$34K In Grant Funds Awarded To Support Chatham Public Schools

CHATHAM, NJ — The Chatham Educational Foundation recently announced that it has awarded $34,000 in grants to the School District of the Chathams, to support students, teachers, schools and the District community.

During the first grant application cycle of the 2022-2023 academic school year, the grant funds will be used to fund six innovative and creative educational programs and special projects throughout the School District of the Chathams.

At the local high school, a portion of the grant will be used to fund an all-encompassing study of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem in d minor, Opus 48.

The Chatham High School Chamber Choir, Chatham Voices, and Chamber Orchestra will come together in study, rehearsal, and performance of the Requiem, one of Fauré’s most iconic pieces.

Although the piece is not currently in the public domain, Ken Bryson commissioned a version for the students from an arranger and a music engraver. In addition, Jose Luis Dominguez, assistant conductor of the New Jersey Symphony, will host a music workshop about the requiem for the students.

"By exposing our students to such historical pieces of musical literature we are able to significantly enrich their learning and give them a better understanding of the historical and cultural significance of the music and how it influenced the music they are performing and listening to today," Bryson said.

During the 2022-2023 school year, Chatham High School will offer a new elective called Engineering Happiness. The course is intended to improve student well-being and teach the science/psychology of happiness.

The grant funds will also help the design of a classroom that promotes student wellness by providing an environment conducive to open dialogue and shared experience. In addition to furniture, the funding will also provide wellness tools such as positivity posters, self care reflection cards, DNA Lab slow rise balls and Crayola globbles.

“The learning environment plays an integral role in how engaged and comfortable students feel in a classroom,” Erin Scheibling said. “Since this course, because of its unique topic, requires students to engage in ways different than those of a traditional classroom, the classroom should be one that is conducive to the type of learning that will take place.”

A section of the funds will also go toward the 2023 District Choral Festival, which will end with a pyramid concert that will showcase each school and end with a performance of a piece by all participating students.

At Chatham Middle School, the funds will be awarded to creating collaborative and engaging world language classrooms. "The purpose of this grant is to establish collaborative and engaging learning world language spaces for Chatham Middle School students, by transforming traditional classroom set ups into collaborative spaces with dry-erase surfaces and comfortable reading environment," school officials said.

All the local elementary schools will be using their portion of the money to purchase more readable books for their students. According to teacher Heather Rocco, this investment in innovative color and grayscale book investment “will greatly increase students’ reading achievement” at the primary grade levels.

Washington Avenue School will also be receiving a toolkit, which is designed to help teachers assist their elementary students in building their math fact fluency.

The Chatham Education Foundation is a privately funded organization dedicated to supporting educational excellence in the School District of the Chathams through parent and community donations.

Since its inception more than 25 years ago, the Chatham Education Foundation has funded over 260 grants totaling $1.6 million.

“The Chatham Education Foundation is pleased to have awarded these grants this Fall, which finance innovative and creative programs that would otherwise have been left unfunded and unrealized,” said Suzanne David, Chair of the Grants Committee of the Chatham Education Foundation. “We look forward to evaluating and funding further grants through the school year for the benefit of our educational community.”