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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 2022 Grant Recipients and information about their projects.
Below are examples of NCTA's 2022 Grant Recipients and information about their projects.
Stefanie Capone-Bello of King Philip Regional High School:
Purchased a year long subscription to Flangoo, a web-based program that offers graded level reading and listening comprehension practice, for use in the Spanish I (freshman) curriculum as well as the Spanish II (sophomore) curriculum.
Jennifer Ryan of AW Jackson Elementary, Plainville:
Purchased seat sacs to provide organization of student materials and allow for the ease of transitions and location of materials for individual student use in her kindergarten classroom.
Laura Tolman of Little Mustangs Preschool Academy, Norwood:
Created mini-center/kits for hands-on activities to promote science, math, and literacy skills, giving students the opportunity for individualized independent differentiated exploration which is both engaging and developmentally appropriate. They also a foster curiosity to help develop their love of learning.
Kathleen Nichols of Dedham High School, Dedham:
Increased student engagement by building a classroom library of texts that provide students with opportunities to see themselves in literature and empathize with characters and experiences that feel relevant and compelling.
Carol Bratt of Heights Elementary School, Sharon:
The NCTA grant provided additional resources for First Graders to help differentiate their needs in the area of Math. Carol purchased math games and activities that ranged from supporting fact fluency practice to providing upper level students with problem solving, critical and logical thinking challenges, and higher level tasks. It also provided students more opportunities to work cooperatively in solving these tasks.
Kathleen Filipe of Oakdale Elementary School, Dedham:
Used the grant to purchase flexible seating options. The purpose of these alternative seats provided students with the opportunity to receive sensory input and remain active while attending to instruction in a small group setting. The Bean Bag Chair, Flex-Space Wobble Cushions and Storex Active Tilt Stools as flexible seating options has helped students better attend to lessons and helped them regulate their bodies' sensory needs.
Melissa Leverett-King of Ralph Butler Elementary School, Avon:
Used the grant to purchase flexible seating/workstations for her work as an English Language Teacher. Space-saving and portable, these materials can be used effectively for a caseload of multi-aged students throughout the course of a day where the location for assistance and instruction often changes.
Susan Murphy of Bird Middle School, Walpole:
Purchased books for a diversity/inclusion/social justice book club.
Inspired by the idea of books serving as windows, doors, and mirrors to young readers, middle school students were exposed to increased diversity in the novels they read and discussed texts that allowed them to see issues from other perspectives.
Jolene Wagner of Avon Middle High School, Avon:
Used the grant to supplement the cost to create and self-publish a yearbook for Middle School 7th and 8th grade students, something that had not previously existed at this level.
Kristen Connolly-Espenhain of B.H.Wood Elementary School, Plainville:
Used the grant to create archeological excavation kits for a mock dig.
Haley Nevers of Sharon Middle School, Sharon:
Used the grant to update a classroom library to be representative of our diverse world, purchasing additional books featuring diverse protagonists that serve as "windows" for students into experiences different from their own.
This projects also benefits Sharon Middle School at large as it addresses the district's continuous work around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Specifically, from the Superintendent's Initial Findings Report, diverse representation in curriculum is outlined as an area for further growth: "Families and staff report the need to continue to expand the curriculum to ensure that it is representative of our community. In addition, more educational programming for students is needed to learn about and embrace different cultures."
Sarah Byrnes of Foxborough High School, Foxborough:
Grade 11 Project Based Learning English class guest speakers.
Hired guest speakers from the community as part of our 11th grade citizenship project:
Julie Sharkey from Homes for Our Troops, the Gifts Processing Manager of Homes for Our Troops, a group that builds and adapts homes for severely injured veterans.
Deb Snow from LYNN Ministries, a community group working with people who are currently unhoused in local communities,.
Lovern Gordon, Founder and President of Love Life Now Foundation, Inc. (LLN) which promotes year-round awareness against domestic violence and bridges the gap between shelters and the communities they serve
Juri Love, a journalist from the Sun Chronicle who also lives and works within the Foxboro Community representing "Women in Film and Video New England."
By having experts in the field come in, students not only gain access to information and issues within their community in an authentic and engaging way, but they also start to make connections they might want to pursue for their community service project.
Having guest speakers not only promotes real-world skills of professional communication, active listening, and curiosity, but, most importantly, it allows students to continue to recognize that their impact extends far beyond the walls of their English classroom. An essential skill for 11th grade is that students can take an informed perspective on a topic or issue reached after developing and asking relevant questions, identifying experts in a field, and conducting research, and we believe that continuing to provide opportunities for students to interact with members of their community will help to strengthen this skill.
Christine Cantrell of Elm Street School, Walpole:
Purchased several tools to aid students in their ability to focus.
Jill Mackay of Stoughton High School, Stoughton:
Purchased a plethora of books for her classroom library to update with more current and relatable content.
