EGEF Awards More than $50,000 to Innovative Teachers

EAST GREENWICH, RI—A primary reason East Greenwich has such a high-performing school district is because the community invests in it.

And it's not just lip service. Parents are highly engaged. Community groups depend on student volunteers and academic programs to complete their missions, year in, year out. Then there's the East Greenwich Education Foundation, a local nonprofit that truly embodies the tired adage, "put your money where your mouth is."

More than $50,000 is being doled out by EGEF this year through their annual grant program to teachers to fund "creative, innovative and sustainable initiatives in the classroom."

 It's a large sum thanks to a record-setting year of donations collected from local businesses and organizations at fundraisers held through the year, including a spelling bee and the Beach Ball Gala held at the Dunes Club—which is already on a record-setting pace for next year.

The money is given in the form of grants to teachers who are doing innovative and inspiring things in the classroom. A total of 18 teachers applied—the second highest in EGEF's eight year history. Seven have been chosen from the pool, which Foundation President Rebecca Bliss said were extremely impressive for their creativity, thought and innovation.

"All of the grants have a well-developed program that will advance innovation, explore learning opportunities and have a strong impact throughout the East Greenwich public schools," Bliss said.

The grants reward innovative teaching in all areas of the curriculum, including math, science, social studies, English, reading, health, art, music and more. Teachers piloting especially promising programs tend to get favored in the hopes of a great program leaping from one classroom to others next door, down the hallway and at other East Greenwich schools.

This year's grant recipients are a group of teachers trying to make the learning experience more up-to-date, engaging, and comfortable. 

Here is a detailed listing of the 2016 EGEF grants:

Meadowbrook Farms:

• Meadowbrook by the Bay:  Bringing local marine science education and environmental awareness into all K-2 classrooms, while also bringing classrooms into the field. Students will gain a specific understanding of Narragansett Bay as a local resource with global impacts and become experts and educators themselves.

Frenchtown:

• Goldilocks Chairs:  Using a variety of seating alternatives to find a seat that is the “just right” fit to increase student’s time on task and completion.

Eldredge:

• 21st Century Learning Environment: Redesigning the classroom space and providing moveable, multi-purpose workstations for each student.  Workstations rather than stationary desks provide mobility and allow stronger collaboration and more effective utilization of all areas of the classroom.

Hanaford:

• Desk Pedals:  Portable desk pedals will provide students with to use movement to maximize brain function and anchor learning. Students will be able to pedal during class instruction and independent work.
• Global Writing in the 21st Century: All 4th graders at Hanaford will take writing into the 21st century by expanding and enhancing current skill sets using applications including, but not limited to Bit Strips for Schools, Lucid Press, Google Movie Maker and Kidsblog.

Cole/EGHS:

• FitnessGram:  All students in grades 6-12 will be able to track their personal fitness progress through electronic fitnessgram, designed to help students understand the importance of lifetime fitness.
• Snap & Read: Providing universal software for Cole and E.G. High School students to support reading and studying. The software will also encourage students and teachers to customize personal chrome toolbars to support writing tasks.

Kara Ratigan, fourth grade teacher from Eldredge Elementary School describes the value of the 21st Century Learning Environment:

 “Redesigning our classroom space will create an exciting learning environment for all students. Research supports the need for educators to provide rich experiences that better prepare students for college and the work force.  Students in a collaborative classroom learn to be active listeners and communicators, learning to compromise and value the ideas of others.  A creative classroom encourages and nurtures students to become engaged learners.  Providing challenging curriculum opportunities allows students to explore and learn freely while engaging higher order thinking skills.”

Photo courtesy: EGEF