Connecting Schools With Great Fundraising Ideas.

As we read through the grant applications, it was great to see such a variety of subjects.  There were quite a few applications for fine arts: music, visual arts, and dance.  One that particularly stood out to me, since I was an Art History major in college, was the application from Will Rogers Learning Community in Santa Monica, California.

Art teacher Wanda Boudreaux said:

Students who are involved in the process of thinking critically and creatively are apt to succeed in more subjects. We believe in the “multiple intelligences” approach to learning and understand the importance of curriculum integration and crossover in teaching. Our experience in teaching visual art provides overwhelming evidence in support of these beliefs.

After taking inspiration from a well-known piece of art students acquire new skills and practice techniques. Students engage in projects that challenge them to create an original response. We present a wide variety of activities in order to promote discovery and experimentation with materials and methods. Among that broad range of art making experiences, grade appropriate projects have included photography, shaded drawings, paintings, collages, installation art, printmaking and sculptures.

Our goal is to help students develop a strong relationship with art, which they will carry with them as they grow.  Children’s spirits are an open door through which art is eagerly embraced. Our Art Program provides a necessary opportunity to inspire the creative and critical thinking that, while deepening their individual humanity, also gives students’ greater success in all subjects.

To recognize the importance of fine arts and this presentation in particular, we selected Will Rogers as an Honorable Mention. Congratulations Will Rogers students, parents and teachers.  Keep up the great work!

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The third school to receive an honorable mention from the Top School Fundraiser Grant is Loma Verde Elementary School, located in Novato, California.

Like the first two schools to garner the honorable mention recognition, Loma Verde submitted a high quality video in making its application.

In the request, the principal of Loma Verde, Eileen Smith, (on behalf of her 385 K-5th graders) discussed a situation in her school that more and more schools are coping with nationwide, and that’s the problem of a rising number of students who don’t have English as a first language. As a result of this, Principal Smith has found that even though these students can be very bright and have excellent ideas to share, they are having great difficulty joining in the group learning process due to the language barrier.

To help students with this challenge, the folks at Loma Verde requested $4,000 to purchase two Elmo Digital Visual Presenters and two LCD projectors. These tools would be shared by the teachers to better explain and allow participation by all students. Principal Smith described, for instance, how one of these Elmo Projectors (I don’t think there’s any relation to the Elmo on Sesame Street…) can be used to both project and enlarge the image of a sheet of paper, but it can also be used as a large projection microscope for 3D items. It’s very clear to see how useful these items could be in a classroom where verbal communication is sometimes difficult.

Once again, we are learning first-hand how some very serious problems in our school districts can be solved, or at least greatly helped, by new technology. Unfortunately, new technology is very expensive and often out of financial reach. This means that creative and effective fundraising methods are needed now more than ever. That’s the goal, here at Top School Fundraisers.

Stay tuned for many more posts dealing with the ever-increasing need to fund large technological purchases for our schools.

Thank you, Loma Verde, for your excellent application. We wish you the best in finding all the funds you need to help bridge this gap.

Watch to see the simple yet compelling video presentation from the principal of Loma Verde Elementary School.

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Star Prep Academy in Culver City, California, is another one of the schools who received an honorable mention for their excellent grant application. The 6th to 12th graders at Star Prep put together an excellent video presentation that really got our attention by communicating their need for new laptop computers. In my opinion, some of the students in this video have a promising future in acting, given their dramatic performance!

The students at Star Prep find themselves in an unfortunate situation that many students are facing today- insufficient access to up-to-date technology. The cost of both hardware and software have made it increasingly difficult for cash-strapped schools to keep up and provide their students with the tools they will need to compete in a global marketplace.

In the near future, Top School Fundraisers will be looking at some solutions to this growing problem. We urge schools, like Star Prep Academy, to keep searching for the necessary funds.

Take a couple of minutes to view their video application. You’ll get a great sense of a wide-spread need throughout our entire country.

Thank you, Star Prep, for your terrific application! We wish you the best in meeting your goals.

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Over the past two weeks, we have announced the winners of the Top School Fundraiser grants. This was an amazingly rewarding experience for us here at TSF, and we feel so privileged to been of assistance to these wonderful schools.

The only challenging part of the entire process was actually narrowing down our top choices from so many commendable applications. We are still blown away by both the quantity and the quality of the requests we received.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to highlight five of the many schools who deserve honorable mentions. The first school we’d like to shine a light on is Tattnall Square Academy in Macon, Georgia. Tattnall is a private school with students who range from eighth grade to twelfth grade.

Their goal is to purchase two “Active Slates” which are similar to a computer tablet that a teacher can use for dynamic class presentations. According to the video, the active slates really bring learning alive in the classroom. The video interviews were conducted by Robbie Burns, Director of Development and a Tatnall graduate himself. The producer and director was sophomore Jonathan Jones.

