$101,250 From Mamaroneck Schools Foundation For Math, Arts, Diversity, Fitness & Literacy

by Carol Goldstein

(March 10, 2003) From high-tech calculators and microscopes to low-tech book clubs and community-building activities, new gizmos and programs will be enriching the school lives of Mamaroneck students next year thanks to dollars donated by the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation.

One of last year's Foundation grants allowed for the purchase of pottery wheels. at the high school

On March 10, The Foundation announced it will be awarding $101,250 in grants during 2003-2004 to support sixteen programs representing all six district schools. Established in 1996, the Foundation is a local non-profit that raises funds to bolster the quality of the Mamaroneck public school. Including this year's awards, MSF has awarded almost $650,000 in grants affecting almost every student in the district. “We are thrilled to see the continued enthusiasm of teachers, administrators, parents and other community members who have applied for grants this year," said Ellen Blumstein, president of the Foundation. "The grant awards for the coming year cover a broad spectrum of diversity issues, enrichment, technology, creative arts, and fitness.”

Below are the Foundation's descriptions of the sixteen programs they will be supporting during the 2003-2004 school year:

TI-83 Graphing Calculators for Underachieving Math Students:

This $5,500 grant submitted by Joanne Mellia provides academic, financial and social assistance to support underachieving math students at the Hommocks. The grant will fund the purchase of thirty TI-83 graphing calculators and an after school workshop to help students learn how to use the calculator and reinforce applied math concepts. The calculators will be loaned to students, who could not otherwise afford one, to be able to take home andpractice what has been taught in class. This grant is partially funded from the Barbara Bennett-Rones endowment.

Great Minds Don’t Think Alike: Empowering Students to Understand Their Own Learning Strengths and Differences

Julie Gale, Gail Kleiner and Diane Nelson were awarded $5,150 to bring Jonathan Mooney, writer, lecturer and self-described 6th grade dropout, who is learning disabled, dyslexic and has ADHD, to Mamaroneck High School for two days of workshops with roughly 150 learning disabled students, and parents, families and community members. An additional $5,000 is being contributed by SEPTA and the District to fund professional development for special education teachers to follow up with Mooney on his work.

Theater Movement Arts Workshop:

This $13,000 grant was submitted by the PT Council cultural arts chairperson in conjunction with all four elementary school principals and a kindergarten teacher from each of the schools. The Rajeckas and Intraub Movement Theater will provide a common experience in theater movement arts for all kindergarteners through in-class workshops. They will teach skills common to theater, successful studies and life-cooperation, concentration and commitment. Teachers will attend a workshop in advance of the children so they can be an integral part of implementing these techniques in the classroom in a meaningful and on-going way. The teachers will then participate with the children in three workshops. Rajeckas and Intraub have successfully worked in three of the district’s elementary schools in the past.

Gay/Straight Alliance:

A $2,000 grant will fund a speaker series for the Gay/Straight Alliance, a Mamaroneck high school club. The series will focus on issues pertaining to the gay student population and will provide different speakers for the three specific audiences: students, teachers and families. These events are open to all students, faculty and parents in the community in the interest of broadening the discussion around tolerance and diversity.

The Mamaroneck School District will provide an additional $1,500 to send 25 students and two adults to two area conferences, Common Threads and Healing the Hurt. The former provides networking opportunities for GSA leadership and the latter hosts a series of workshops about gay issues for teens, adults and families. Endorsement of this grant demonstrates our district's continuing support for diversity within our community. To quote grantee Jennifer Altman, "perhaps the greatest obstacle that gay students face is a sense of isolation and invisibility. This project (will) send a strong message of acceptance to gay youth."

Mamaroneck Parent-Child Home Program:

A $7,000 grant submitted by the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit and Westchester Jewish Community Services will fund the Parent-Child Home Program, a proven parenting and family literacy program that encourages verbal interaction and educational play between parents and their pre-school children. It specifically serves families challenged by poverty, low levels of education, language barriers and other obstacles to educational success. This home-based programming reaches isolated families who may not access center-based services (pre-school) because of literacy/language barriers, lack of transportation or childcare. These funds will cover educational supplies for the program and support the ongoing operations and the summer program.

Math Challenge Study Group for Minority Students:

A grant of $5,850 will allow an inter-disciplinary team of Mamaroneck High School math teachers, counselors and administrators to work with a select group of minority students who are performing well in Course 2 in the High School to encourage their continuation of math studies throughout high school and beyond. Students participating in this weekly study group will receive a TI-89 calculator for their personal use throughout their ongoing studies and will participate in college visits with the group. Funds received from the Martin Luther King, Jr. award are being applied to support the funding of this grant. Submitted by Gail Kleiner, Gerry Brause, Cathy Henry, Barney Gill and Cathy Quackenbush.

Hommocks Dance Troupe:

A grant of $2,550 was awarded to this new club organized by School Psychologist Donna Gardner, to provide students with the opportunity to be exposed to dance forms and music from a multi-cultural perspective. This grant will provide funds for the troupe’s advisors, costumes and music.

