The Auburn Education Foundation (AEF) mission is to provide for innovative programs that enhance the quality of education through extended learning opportunities within the Auburn Enlarged City School District. Through a competitive grants process, we award funding to educators who have creative ideas that will capture the attention, imagination and motivation of their students. Projects must fall within at least one of the following areas #- academics (any content area), arts, character education, life skills, health and wellness or technology #- but outside the regular district budget.
We are proud to announce that four new educator grants have been awarded to Auburn teachers this month.
€ Casey's Character Cafe, Casey Park Elementary - Brandy Burns was awarded a grant to purchase table linens, flower vases, menu boards, a music system and related items that will transform the morning breakfast program into a Character Cafe. More than 200 students who participate in the daily breakfast program will be greeted each morning by a hostess who will seat students in a new cafe-like setting complete with calming music. Each table will be labeled with one of Casey's 10 character traits: respect, responsibility, thankfulness, compassion, honesty, acceptance, honesty, perseverance, self-discipline, friendship and cooperation. Menu boards will feature the specials of the day such as “partnership pancakes” or “friendship cereal.” The inspiration for this project is to offer students the opportunity to start their day off in a pleasant, calming and positive manor while reinforcing appropriate manners for eating and socializing in a public setting. Burns will be conducting observations and interviews of teachers, students and cafeteria staff to determine if this new approach to breakfast service has the intended impact of improving student table manners, reduction in cafeteria noise and a calm transition into morning classes.
€ Good Hand Washing Habits #- Good Health, Genesee Elementary - Anne Mlod, Holly Dietsche and Dale Rescott will lead fifth-grade classes in learning about the scientific method by conducting hand washing experiments. The hands-on interactive lessons will use black light technology and a liquid germ simulator to show how germs are spread and the importance of thorough hand washing. Students will conduct experiments, collect and record data and create graphs based on that data to draw conclusions about the prevalence of germs and importance of proper hand washing. Finally, students will create posters which highlight the results of their experiments and offer advice on proper hand washing techniques. Posters will be hung throughout the school to remind all students and staff how important frequent and proper hand washing is to good health.
€ A West Middle Kids Corps grant was submitted by Prin Furst and Steve Dunn. Modeled after President Roosevelt's Work Corps, this project will engage student volunteers in making a difference in their school. Several students and teachers have expressed an interest in doing hands-on projects to improve the school environment, such as painting murals to brighten the hallways, repairing worn tables and desks, making benches for outside seating or planting flowers in the spring.
Furst and Dunn will encourage students to use critical thinking skills to carry out all aspects of project planning. Students will seek input on project ideas from teachers or community members and then evaluate what resources or materials would be necessary to complete the projects and decide on a timetable for completion. Math, environmental science and safety concepts will be woven into the projects that students undertake. The concept behind this project is to give students the opportunity to invest in their school environment and take pride in their accomplishments.
€ Writing and Revision with Digital Voice Recorders, Auburn High School - English teacher Deborah Gleason-Rielly was awarded 40 digital voice recorders to offer her students verbal feedback on their writing assignments. In her experience, personal conferencing with students is the best way to offer detailed feedback on student's writing assignments to help them understand how to revise and improve their papers. Unfortunately teachers rarely have the time to meet with each student individually, so students must rely on written notes that teachers make on their papers. Using a digital voice recorder will allow the teacher to give verbal feedback on each writing assignment. Gleason-Rielly plans to track the grades and progress of revisions made both with and without the use of the recorders to determine if this new teaching method is effective at increasing student performance.
Applications are still being accepted from teachers who have creative ideas.
I hope to be able to share more good news about what's going on in Auburn schools with The Citizen's readers throughout the rest of the school year.
I invite readers to visit www.auburnedfoundation.org for more details about these programs and other projects that we have supported.
Annette Abdelaziz is the executive director of the Auburn Education Foundation. Contact her at annette_abdelaziz@auburn.cnyric.org or call 255-8827
€ Casey's Character Cafe, Casey Park Elementary - Brandy Burns was awarded a grant to purchase table linens, flower vases, menu boards, a music system and related items that will transform the morning breakfast program into a Character Cafe. More than 200 students who participate in the daily breakfast program will be greeted each morning by a hostess who will seat students in a new cafe-like setting complete with calming music. Each table will be labeled with one of Casey's 10 character traits: respect, responsibility, thankfulness, compassion, honesty, acceptance, honesty, perseverance, self-discipline, friendship and cooperation. Menu boards will feature the specials of the day such as “partnership pancakes” or “friendship cereal.” The inspiration for this project is to offer students the opportunity to start their day off in a pleasant, calming and positive manor while reinforcing appropriate manners for eating and socializing in a public setting. Burns will be conducting observations and interviews of teachers, students and cafeteria staff to determine if this new approach to breakfast service has the intended impact of improving student table manners, reduction in cafeteria noise and a calm transition into morning classes.
€ Good Hand Washing Habits #- Good Health, Genesee Elementary - Anne Mlod, Holly Dietsche and Dale Rescott will lead fifth-grade classes in learning about the scientific method by conducting hand washing experiments. The hands-on interactive lessons will use black light technology and a liquid germ simulator to show how germs are spread and the importance of thorough hand washing. Students will conduct experiments, collect and record data and create graphs based on that data to draw conclusions about the prevalence of germs and importance of proper hand washing. Finally, students will create posters which highlight the results of their experiments and offer advice on proper hand washing techniques. Posters will be hung throughout the school to remind all students and staff how important frequent and proper hand washing is to good health.
€ A West Middle Kids Corps grant was submitted by Prin Furst and Steve Dunn. Modeled after President Roosevelt's Work Corps, this project will engage student volunteers in making a difference in their school. Several students and teachers have expressed an interest in doing hands-on projects to improve the school environment, such as painting murals to brighten the hallways, repairing worn tables and desks, making benches for outside seating or planting flowers in the spring.
Furst and Dunn will encourage students to use critical thinking skills to carry out all aspects of project planning. Students will seek input on project ideas from teachers or community members and then evaluate what resources or materials would be necessary to complete the projects and decide on a timetable for completion. Math, environmental science and safety concepts will be woven into the projects that students undertake. The concept behind this project is to give students the opportunity to invest in their school environment and take pride in their accomplishments.
€ Writing and Revision with Digital Voice Recorders, Auburn High School - English teacher Deborah Gleason-Rielly was awarded 40 digital voice recorders to offer her students verbal feedback on their writing assignments. In her experience, personal conferencing with students is the best way to offer detailed feedback on student's writing assignments to help them understand how to revise and improve their papers. Unfortunately teachers rarely have the time to meet with each student individually, so students must rely on written notes that teachers make on their papers. Using a digital voice recorder will allow the teacher to give verbal feedback on each writing assignment. Gleason-Rielly plans to track the grades and progress of revisions made both with and without the use of the recorders to determine if this new teaching method is effective at increasing student performance.
Applications are still being accepted from teachers who have creative ideas.
I hope to be able to share more good news about what's going on in Auburn schools with The Citizen's readers throughout the rest of the school year.
I invite readers to visit www.auburnedfoundation.org for more details about these programs and other projects that we have supported.
Annette Abdelaziz is the executive director of the Auburn Education Foundation. Contact her at annette_abdelaziz@auburn.cnyric.org or call 255-8827
