Medford Schools Awarded $29K Grant From Italian Ministry

MEDFORD, MA — City and school officials recently welcomed Adamo Castelnuovo, director of the Consul General of Italy's Education Office, to Medford High School, where Castelnuovo presented Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn with a $29,447 grant.

It was the most funding awarded to any district in the country and based on the district-wide Italian Language Program, Superintendent Marice Edouard-Vincent said.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Bernadette Ricciardelli, who oversees the World Language Department, worked with lead teacher Vilma Bibeau to submit a grant application for direct funding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The City of Medford is so appreciative to Federica Sereni, the Consul General of Italy, Director Castelnuovo and the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs for their generous support of Medford’s language program," Lungo-Koehn said in a statement.

The total dollar amount is based on the total number of students in the Italian Program during 2019-20 school year. The Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs was aware that Medford had to eliminate the elementary program due to the unexpected funding decrease from Centro Attivita Scolastiche Italiane's (C.A.S. IT., Inc.). For more than 20 years, C.A.S. IT., Inc., had contributed approximately $50,000 per year to defray the cost of this program.

The Italian Consulate has expressed support to use the funds to defray the cost of the Advanced Placement Italian Program at the high school level for 2020-21, with the knowledge that the elementary program no longer exists.

This story was written using information from the MPS Blog.