Little Grants Support Big Ideas
The Greater East Hampton Education Foundation has awarded more than $13,000 in mini-grants to teachers in the Springs and East Hampton School Districts to fund a wide variety of projects ranging in scope from technology to international culture to social skills and more.
“The committee and the board found the grants to be of very high quality,” Laura Molinari, a foundation board member, said during the Dec. 14 meeting of the Springs School Board.
In Springs, Paige Morehead, Patricia Philbar, and Whitney Reidlinger received $1,250 to develop an Inclusion Club “to foster and increase social interactions in a really natural and fun way” between students in the special education and general education programs, the teachers said. Jodie Hallman received $1,100 to purchase board games that emphasize social skills, which will also be available for students to take home on weekends.
Also in Springs, Rob Walker and Frank Cole received a $2,000 grant to purchase Lego robotics and coding curriculum materials, and Christine Cleary, the school’s vice principal, received $1,500 to launch a family math night program. Angelina Modica and Colleen McGowan also received a $2,000 grant for a “drum language” program that will allow them to buy African drums and supplies to make traditional African clothing and accessories, intended for future student performances.
The foundation also supported Springs School’s functional academics class, which emphasizes practical skills and career-oriented tasks. Kristi LaMonda, its teacher, received $350 to build “task boxes” with the pre-vocational class, which will focus on the assembly-line process and other job-related skills. Ms. LaMonda and Bill Hallman, the library media specialist, also received a $1,100 grant to build “little free libraries” with the class, which will set up and monitor miniature lending libraries at school bus stops.
In the East Hampton School District, Karen DeFronzo, who runs the Garden Club at John M. Marshall Elementary School, received $1,132 to purchase a composter for the school garden. During the Dec. 15 meeting of the East Hampton School Board, Ms. DeFronzo said the composter will go a long way toward helping the school expand its garden program.
“The children are going to be involved in the creation of the compost by collecting [material] in the lunchroom. They’ll weigh it, check the temperature, and add carbon and nitrogen,” she said. “It’s science and math-based, and the science teachers will be working along with the Garden Club. We’re looking forward to making great compost for our garden.”
Lorna Cook, also a faculty member at John Marshall, received a $979 grant to pilot a new social skills program. Project Most, an after-school program that serves students in both East Hampton and Springs, received $2,000, coming from the Tyler Project, a local organization that supports youth mental health initiatives, for an anti-bullying program that will have students working together to create a mural at John Marshall.
Teresa Talmage, president of the foundation, said during the Dec. 15 East Hampton School Board meeting that the organization had raised about $19,000 this year thanks to its generous donors and has opened up the application process for a second round of mini-grants. The deadline for those applications is Jan. 15. More information may be found online at gehef.org/grants.