Connecting Children with Autism with Their Peers:

A grant of $8,800 will fund a "reverse mainstreaming" program at Central School between the TEACCH I classroom and one of the school's fourth grade classes. The students from both classes will be paired-up and guided by an art teacher in projects designed to stimulate the TEACCH I children. This will culminate in a collaborative effort between the two classes to install a perennial garden surrounded by the children's sculptures. The experience of working together in a reverse mainstream environment will ensure a continuous dialogue between students and teachers who would normally not interact on a regular basis. In addition, teachers and staff from the entire District will attend workshops at the Eden School--a school whose mission is to meet the lifespan needs of individuals with Autism. Finally, Professor Gary Mesibov, Ph. D., Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology and Director of Division TEACCH at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill will lecture and consult to the District's TEACCH program. Submitted by Michelle Burton, Mary Lou Ventarola, Aaron Stone, Lisa Currey, Jennifer Freudenburg

Family University Day:

Submitted by Helene Fremder, this $15,000 grant will this community-wide event developed in response to a recent survey of middle and high school children who expressed a feeling of community disorganization. The event will be organized by RADAR, an ongoing collaborative organization, consisting of youth officers, local prosecutors, school administrators, teachers, local mental health agency, parents, students and the school social worker/drug and alcohol counselor. The overall objective is to create a unifying community event for all members of our community and to enhance the communication between adults as well as adults and children in our community. We expect between 500-600 children and adults to attend. Our Family University will be held in the spring of 2004 and will include a keynote address by a recognized and inspiring figure, workshops addressing the interests and needs of all age groups, a book sale on related topics, childcare for children in sixth grade and younger and a dinner. The Mamaroneck Public School District will co-sponsor this event with The Mamaroneck Schools Foundation.

Mother/Daughter and Father/Son Book Clubs:

A grant of $6300 for will fund Book Clubs for the Hommocks. Hommock’s Principal, Seth Weitzman, the chair of the Hommocks English Department, Robert Morrissey, and the Hommocks reading teacher, Christine Manzi, proposed this program. The funds will be utilized to initiate four reading clubs comprised of 12 pairs of parents and children each, which will meet 6 to 8 times a year. Four teacher group leaders will facilitate the discussion for the first several sessions. Thereafter, parents will co-facilitate the groups. An effort will be made to target these clubs to students who would not otherwise have access to this activity. Consideration will be given to creating a club with a Latino emphasis. The books selected will include strong gender role models and topics that are meaningful to middle school students and parents.

Murray Ave. Artist in Residence:

This $5700 grant is for an artist in residence program at Murray Ave. School. Ms. Tova Snyder, a painter and muralist, will collaborate with the faculty and other artists-in-residence to engage students in a common experience with multi-cultural literature as part of the school’s extensive cultural arts program. Ms. Snyder will work directly with both grade-level and Art Department faculty to add visual arts to the story telling process. For example, Ms. Snyder may assist students in developing puppets, masks and costumes to further their understanding of the elements of a story.

Mamaroneck Avenue Track Club:

Next spring 75 children from grades three through five will participate in after-school track program twice a week for a six-week period. Three coaches and an assistant will supervise the program; each workout will include warm-up and cool-down stretching, a team meeting, and a rotation through three areas: distance, sprints, and field events. The track season will culminate in an All Star Track Meet in which the students will choose the event in which they wish to participate. Each race (consisting of three contestants) will be followed by awards of gold, silver or bronze medals to each participant. The MAS Track Club’s primary goal is to build self-esteem and confidence. This program has been designed as a stepping-stone with the objective to encourage students to join sports teams when they get to the Hommocks. This $5,600 grant was submitted by Peter Berendt.

The “CORE”

This grant of $8,800 will fund the training by the Creative Response To Conflict (CRC) group of a “core” committee of Central School administrators, teachers and parents as permanent facilitators to address the school’s diversity and issues of conflict resolution. This Core group will develop and monitor programs tailored to the school’s specific and evolving needs. This is the first time the district will utilize internal facilitators for this type of program. Robin Nichinsky and a team of administrators and teachers spearheaded this initiative.

Science Research Program:

This $3,800 grant is awarded to MHS science teacher, Jodi Pear, for the purchase of both a dedicated laptop computer and a projector for her Science Research Program. Each member of her class of 80 students, grades 9-12, identifies areas of scientific research that interest them and eventually do field work with professional scientists. Their culminating work is an original piece of research that they present at various competitions throughout the state and country. The students have previously borrowed computers and projectors for competition presentations; this grant will provide them access to their own dedicated equipment.

Cardio Kickboxing:

This $2,600 grant was submitted by Dave McGuckin, the Supervisor of Health, Physical Education, Health Services and Athletics for the District and Gale Crowley, a physical education teacher at the High School. The grant will be used to purchase all equipment necessary to start a Cardio-Kickboxing program at Mamaroneck High School. The new program will be an elective in the High School physical education department and will encourage students to engage in a lifetime aerobic activity.

Stereomicroscopes for Fourth Graders:

This grant, in the amount of $3800, will be used to purchase three stereomicroscopes for each fourth grade class at the Chatsworth Avenue School. These microscopes will greatly enhance the study of fourth grade units on ecosystems and earth materials and will allow for an exciting introduction to the use of microscopes in science study. This grant was submitted by David Miles and the other fourth grade teachers at Chatsworth.

Carol Goldstein is on the Board of the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation. From the Foundation: "We would like to thank the community for its continued support of the Foundation. If you are interested in supporting the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation through donations or volunteering, please contact us at P.O. Box 123, Larchmont, New York 10538, e-mail us at MSFoundation@Mamkschools.org or call at 698-9079. "