Schools foundation awards fall grants

The Homewood City Schools Foundation awarded a record amount of grants this fall.

On Oct. 11, Foundation Director Carlye Dudgeon and Homewood school board members visited all five of the city’s public schools to notify recipients of their selection.

The foundation distributed around $76,000 in grants.

“It was fantastic,” Dudgeon said. “It’s just such a celebration of our school system and our hard-working teachers.”

The foundation gives grants in the fall and spring, with the majority of them awarded in the spring. Dudgeon said the foundation received a higher number of quality grant applications this fall than in the past.

“Because the quality was so great, we just decided to go ahead and almost double the amount that we had allotted for fall grants,” she said.

The foundation awarded five grants to Edgewood Elementary, four to Shades Cahaba Elementary, three to Homewood High School and two apiece to Homewood Middle School and Hall-Kent Elementary.

It also gave three districtwide grants and two that impact multiple schools. The funded grant requests include:

EDGEWOOD ELEMENTARY

► OG for Upper Grades: This grant will provide registration and travel fees for fourth-grade teachers Meredith Elmore and Katherine Driskill to attend the Intermediate IMSE Orton-Gillingham Training in Atlanta on Jan. 27-31, 2020.

► Assessing Readers: Edgewood is using the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessments to assess each student on their reading level, including fluency, accuracy and comprehension. This grant, applied for by Katie Moore, is for two additional Benchmark Assessment 1 kits for third-grade teachers.

►Using a Mega Map to Learn through Movement: Emily Blackstock will provide a National Geographic Giant Map of Alabama to make map skills more comprehensible with a resource that is engaging for all learners. The mega map will be used by all grades but particularly helpful with the fourth-grade study of Alabama history.

► EES Writing Workshop: The grant, applied for by Carla Palmer, will fund an authentic curriculum that will help make the school’s new writing lab a success while improving the quality of instruction for students.

►Lucy Calkins Kindergarten Units of Study in Opinion, Information and Narrative Writing Workshop Curriculum: Emily Wilder’s grant will fund the purchase of two sets of the Lucy Calkins Writing Workshop Curriculum to implement during literacy instruction time in kindergarten. By having two sets, Edgewood kindergarten teachers can share this resource in writing workshop time.

HALL-KENT ELEMENTARY

►The Ron Clark Academy: Hall-Kent Elementary School will be implementing a student advocacy program (House System) for all students during the 2019-20 school year. The goal is for every student to be well-known by at least one adult outside of the academic classroom. Kornelia McDaniel’s grant provides funding for four teachers to learn from the creators of the House System at Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta.

►Get Your Teach On!: The Get Your Teach On Conference provides teachers with research-based strategies that challenge students to high academic rigor and engagement, leading to a successful classroom focused on best practices. This grant will allow teachers Amanda Civitello and Leigh Ellen Herring to attend the regional conference in Houston in February 2020.

SHADES CAHABA ELEMENTARY

►Pedaling in the Library: Beth Gladney’s grant will add two pedal desks to the library to better serve students who are kinesthetic learners, provide a way for students to be active and provide an alternative activity to students during recess and PE.

►Multisensory Literacy: Thanks to Victoria Snow’s grant, four second-grade teachers will attend Comprehensive IMSE Orton-Gillingham Training.

►The Ron Clark Academy: Wendy Story’s grant will send a core group of teachers to the Ron Clark Academy to improve its established NEST program, increase staff morale and promote student engagement and academic rigor.

►Our Students, Their Future: Preparing our Students for a World of Emerging Careers: This grant, applied for by Emily Dunleavy, will provide resources to teachers so they can better implement the new Digital Literacy and Computer Science Course of Study (DLCS) to include books, building resources and robotics.

HOMEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL

►Ready to Roll: Reba Hudson’s grant will provide a set of Spheros for the sixth grade. Spheros are high-tech, robotic spheres that will provide students with the opportunity to learn coding and programming, how to debug computers and improve logic reasoning. Once teachers work together to create a database of lessons, the entire middle school faculty will have the tools and resources to implement the Computer Science Standards, as well as insight into how technology can complement their subject areas.

►Enhancing Mathematical and Literacy Skills with IXL: Leslie Tanner’s grant funds additional IXL licenses for all sixth- and seventh-grade language arts and math students.

HOMEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

►Art Abilities: With funds for a specialized instructor and reusable art supplies, Shannon Dodd’s grant will introduce art forms to special education students, encourage art as a hobby and/or relaxation tool and help students determine if they have an interest in creating artwork for a source of income in the future.

►Professional Learning Opportunity for the Social Sciences: The grants allowed teachers Christie Morman and Charlotte Sinor to attend the National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 21-24.

►Show Choir Formative Assessment: Scott Thorne’s grant will provide show choir leaders with a professional quality video camera to be able to use through the rehearsal process and performances, as a means of assessment.

MULTIPLE SCHOOLS

►Get Your Teach On!: Teachers from Edgewood and Hall-Kent, Katie Thomas and Amy Kleback, will attend the Get Your Teach On (GYTO) National Conference next summer in Orlando. GYTO is an education celebration that includes four days filled with research-based workshops that guide teachers in creating rigorous and engaging lessons in all content areas that can be used throughout the year.

►Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools Conference: Two special education teachers and a counselor — Stephanie Lorberbaum, Erica Halston and Kristin Cutrell — will attend the Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools conference to learn best practices and strategies when working with students who have experienced trauma.

DISTRICTWIDE

► Instructional Partnerships – Unmistakable Impact: Homewood Schools Director of Instruction Patrick Chappell took each school’s Instructional Partner Coordinator (an identified, trained and stipended teacher) to the Teaching, Learning, Coaching National Conference on Oct. 6-8 in Kansas City. The conference helped Homewood implement the instructional partner concept in the district.

►Building Leaders in Technology Integration: Homewood Schools Director of Technology Desiree L. Smith plans to establish a cohort of educators who are willing to strengthen their skill set over the course of the school year in technology integration so they help fulfill the intent of the district’s strategic plan regarding technology. The cohort will help to build capacity in leading technology integration at each campus. This grant provides funding for Google Educator Level 2 Academy, plus payment for non-contracted work days.

►Multi-Sensory Training for Homewood Teachers: Homewood is in the process of getting teachers trained in Orton-Gillingham multisensory strategies to improve reading instruction. The five-day training normally costs more than $1,000 per teacher. Homewood Schools is hosting two week-long training sessions, saving more than $300 per teacher. The Foundation will fund half of the cost of the two training sessions through Chappell’s grant.