Elana Milstein of the Randolph Community Middle School , Randolph:
Purchased several Makey Makey STEM kits to incorporate physical computing into the Computer Science course.
Students code programs and download them to a microcontroller, then build a project that somehow incorporates the microcontroller.
Makey Makey is a type of microcontroller that now adds another layer of contrast/exposure for mini computers, beyond the current microcontrollers used in this course.
Jamie Mitchell of Maria Weston Chapman Middle School, Weymouth:
Purchased hydroponic equipment for a brand new, state-of-the-art culinary lab at the middle school. As the culinary lab instructor and former science teacher, teaching students about clean eating and how to prepare simple recipes for themselves. students will set up and eventually harvest from our hydroponic gardens. This project will be ongoing and new groups of students will participate each term.
Amy Naggar of AW Jackson Elementary, Plainville:
Purchased seat sacs to provide organization of student materials and allow for the ease of transitions and location of materials for individual student use in her kindergarten classroom.
Katie Malcolmson of Donald Ross Elementary School, Braintree:
Purchased a variety of materials and flexible seating options to create "calming corner" in 2nd grade for dysregulated students. The goal of the project is to help students regulate their emotions so that they are ready to learn.
Kelley Christy of Delaney Elementary School, Wrentham:
Purchased movement materials such as a mini trampoline, scooters, and a hopping ball to be used in a substantially separate special education classroom. Incorporating movement breaks into the classroom benefits students in learning and behavior. Movement increases the brain’s ability to make connections and increases a student’s ability to attend to instruction. Movement breaks can interrupt negative thinking patterns, reduce anxiety or stress, and improve self-regulation.
Amanda Porter of Oakdale Elementary School, Dedham:
Purchased a variety of flexible seating options. The purpose of the seats is to provide alternate seating where students are able to wobble, rock, bounce, lean or stand, which increases oxygen flow to the brain, blood flow and core strength. This will provide sensory output to help with focus and work completion.
Mike Carter of Millis Middle/High School, Millis:
Purchased a kiosk/stand for the school library to assist students in accessing its online catalog using the school's attached iPad.
Linda Leger of AW Jackson Elementary, Plainville:
Purchased seat sacs to provide organization of student materials and allow for the ease of transitions and location of materials for individual student use in her kindergarten classroom.
Danielle Civitarese of Elden H. Johnson Early Childhood Center, Weymouth:
Purchased devices for students needing accommodations to improve communication and learning. This project allows preschool students access to switches and simple communication "talkers" that give them the voice to participate and gain independence. These devices are used in multiple formats, but mostly to allow students the ability to voice their wants, needs, ideas, and opinions.
Olivia Eastwood of Oakdale Elementary School, Dedham:
Purchased flexible seating options to accommodate students in her Grade 3 classroom, as students greatly benefit from additional seating options that allow them to better self-regulate and focus on their learning in a space that best fits their individual needs.
Kathleen McDonald of Fisher Elementary School, Walpole:
Purchased a subscription to Flocabulary along with kinesthetic materials to enhance activity engagement in her Grade 4 classroom. Using this online subscription which infuses music and kinesthetic learning, the goal is to increase engagement and growth in students' mastery of all grade 4 standards throughout the school year 2022-23 across all subjects.
Anne Valluzzi of Clyde F. Brown Elementary School, Millis:
Purchased Dot robots to improve coding skills and problem-solving skills for use by students in multiple grade levels.
Kathleen Dowd of Blue Hills Technical Regional High School, Randolph:
Purchased Poseable Anatomy Figures for the tactile learners in 9th and 10th grade anatomy and physiology classes. Multiple 14” Tall Models (Anatomy Kits) have removable Muscles, Organs, and Bones for students to have hands-on learning experiences.
Amy Carroll of Thomas Hamilton School, Weymouth:
Purchased items to help the sensory needs of the kindergarten students in an inclusion classroom.
Julia Fredette of Freeman Kennedy School, Norfolk:
Purchased books focused on the topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, awareness, friendship, bullying and acceptance of students with and without disabilities for a program called the Freeman Kennedy School Unified Young Readers Club.
It is hoped that this bookclub program will occur as part of weekly meetings between students who primarily receive instruction in an inclusion setting and those who are in sub-separate programs due to their academic, social, emotional or behavioral challenges. This would involve members of the club reading the books to each other and then completing the activities provided in the study guide. In addition to the social-emotional benefits, this project would also allow students on Individualized Education Plans to work towards their goals in reading and comprehension in a desirable social setting, while students that are in the club facilitating the activities are fostering inclusion which carries over to multiple settings in the school including the lunch room, recess, specials and the general education classrooms.
Diane Kelley of Delaney School, Wrentham:
Purchased classroom library books for Kindergarten!
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