November 2019 Grant Recipients

This project will expand our school's limited library. We house students that come from the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections and the Idaho department of Health and Welfare. Our two classes are part of the school district but housed in an onsite residential facility. Our classroom library consists of approximately 2,000 books, most have been donated from second hand sources or purchased by our teachers for their students. Our students range in grades from 3rd through to 12th and vary in ability level from beginning reading skills up through college level. Many of these students are here for behavioral needs and most qualify for some type of behavioral support or intervention. One of the reasons we would like to expand our class library is to offer our students a wider variety of reading material that ties into their curriculum during their educational time. Another is to encourage our students to use reading as a coping strategy and to expand their knowledge in the outside world through the power of books!

My students come from a diverse background and often do not speak English as their first language. On top of that, my students experience learning differences that are usually not addressed in the "regular" classroom. Many of my students are challenged with "the wiggles", or ADHD and other sensory processing issues. Our school's philosophy is ALL MEANS ALL and this sometimes requires very creative alternative seating options. I plan to purchase two bike desks, one standing desk with a balance board and fidget bands for their chairs, and hope it will help these students to calm themselves without taking instruction away from others. They can wiggle and learn to read and write at the same time. This turns the classroom into a place where they feel accepted and relaxed.

I work in a rural area with students that often do not have access to computers. These students always come in to school telling me about this "new" game that they love: Minecraft. They talk about it, write about it, and draw it. So, they have inspired me to find new ways to get them interested in learning and collaborating about third grade content. It’s no secret that math is many students’ least favorite subject, and many times it is due to a lack of confidence. Digital games have been shown to enhance students’ confidence and motivation. I plan to use Minecraft Education Edition subscriptions to engage students in learning Common Core math concepts such as: representing and solving problems in multiplication and division, understanding the relationships between multiplication and division, recognizing and solving for perimeter and area, describing the attributes of shapes, and more!

At White Pine Elementary School, we have several different programs including the largest English Language Learner Program in the Boise School District at an elementary level. We have a large portion of our population that are at the poverty level but our entire school does not meet the necessary requirements for Title 1. This means that unlike a Title 1 school, our students do not have access to free snacks and various resources throughout the school day. During snack time, the children who cannot afford snacks often go without a snack. As the school counselor, I started to realize that often times when students were referred to me for various behaviors, they were often hungry and thirsty or embarrassed to sit in a classroom without a snack while the other students enjoyed theirs. I started providing snacks for these children myself but could not sustain the need out of pocket and last school year started gathering funds and accessing as many free resources as possible. Twenty-five students currently come to my office on Mondays and get a bag of five snacks to use throughout the week. This grant will help fund these much needed snacks.

Fine motor skills involve the use of small muscles that control the hand, fingers, and thumb. Children who have difficulty with fine motor struggle to cut with scissors, and hold a pencil to write. As you can imagine this can cause frustration, anxiety, and feelings of defeat for our youngest students. Many experts in early childhood say that before a child holds a pencil they need to have other rich sensory and fine motor experiences such as: playing in the dirt, rolling play dough, putting together puzzles, using play tweezers, etc. After spending almost a decade in early childhood, and reading countless research articles on this topic, I firmly believe (and have seen it action!) having high quality and intentional materials in the classroom not only help children have a love for school and learning, but when they pick up that pencil or that pair of scissors they are ready to conquer whatever is ahead of them. A confident and engaged learner is a successful learner. Together we can set the stage early for a successful academic career.

Our 1st/2nd grades are planning a community garden to be set up at our school. They are studying measurements for building raised beds, identifying the best place in our yard to put the garden, gathering information about the best vegetables to plant in our climate zone, and learning about healthy soil. They will help purchase supplies, and will help our older students build the beds, establish the beds in the right place, lay the soil, and then plant and care for the vegetables. This project will carry the school through the winter and spring. We will be offering childcare at the school for the 1st time this year, so our summer "camp" children will care for the plants throughout the summer. At harvest time, we will advertise the availability of vegetables for the taking to our surrounding neighborhood and our school families.

Research in Early Childhood development and learning support that young children learn important foundational, developmental, and educational skills through exploring and engaging in hands-on materials and play. The goal of this grant is to provide Preschool students with a variety of developmentally appropriate math materials that can be rotated among six Early Childhood Special Education programs. These materials will allow the Early Childhood Teachers to provide a variety of activities that promote engagement and interactive experiences as well as differentiate instruction according to the needs of students. As Early Childhood educators, we are constantly looking for new mediums and experiences to support children's learning through interactive play materials. In order for students to remain engaged, they need the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of materials and experiences to build those early learning concepts. The materials that will be purchased with this grant will allow for enhanced learning experiences for young children, encourage social interactions, and support children in acquiring foundational math skills.