway of the
Middle School North building
-
Two baritone saxophones to accommodate new band students at the High
School next year, as well as maintenance funds for band instruments
-
Workshops at Florence Roche and Prescott and a performance by “The Gizmo
Guys”, a comedy juggling troupe who encourage creative thinking and
teamwork through integration of math & science concepts, as well as
physical education, theater, and music
-
Classroom Management Materials at the Middle and High Schools to assist
substitute teachers in being more effective in the classroom
-
Additional Vernier lab equipment to reduce group sizes in Physics classes
at the High School, allowing for more hands-on lab experience
Grants will also provide professional development opportunities for teachers
through attendance at the Advanced Placement Summer Institute, for training
to more effectively assist art students in the development of their
portfolios; and attendance at the National Science Teachers Convention in
Boston for the entire High School Science team, allowing them to learn about
the latest science information, techniques, labs and technology for use in
the classroom.
GDEF Director of Community Relations Janet Sheffield announced the
grants at the April 4th GDRSD School Committee meeting.
Coincidentally, at that meeting educators from the District’s Science and
Technology departments gave a presentation on how students are using Vernier
lab equipment, technology which was made possible by earlier grants from the
Foundation and for which more funding is being provided this grant cycle.
Said Ms. Sheffield, “It’s always exciting to see the grants GDEF awards “in
action”! We don’t always get to actually see the results of our work -
seeing directly how the students benefit from the hard work of the
Foundation and the contributions of our communities makes it all worthwhile.
And the additional Vernier technology funded this cycle will make even more
of a difference to our kids!”
The Foundation invites the public to join them and find out how their
support of GDEF makes a difference at a “Grants Celebration” at the High
School on May 3rd at 3:30. Details will be available soon on GDEF’s
website at
www.gdefinc.org.
To date, the Foundation has funded almost $170,000 for 102 grants spanning
eight grant cycles. GDEF relies on the financial support of Groton and
Dunstable to make these grants possible. GDEF Co-President Kerri
Figueroa reminds residents, “The support we have received to date has been
phenomenal, and we wish to thank our Annual Giving Donors for their generous
contributions. We also extend a huge thanks to our Premier Business
Partner Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union of Lowell for their donation and their
continued support of our organization. And I’d like to remind those
who haven’t yet participated that it’s never too late to make a contribution
to enrich public education through our Annual Giving Campaign! Just visit
www.gdefinc.org and click on the “Donate Now” star!”
Ms. Figueroa also wishes to extend the thanks of the Board of Directors to
outgoing Director of Grant Disbursements Karen Riggert, whose term expires
in June. “Karen’s long-time commitment to public education in our
District has been evident in her work with GDEF. She has worked
tirelessly to streamline our grants process and to ensure that GDEF gets the
most “bang for the buck” for every grant we award, an important part of our
collaboration with the contributors who invest in our mission to enhance
public education. We thank her for her dedication to our organization
and to the students of our District.” Co-President Kristen Stone will
step in as Director of Grants Disbursement.
For more information on the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation and a
complete listing of grants already funded visit the organization’s website
at www.gdefinc.org.
Questions
or comments, contact Laurie Moskow - Director, Marketing & Communications
Groton Dunstable Education Foundation
(978) 448-5516 /
lmoskow@gdefinc.org
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