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The NCTA rejoices in the successes of its members!
The NCTA rejoices in the successes of its members!
Below are examples of NCTA's 2019 Grant Recipients and information about their projects.
Below are examples of NCTA's 2019 Grant Recipients and information about their projects.
Erin Nerlino of King Philip Regional High School:
King Philip's Professional Innovations Program Seminar class is a senior English class for students who are career bound rather than college bound that helps to prepare students with the necessary skills for post-secondary employment. Within the class, students learn the state standards for writing, reading and speaking with a focus on the professional field each student intends to enter.
The grant was used to fund professional organization materials, including leather portfolios, for students to use when creating resumes and cover letters as they seek post-high school employment.
Noel Vigue of Milton High School:
The NCTA awarded a grant to help fund a school/community presentation of a new film "Screenagers Next Chapter," Building Community to Support Emotional Well-Being. Over 250 attended the event.
Pauline Chaloff of Westwood High School:
Our school has a Courageous Conversations program with the following mission: The Courageous Conversations program exposes students to diverse identities, voices, and cultural traditions and contributions, increases our cultural awareness and appreciation, and provides opportunities for dialogue and perspective-taking. The programs signal our commitment to engage in important civic and social conversations, even if messy and difficult, and to create a safer and more equitable community.
As part of the Courageous Conversations program, we are undertaking a project to address the topic of immigration. The goal of this project is to increase student understanding and appreciation of diverse migration stories and to reflect upon their own backgrounds. Concretely, we are inviting “Suitcase Stories”, which is a “traveling live performance series that features foreign and U.S. born residents sharing refugee and immigrant stories” (https://iine.org/suitcase/). Some faculty members have made connections between the “Suitcase Stories” content and their own curricula regarding immigration. In addition to fitting in with our curricular offerings, this topic is relevant in our current political context replete with anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Students and staff members who participated in the event were be expected to reflect upon their experiences through structured dialogues in classroom settings. Over 600 students attended the event.
Intro Speech by Students - Julie Kim.pdf
Christine Walsh of Delaney Elementary School, Wrentham:
Purchased two Osmo Genius Starter Kits for her grade-level, helping students with their math, writing, and reading through an engaging activity to help with student progress. The tech teacher is also be able to borrow them to use with Kindergarten through third grade tech classes. There are 105 students and 6 teachers in first grade that directly benefited from this.
Mary-Ellen D'Espinosa of Millis Middle School:
Purchased 6 large magnetic coordinate planes for our classrooms. These large coordinate planes can be worked on in groups and then put on magnetic white boards in order thaclasses can discuss/compare/analyze the work of all the groups. All students in Grade 8 Mathematics will use these coordinate planes throughout the year.
Christin Brink, Special Educator of Martin E. Young Elementary School, Randolph:
Created "Calm Down Kits" for each of the GROW classrooms. Thanks to this project, the students will have access to tools that will help them learn to regulate their emotions and behavior.
Kelly Foxx of Delaney Elementary School, Wrentham:
Purchased two specialized step stools to create an environment of full accessibility for a student with Williams Syndrome.
Jacqueline Walker of John F. Kennedy School, Holbrook:
The school nurse, serving 680 pre-k - 5 students, created a health office library of books that are age and developmentally appropriate. Students do not have health education as part of their school day curriculum. The health office library is contained in a waiting area that is utilized by students for multiple purposes, thus increasing awareness, usability and exposure.
Ashley Niland of Anna Ware Jackson School, Plainville:
Created a sensory path area in one hallway of the school, primarily used for preschool, kindergarten, and students throughout the building who needs sensory breaks.
sensory path - Ashley Niland.pdf
Rachael Sordillo of John F. Kennedy School, Holbrook:
NCTA assisted in funding the music department's unified appearance at school and community events, for experienced band, beginner band, and chorus after school. There are 97 students in chorus and 75 students in band, with some of the students participate in both.
Amy Quinn of Norwood High School:
Purchased a subscription to mathalicious.com to provide CP2 class "Intro to Algebra 2" students more project based learning opportunities. These juniors and seniors will gain support with the foundations and skills of math and help them to think more critically and abstractly as the subscription provides real world applications.
Anat Stollman of The Children's Center, Sharon:
Purchased an outdoor permanent communication board, posted in the playground.
The Children’s Center is an integrated preschool in the Sharon Public Schools where students with special needs learn and interact alongside typically developing students.
The communication board was printed on an aluminum surface and hung permanently to the fence posts.
The goal of the project was to provide access to communication for all students when they are outside in the playground, for basic needs and the ability to interact with their peers, truly integrating and reaching all of our students in varied learning environments.