In part, we selected Tattnall because of their use of video technology, which really impressed us. We thought our readers would both be entertained, as well as gain an insight into the high level of sophistication our young people have in this ubiquitous medium. Please take a minute to watch the short video the Tattnall students created for this grant request. With the creativity and drive that they showed us, we know they are going to find great success.

Thank you, Tattnall, for sharing your dreams and passion with us!

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As I announced on Tuesday, the final grant winner is Wadesboro Elementary School in Wadesboro, NC.  Upon reading their proposal we recognized a fine example of a school and community rallying around a problem to find solution.   When we spoke with Ms. Mary Ratliff,  Principal of the school, we were even more encouraged that that they’d see progress toward their goals.

The problem the school faced was low achievement in the area of science.  Here’s how Principal Ratliff described the problem and what they are dong to solve it:

The current focus on Reading and Math in North Carolina has led to a deficit in Science instruction.  Our students scored very poorly on the Science EOG (End of Grade Test) 2007-2008.   Our teachers and students are heart-broken due to WES scoring 5% on the state science EOG.

We would like to create an atmosphere of wonder about the world of science.  The Science Learning Center Lab would enliven academic instruction by providing hands on experiments and observations.  The lab would be housed in a vacant classroom and would provide living habitats for students to explore.  We would like to include an aquarium, work stations, science kits, terrariums, plants, and technology in order to encourage inquiry based science teaching methods.  This will promote students’ understanding of inquiry based teaching, and the environmental factors that influence change.

The school has already obtained microscopes donated by a planetarium in the area.  The Top School Fundraisers grant of $1500 will provide equipment to round out the science lab including instructional materials and supplies for science experiments.

One of the reasons that we were so delighted to award the grant to this school is that they continue to work toward providing a quality education for students despite circumstances.  The economy has been tough on the area, and the community is now facing high unemployment due to the closure of several textile mills.  The school is classified as a Title I School, since 88% of the students receive free or reduced lunch. Principal Ratliff says that despite all this, “Our citizens have a history of hard work and resiliency” and the future will be hopeful.

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Last week we began announcing the winners of the Fall 2008 Grant award program.  Today I’d like to recognize the final school that will be getting a grant, plus five runners up.  Coincidentally it’s another North Carolina School.  This time it’s the elementary school in Wadesboro.

I’ll write a special article for Wadesboro as well as each of the honorable mention schools soon.  For now here is a list of all of the schools that won.

Congratulations!

Grants awarded to these schools:

1. Fuller GT Magnet Elementary in Raleigh, NC - $2000 for 5th Grade trip to Washington DC
2. P.S. 168/M.S. 203 in Bronx, New York - $2000 for computers
3. Wadesboro Elementary School, Wadesboro, NC - $1500 for science lab equipment

These schools are recognized with an Honorable Mention. Each will receive $100 toward their project:

1. STAR Prep Academy, Culver City, CA - Computers
2. Loma Verde Elementary, Novato, CA - Elmo projector
3. Poinsettia Elementary, Carlsbad CA - Library books
4. Tattnall Square Academy, Macon, GA - Active slates
5. Will Rogers Learning Community (Elementary), Santa Monica, CA - Art Projects

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I am happy to announce the next award recipient is P.S. 168/M.S. 203 in Bronx, New York.  This school serves children from Kindergarten to 12th grade who have disabilities, such as autism, emotional disturbances and learning disabilities.   Many of these students also face other personal struggles as well.  95% of the students are on the free or reduced lunch program.

Teacher Nicole Sivilich who applied for the grant said, “Students with these disabilities are more likely to learn using computer technology over the standard lecture classroom teaching. We would like to see more of our students increase their social and learning skills using technolgy.”

Unfortunately this school is severely lacking in working computers.   High school grade students need computers for preparing for state tests, doing research and writing papers. Children in grades K-2 use a reading program called Preventing Academic Failure and practice basic reading concepts like sight words. While this $2000 grant may only provide a few computers, the school is also applying for other grants as well.

Teachers and administrators at Bronx schools have shown resourcefulness in other areas as well. 23% percent of schools in the Bronx are without a gym or safe area to have physical education.   Some schools are doing fundraising on their own to get a gym while others like PS 168 are using other available facilities.

The Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation (SASF), a non-profit based in Queens, which has received funding from the City Council to connect schools with nearby - and often underutilized - community centers. In the 2007-08 school year, the program served 2,000 students from 40 schools in Brooklyn and Queens. And in December, two Bronx schools - PS 168 on Morris Avenue and PS 754 on Jackson Avenue - enrolled. Students are bused to Bronxdale Community Center on Rosedale Avenue in Soundview, where they play basketball and other sports in what is a state of the art gymnasium.

From: Educators Seek New Ways to Put Physical Education on the Menu

Just like with the challenge of providing physical education and play time, Principal Rosa Nieves Greene and her staff are being resourceful to get the technology to aid student learning in the classroom.  Congratulations P.S. 168/M.S. 203; may you be encouraged in the great work you are doing to help children in your community!

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