Madison Education Foundation Awards $121,000 in Educational Enrichment Grants Across Madison District Schools for the 2012 – 2103 School Year

On June 10, the Madison Education Foundation (MEF) completed its third grant cycle approving $43,000 in teacher-initiated enrichment grants to Madison schools.  Combined with two previous grant cycles, K-12 students at all five district schools will benefit from $121,000 in approved educational enrichment resources. 

“Our dedicated team of educators continues to rely on MEF to provide support for a host of enriching opportunities and innovative teaching tools for Madison’s students,” says MEF Co-President Mary Schaenen.

Madison elementary school teachers have been awarded a variety of grants over the past school year, including posture chairs for the music program, Indo balance boards for physical education classes, microscopes for science, and therapy balls to enhance the classroom experience. 

Each fall, 5th grade students at Central Avenue School learn about pond life through hands-on experiences.  Students observe, investigate and gather data, drawing pictures of their findings as they investigate plants and living organisms. A grant from MEF to purchase new microscopes will allow for clearer observations and more precise data collection, which will help to deepen and enrich the students’ understanding.

A team of teachers, physical therapists and occupational therapists from all three Madison Elementary Schools was awarded a grant to pilot the use of therapy balls in their classrooms. Therapy balls are large balls used as chairs that are helpful to students who require movement input to remain attentive to classroom tasks.  Research has shown that therapy balls help to improve sensory processing skills and improve balance and coordination. Five balls will be shared between the schools and available to both regular and special education students.  If the pilot is successful, and improvements are seen in the classroom, the goal would be to have a ball in every elementary classroom.

Madison Junior School (MJS)

Sixth grade students enjoyed The Museum of Early Trades and Crafts exhibit “Orphan to Apprentice: Child Labor in the Pre-Industrial Era” thanks to an MEF grant.  The museum’s exhibit portrays the lives of five real orphaned children who were taken from their homes and “bound out/indented” to learn reading, writing and a trade, while being provided with food and housing.  The stories of the lives of these children, along with artifacts from the period, were used to illuminate and bring to life the not so ideal lives of these orphan apprentices and dovetailed with the “Coming of Age” Language Arts’ lessons and the grade six study of America’s emerging industrial society.  A Museum representative accompanied the artifacts from the exhibit and all 178 sixth grade students experienced this hands-on program. Seeing the artifacts firsthand, with presentations and background provided by the museum staff, reinforced the lessons being taught in the classroom. 

An MEF grant for 7th graders allowed them to participate in a creative writing residency led by a published author. In this residency, titled “Project Memoir,” students wrote about the moments and experiences that make up their lives and conceived of and produced a near-final memoir piece to fulfill their class requirement for memoir writing. They read excerpts from great memoirs and essays about the preteen and teenage years by different authors and engaged in dynamic creative writing exercises to write about their own lives.  Other grants awarded at MJS include:  a pilot for Chromebooks, non-fiction books, an author visit via Skype and more.

Physics Sensor Bundles & Laptops at Madison High School (MHS)

Two MEF grants funded the purchase of sensor bundles and laptops in order to enrich the Physics curriculum.   The sensor bundles will enable students studying Physics to perform experiments, collect and analyze data in areas that they are currently unable to do so. Specifically, the sensor bundles allow students to experiment with linear motion, motion in 2D, force, electricity and magnetism. The equipment is portable and because it is self-contained, the students can collect data in locations outside of the traditional classroom setting.

Although the sensor bundles equipment and other physics equipment, such as high-speed cameras, can be used independently of a laptop or any other device, the educational experience is expanded through the use of laptops. Computers allow for the use of specialized software to analyze the data collected and provide the opportunity for students to conduct online interactive simulations via lessons available at Physics Education Technology (PhET) website.  This helps to increase the sophistication and variety of experiences for every student.   

“We were delighted to award an additional 24 laptops and a cart to the high school Physics department.  As the entry point to high school science, physics is a pivotal experience to engage students.  With the addition of these laptops, the teachers will be able to expand and enrich the physics experience,” says MEF Co-President Karen Shahidi.

For a complete listing of MEF grants for the 2012 – 2013 year, please check http://mefnj.org/content/2012-2013-grants-awarded-school. 

“MEF’s next fundraiser is the Adult Gala scheduled for Friday, November 1st from 7:30 – 10:30pm at The Madison Hotel.  We ask the community to save that date. It’s an exciting night with parents from all five Madison schools coming together and proceeds from the event are critical in funding next year’s grant cycles,” adds Schaenen.

Madison Education Foundation

The Madison Education Foundation (MEF) awards grants to K-12 teachers for initiatives that energize the creative and academic lives of students but are above and beyond the school budget. Since its inception in 2003, MEF has awarded more than $600,000 in grants.  MEF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations can be mailed to PO Box 1093 Madison NJ  07940 or submitted online. Visit www.mefnj.org or e-mail info@mefnj.org for more information.