Chatham Schools Given $62K+ Grant Funds Since July 1

CHATHAM, NJ — With over $62,000 in grant monies given out to date since July 1, the Chatham Education Foundation presented two more grant checks close to $7,500 to the School District of the Chathams' Board of Education on Monday night.

Cheryl Whitney, the grants chair of the Chatham Education Foundation, said the two checks totaling $7,478.14 included a $2,136.14 grant for Enriching Kindergarten Reading Workshop and Word Study Programs, with the second for $5,342 for self-contained classroom furniture at the Chatham Middle School.

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The Reading Workshop grant, Whitney explained, helped to buy 120 boogie board tablets for kindergarten classes at both the Milton Avenue and Washington Avenue Schools, “for interactive writing activities and applying letter, sound and spelling knowledge,” she said.

“They can also be used for math and other curricular areas,” Whitney added.

The kindergarten classes will additionally each be given a Consonant Vowel Consonant Game, with students learning best, she said, “when they have a multi-sensory approach,” with Pop It Fidget toys used for “counting syllables and words and to help make learning fun.”

The self-contained classroom furniture, Whitney said, will be for two special education classrooms, that boast updated “flexible seating options,” with special rocking chairs and floor rocker seats.

“By having flexible seating options, the students will have the opportunity to be in a conducive learning environment, tailored for them, and their various educational, social and emotional needs,” said Whitney.

Since July 1, the start of the school’s fiscal year, Whitney said the Chatham Education Foundation has provided over $62,000 in grant monies to the district.

“Our school year has just begun, we’re looking forward to many more grants this year,” she said.

Chatham Education Foundation’s Fall Appeal is happening now, with the Winter Wonderland fundraiser on Dec. 12, she said.

To learn more about the Fall Appeal, click here.

Visit the Chatham Education Foundation’s website at www.chathamedfoundation.org.

Watch Whitney’s full presentation to the Board of Education below:

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