The Arlington Education Foundation (AEF) has awarded $10,561 in grants to the Arlington Public Schools and raised more than $13,000 through its STARS teacher-recognition program.
AEF’s Innovations in Education fall grant cycle awarded $9,238 for the following grants that will support innovative teaching and learning:
— The Flexible Classroom: Designing Spaces for Personalized Learning: Four Ottoson classrooms will become flexible, collaborative and innovative learning environments.
Tools of Mindfulness for Stress Reduction: Brackett School 5th graders will learn tools to reduce stress, self-regulate and strengthen their focusing abilities and coping skills.
— Mathematics Coaching through Video: District math coaches will use video to help teachers improve their craft by viewing and assessing their own instructional practices.
— Standing Desks: A pilot classroom at Dallin School will offer standing desks to improve attention and focus by providing the opportunity to integrate movement into the day.
— Elementary Digital Art Expansion: Elementary art teachers will receive training on ways they can introduce digital art into their classrooms.
— In addition, AEF awarded Eileen Catizone, Stratton reading specialist, a Continuing Scholars Award. She will receive training on a reading intervention program called LiPS (Lindamood Phonome Sequencing) for phonemic awareness, reading and spelling. Continuing Scholars Awards are awarded to Arlington educators to support education experiences that will in turn benefit their students.
Last fall, AEF’s STARS (School Teachers are Really Special) teacher appreciation program awarded 575 STARS certificates to teachers and raised a record $13,410 — a 75-percent increase over last year.
“We’re particularly proud of our STARS program,” commented AEF President Jane Biondi in a news release issued Jan. 14. “It’s an easy and effective way for families to recognize special teachers who are making a difference in their children’s education. It’s really a full circle program.”
With a minimum $15 donation, parents nominate a teacher to receive a STARS certificate, thanking them for their efforts. The program is a win-win, recognizing teachers and raising money for AEF which in turn gives teachers grants for innovative classroom programs.
Though the STARS program is publicized in the fall and spring, families can give a teacher a STARS at any time online at www.aefma.org/wp/stars. At the end of the school year, the teachers who receive the most STARS at Ottoson Middle School and the Arlington High School are awarded the ‘STARS Teachers of the Year’.
This year, AEF is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. Community donations enable AEF to award over $100,000 in grants annually to the Arlington Public Schools. In addition, through a separate fundraising campaign, AEF raised $190,000 from 2013 to 2015 to accelerate the district’s technology plan at the Middle and High Schools. For more information on AEF’s current and past grants, or to donate, visit www.aefma.org.
This news release was published Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016.