Lindsey Kay of Avon Middle School:
In an effort to promote kindness, self-esteem, and social emotional skills, purchased an online program called GiveThx. The description from the GiveThx website says: "GiveThx is an app for students to express gratitude through peer feedback and reflection." She (and about 6 of her colleagues) are using this program with about 120 seventh and eighth graders throughout the school year.
Deborah Jordan of Walpole High School:
Beatrice Fernando, human trafficking victim, survivor, and activist spoke to students in Jamie O'Leary's International Relations and Sociology classes about her experience as a domestic slave in Lebanon, her dramatic escape and coping with "victim mentality," and the issue of modern day slavery and human trafficking around the world today.
In addition, Beatrice educates students to be aware and wary of offers that may be "to good to be true" and to avoid con artists and traffickers who pose a viable threat to vulnerable young people here in our own country. The target audience was primarily juniors and seniors in the 5 classes stated above, approximately 100 or more students.
It was an invaluable experience for the students in the two classes. All the feedback from the students was very positive and they are continuing to raise awareness about human trafficking issues in the U.S. and are even collecting supplies for women who have or currently are victims in the MA area.
Ellen Horton-5th Grade Teacher and Mariellen Nathman, OTR/L-Occupational Therapist of the Freeman Kennedy School, Norfolk:
wanted to provide alternative seating options, specifically with rocking, as “Additionally, the use of sensory-based strategies and tools in the classroom has been associated with improved attention to task, working memory, and in-seat behavior and engagement,” (Pfeiffer et al., 2008; Sarver et al., Schilling & Schwartz 2004).
purchased Virco Zuma rocking chairs to pilot them in the general education classrooms.
When inquiring about these chairs as seen in another school: “... the company hired an occupational therapy consultant to help design them. They are designed ergonomically to support proper pelvic tilt while sitting and reduce fatigue. They are newer so I don't think there is any research out about it. Teachers like them because there is a hard stop to the rocking back so they don't have to keep prompting them. They are also very durable so a better money investment.” (Colleen Whiting, Occupational Therapist)
Elizabeth Hegarty of Dedham Middle School:
funds assisted in one publication of school's literary magazine, Exciting Writing.
The magazine is published three times a year and features stories, memoirs, poems, essays, and artwork from students across grades 6-8 at Dedham Middle School. The magazine is a celebration of students' writing at a variety of levels and through the lenses of a diverse student body.
Each student who publishes in Exciting Writing receives a bound, printed copy of the magazine, and the magazine is also distributed to all ELA teachers and to the library for all students to read.
The magazine has the potential to reach every student in the school, whether by publishing in it or reading it.
PAGE POETRY - Elizabeth Hegarty.pdfSarah Pullia of the Charles S. Pierce Middle School, Milton:
The goal of my project was to continue to build a thinking classroom for my 100 or so 8th grade math students.
Purchased magnetic coordinate planes to attach to non-permanent white boards.
Jennifer Tausevich of Dedham Middle School:
The goal of my project is to provide art projects that expose Dedham Middle School students to cultures beyond the United States while enriching their understanding and tolerance of these cultures and the art that they have to offer.
Ms. Tausevich and Ms. Fradet plan to implement multiple lessons to help expose art students to different cultures and the art that is created.
Tierney Miller, Literacy 6-8 Reading Specialist of the East Middle School, Braintree:
The goal of this NCTA grant award was to purchase books/texts that will help develop and strengthen the reading and writing skills of students who are reading below grade level.
This grant helped to purchase high interest, engaging books that students can more easily access ("high success").
Additionally, purchased texts reflect students' diverse identities and/or allow them to learn about other individuals and cultures.
The additional books provided by this grant will build students' love of literacy, develop stronger reading and writing skills, and help them become more emphatic and compassionate individuals.
Kathleen Dowd and Margaret Stewart of Blue Hills Regional Technical School:
Created a classroom library for Health Assisting Vocational students.
Purchased literature books for the students that pertain to health care topics currently trending
The goal is to increase those students' reading and writing abilities and give them a foundation in health care topics.
Janessa Barrett of Wilkins Elementary School, Stoughton:
The grant funding was used to support the school initiative centered around Social Emotional Learning and Physical Health, where every student in grades k-5 attend an Enrichment Physical Education class weekly. The class combines social emotional learning with physical movement.
Signage and posters supporting positive sportsmanship and behavior, board games, access to audio and technology (speakers, HDMI cord, etc.) were purchased with the grant funding and these resources are accessed by all students in the building at all age levels.
Patricia Shaw of Old Post Road School, Walpole:
Held a virtual presentation for families of incoming Kindergarten students.
Hired clinician Jeanine K. Fitzgerald from The Fitzgerald Institute of Lifelong Learning for the event.
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