MEF Awards over $17,000 in Innovative Teaching Grants!

The Midlothian Education Foundation rolled out the Star Patrol on Friday, December 9 with giant checks, balloons, and the MHS drumline to award 4 grants to 19 teachers totaling $17,581.03. Click here to read about the 4 grants awarded.

FRANK SEALE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Project Title: Sherlock Holmes Thinking - $4,831.68
Teachers: Robyn Crocker
Students Impacted: 300+
Grades/Subjects: 7th, Reading/Language Arts

Too often as a society we leave the deep thinking to others. Children today tend to want to take the easy way out. This grant was written to hook their interest in solving mysteries. To identify and seek solutions, students need to develop skills for problem solving, inferencing, predicting, and comprehending implications. This project-based learning unit will address these skills and more to improve critical thinking skills.

J.A. VITOVSKY ELEMENTARY

Project Title: Train Your Brain: Working Memory Workout – $3,015.00
Teachers: Julie Whitworth, Joni Nelson, Suzanne Brantley, Kyle
Chambers, Lori Huff, Christine Homs, Marry Curry, and Rachel Anderson
Students Impacted: 15+
Grades/Subjects: K-5, All

Through the Cogmed Working Memory Training computer program, students with deficits in working memory are able to make lasting improvements in academic performance as well as behavioral improvement. A pilot program for 15 students to include five students with special education eligibility, five general education students identified at-risk, and five bilingual students identified as at-risk, will participate in this five-week computer training with the assistance of cognitive coaches. All students that will participate in the program will be identified as having characteristics of working memory deficits. Cogmed Working Memory Training is a program that helps children with attention problems focus better and improve working memory. Parents, teachers and students all report positive outcomes after implementation of the Cogmed Working Memory Training.

J.A. VITOVSKY ELEMENTARY

Project Title: “I TOUCH,” Your Touch, We All Touch Reading - $4,734.35
Teachers: Jeanne Boniol, Rachel Dodson, Martha Lackey, Kelly Polewchak
Students Impacted: 100 per year
Grades/Subjects: 3rd Grade, Reading/Language Arts

Success in reading is imperative to a student’s success in school and in life. Again and again as teachers we see students struggle with fluency. Fluency not only prohibits students from progressing in reading but also hinders comprehension and ultimately damages children’s self esteem regarding reading. This grant being funded will change the way reading is improved and fluency is increased in the classroom. Allowing each 3rd grade classroom to have three iPOD Touches, along with the necessary accessories, will ultimately improve reading comprehension and fluency scores across the grade level. Students will be able to use the iPOD Touch to make reading more fun b using the HD video recording, FaceTime (similar to Skype), and reading/language apps. This grant will help create life long success in reading.

J.R. IRVIN ELEMENTARY

Project Title: Rosetta Stone Language Learning Lab - $5,000
Teachers: Elizabeth Adkins, Ryan Timm, Jonathon Pollard,
Christine Dobbins, Angela Greer, Terry Moore
Students Impacted: K-5 students, faculty, staff and parents
Grades/Subjects: K-5, Spanish

The Rosetta Stone Language Learning Lab will give elementary students in kindergarten through fifth grade an opportunity to learn Spanish using the proven Rosetta Stone method. Research has shown that learning a second language in elementary school is more effective than waiting until the time most students typically start in middle or high school. In addition to allowing students to access the Rosetta Stone Language Learning Lab, faculty and staff members will be allowed to check out laptops for use in the evenings, weekends, or during the summer. Finally, weekly evening sessions will give parents an opportunity to learn Spanish in a fun, stress-free environment.

Grant (Star Patrol) Archives