$350,000 awarded to classroom-based projects from GAR Foundation
May 19, 2015
AKRON, Ohio (May 19, 2015) — The Distribution Committee of GAR Foundation announced today $350,000 in funding to 33 teams of public and private school educators for its annual Educator Initiative Grant (EIG) program.
Akron Public Schools received the largest number of grants, with a total of nine awards granted to six school buildings. Among those grants include a $13,500 award to Firestone Park Elementary School to empower families to become their children’s first teachers. The Making it Happen program provides education and interactive activities to engage families to become millennial educators.
“All of the educators demonstrated initiative, creativity, and progressive ideas to develop and implement instructional strategies to ensure student success,” said Lucille Esposito, EIG program manager.
Among those receiving awards include Buchtel Community Learning Center for its efforts to work across departments to connect biology and health issues to students’ lives. The program, Solving our Diseases, is in its second year and promotes project-based learning and investigative skills among students. The Lippman School also received $14,000 to implement the APP-laud for Enrichment and Extension program. Students in grades K-8 will collaborate with schools in other nations by responding to a problem-based learning challenge to create a mobile device application of student driven content of the historic Portage Path.
The Sun, Wind & Water program at Walsh Jesuit High School also received funding to provide hands-on science experiments, allowing students to better understand alternative energy options and indoor aquaculture.
The programs receiving support are teacher-initiated, classroom-based projects using methods that demonstrably impact student academic achievement. “We are delighted to see that all of the programs promote real-world application across the six key transition points on the Cradle-to-Career Continuum,” said Esposito. “We look forward to honoring the teachers and their innovative ideas at a reception to be hosted by the foundation in late May.”
The EIG program is separate and distinct from the foundation’s regular grant-making in the area of education, and offers grants from $1,000 to $15,000 to teams of K-12 educators in Summit County public, private, and non-profit community schools. Teachers may apply for the next EIG cycle in early 2016.
GAR Foundation’s Annual Educator Conference will be held on October 8, 2015 and will showcase EIG programs in addition to concurrent sessions that teach educators innovative and effective strategies for increasing student engagement and providing a climate and culture for student success. Information for the conference will be available soon on the GAR website. For more information about the EIG program, contact Lucille Esposito, EIG program manager [email protected] or 330-550-6661.
The schools receiving support include:
- Archbishop Hoban High School, Habitudes Leadership Training, $9,202
- Barberton Elementary School East & Barberton Elementary School West, Building Literacy Foundations with Legos, $8,500
- Barberton High School, Literacy – Our Pathway To Success, $5,476
- Barberton Middle School, Writing Workshop With a Professional Writer Part II, $9,200
- Barberton Middle School, Searching for Deeper Understanding, $5,114
- Buchtel Community Learning Center, Solving Our Diseases: Using Investigation & Project-Based Learning to Respond to Community Issues of Health, $8,804
- Buchtel Community Learning Center, Cultivating Curiosity & Community, $14,981
- Coventry Middle School, The Courage to be a Comet!, $15,000
- Firestone Park Elementary, Making it Happen: Strategically Engaging APS Families to become Millennial Educators, $13,548
- Helen Arnold Community Learning Center, At This School, We READ!! Let’s Get Started!, $14,772
- Immaculate Heart of Mary, Increasing Student Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.) Proficiency Through Newscasts, $13,725
- Kimpton Middle School, From Concept to Reality: Aerospace Prototyping and Testing Using 3D Printers, $14,591
- Leggett Community Learning Center, Writers Writing Everywhere Year Two, $14,267
- Munroe Elementary School, Project ASAP: Applying STEM Activities and Practices, Phase III, $15,000
- Nolley Elementary School, Implementing a Culture of Leadership through the Leader in Me, $13,550
- Old Trail School, Cracking the Code! Programming Through the Ages – Year 2, $15,000
- Old Trail School, Plant to Eat, $6,567
- Ritzman Community Learning Center, Lego My Writing!, $10,000
- Schumacher Community Learning Center, A Teaching Garden is a Unity Garden, $14,345
- Schumacher Community Learning Center, 2nd Grade Digital Literacy, $15,000
- Schumacher Community Learning Center, Digital Literacy and Math Phase 2, $ 12,624
- Seton Catholic School, Retain and Reclaim, $ 4,500
- Spring Hill Elementary School, L.I.N.K.S. to P.I.N.K.S. – Getting More “Parents Involved which is Necessary for Kids’ Success”, $10,000
- Spring Hill Elementary School, “PLUS – IT! Personalized Learning Utilizing Skills with Integration of Technology”, $ 9,500
- Springfield High School & Junior High School, The Ideal Civilization – An Interdisciplinary Approach to Personalized Learning, $9,976
- St. Vincent St. Mary High School, Teaching 21st Century Skills in a 21st Century Victory Garden, $14,200
- Tallmadge High School, Field of Dreams: Tallmadge High School Pollinators Protection Initiative and Biomimetic Outdoor Classroom, $ 8,660
- The Lippman School, APP-laud for Enrichment and Extension , $14,063
- Walsh Jesuit High School, Sun, Wind & Water: Unearthing ways to preserve our planet, $9,327
- Woodridge High School, Farm to Table- Learning through Seeding, Learning through Feeding, Learning Sustainability, $1,034
- Woodridge Middle School, MakerSpace bench top design and fabrication, $4,974
- Woodridge Primary School, Enriching the Stars, $5,000
- Young Elementary, “L.I.N.K.S. – Expanding Literacy and Parental Involvement to Math and Science, to Twitter and Blogging!”, $9,500
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GAR Foundation
GAR Foundation is a private foundation established in 1967 by Galen and Ruth Roush. Mr. Roush was the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Roadway Express. GAR Foundation invests in Greater Akron to promote quality of life, education, and economic opportunities for its people, in a culturally vibrant community. Since its inception, GAR has distributed more than $225 million to nonprofit organizations working in the Foundation’s areas of interest. Funding priorities include: Education, Basic Needs and Independence, Arts and Culture, and Civic Enhancement. The Foundation’s offices are housed within the historic Andrew Jackson House at 277 E Mill Street in Akron, Ohio. Visit www.garfoundation.org for more information.