AKRON, Ohio (May 16, 2017) — The Distribution Committee of GAR Foundation announced Thursday $350,000 in funding to 38 teams of educators through its annual Educator Initiative Grant (EIG) program, an initiative that offers grants to teams of K-12 educators in Summit County’s public and private schools.
Educators from Jennings Community Learning Center were awarded $12,500 for the Virtual Village: A Multicultural Makerspace program. The project is designed to improve school-wide achievement, help all students meet the standards of 21st Century learning, and strengthen the social-emotional climate of a diverse community. The makerspace will invite families from the International Institute of Akron to work together to support students and their learning. Teachers from Jennings will also have an opportunity to engage their learners in creative problem solving through hands-on design and construction.
“GAR received a record number of requests from Summit County public and private schools for classroom based initiatives and ideas,” said Kirstin Toth, senior vice president of GAR Foundation. “We also saw an influx of requests that support student creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. We’re thrilled to be able to support a variety of academic as well as social-emotional learning objectives that advance the profession and prepare students for college and career.”
Several grants were awarded to Cuyahoga Falls City Schools, including an award to Cuyahoga Falls High School for the Cuyahoga Falls Urban Agriculture Initiative, a sustainable and environmentally conscious program that invites students of all abilities to learn and collaborate on agricultural projects that will improve their health, school, and community.
Summit County educators are encouraged to attend GAR Foundation’s Annual Educator Conference on October 5, 2017. The conference brings together K-12 educators to provide teachers and schools with innovative strategies for student engagement and success.
The schools receiving support include:
- Buchtel Community Learning Center, $8,410, Super-Modeling
- Case Elementary School, $3,550, Classroom MakerSpace
- Copley High School, $8,690, Transition Outcomes Program for Success (TOPS)
- Cornerstone Community School, $11,790, Using Robotics to Promote Girls as STREAM Leaders
- Cuyahoga Falls High School, $13,780, Cuyahoga Falls Urban Agriculture Initiative
- Cuyahoga Falls High School, $14,000, Tiger Time News: Publicizing Information in a 21st Century World
- Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, $6,930, Project Based Learning in Business Education – Mastery through Authentic Learning Experiences
- Echo Hills, Fishcreek, Indian Trail, Riverview, Woodland Elementary & Lakeview Intermediate School, $14,360, Innovation, Inquiry and STEM: An After-School Program
- Ellsworth Hill Elementary School, $6,200, Pathways to Learning
- Gordon DeWitt Elementary School, $9,530, Environmental Changes through the Realms of Reality
- Hillcrest Elementary School, $15,000, Innovation Station Year 2
- Hudson High School, $9,010, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics)
- Hudson High School, $9,880, Creating the “Superhuman”
- Hudson Middle School, $13,170, Creating a Makerspace at Hudson Middle School
- Hudson Middle School, $9,970, Invasive Species & the Cuyahoga Valley National Park PBL
- Immaculate Heart of Mary, $4,980, What’s in Your Water? – A Problem-Based Unit
- Jennings Community Learning Center, $12,500, Virtual Village at Jennings CLC: A Multicultural Makerspace
- Kimpton Middle School, $15,000, Using Virtual Reality to … “See” the Future
- Manchester High School, $15,000, Where Would We Be Without Water?
- Manchester High School, $360, Kids & You Parenting Program
- National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM High School, $4,970, What a Waterful Life: A Hydraulics PBL with Akron Water Dept.
- Norton Primary Elementary School, $14,930, T.E.A.M. AHEAD!
- Preston Elementary School, $8,790, Preston Pride- News on Your Side Creating Learners for the 21st Century!
- Roberts Middle School, $6,720, Mini Soap Box Derby
- Seton Catholic School, $5,000, Probing for Data
- Silver Lake Elementary School, $9,950, See It. Sing It. Move It. Dance It. Read It. Write It!
- Springfield High School and Junior High, $3,650, Making Kinetic-tions: Immersive Geology with the AR Sandbox
- Springfield High School and Junior High, $9,560, Seedfolks Sustainability
- Springfield High School and Junior High, $9,920, The Red and Gray Cafe: We’re Learning a Latte!
- Barnabas School, $2,760, Students Take-Over Lolly the Trolley: Student Led Civil Rights & African-American Bus tour of Cleveland
- Barnabas School, $7,270, Robots Across the Curriculum
- Barnabas School, $9,830, Writer’s Workshop: 21St Century Style
- Mary School, $15,000, Achieving Learning Standards Through Communication and Broadcasting
- Walsh Jesuit High School, $2,070, Bring Back the Monarch!
- Walsh Jesuit High School, $8,440, Hooked on Ponics
- William Richardson Elementary School, $9,880, Black Tiger Cubs: “Exploring the Past While Inventing the Future”
- Windemere Community Learning Center, $9,260, The Art of the Lost Letter II
- Woodridge High School, $9,890, WHS ThinkSpace: Full STEAM Ahead