Windsor Education Foundation Awards Grants to Windsor Public Schools to Fund Innovative Learning Programs
$14,936 in Grants Awarded to Fund 12 Projects Submitted by Teachers in the District
Windsor Education Foundation (WEF) has awarded a total of $14,936 in grants to fund 12 projects proposed by teachers in Windsor Public Schools, including a $1,000 science grant from The Christine Gasparino Memorial Fund. All Windsor Public Schools certified staff was eligible to apply for grants.
WEF is a non-profit organization, now in its 16th year, that was formed with the goal of supporting excellence in Windsor Public Schools. Since 2007, WEF has awarded $233,828 in grant awards to local public-school educators. The programs funded will directly benefit nearly 2,000 students across all grades. Following is a synopsis of the 2024-2025 Grants:
WHS Collaborative Mural was proposed by Andrea Chudzik & Felicia Hamilton of Windsor High School. A mural will be created to express and celebrate our cultural diversity, strengths and goals for the future. The project involves students from the WHS Art Club, Action Club, Black Excellence Club, Latin Leadership Club and the Gender And Sexuality Alliance.
The SEL Groups project, created by Celeste Ryan of Sage Park Middle School, will identify students in need of support with social-emotional skills. Focus on the specific social-emotional strengths and skill needs of each student. Use data-driven instructional recommendations to build students’ skills and promote their resilience. Develop related activities to address the social emotional needs which include the use of a variety of claiming tools/manipulatives.
The Effective Editing and Revising proposed by Brooke Hadgraft of Sage Park Middle School will enhance reading and writing skills using PVC whisper phones. Students will use them to read aloud their writing and revise their work. This will help students read aloud their own writing and class novels to increase engagement and increase productivity.
The Electric Strings project proposed by Virginia Kramer of Clover Street School will engage students in the arts. This project offers a unique learning opportunity for students to convey expression by manipulating the sound of their stringed instruments.
The Pollinator Garden project, created by Alys Cross of Windsor High School will provide students with the rich understanding of the environment ecosystem and the intricate interactions between plants, insects and animals. Students will have the opportunity to engage in real world data collection, graphing and report writing. This hands-on approach will help them grasp scientific concepts in a tangible way.
Wobble into Focus will provide Wobble Chairs that can improve focus during literacy activities, helping students sustain attention during reading and writing tasks. Created by Tricia Mitchell of John F Kennedy School.
Flexible Seating, by Alexandra Sumner of Clover Street School, will provide students with the choice to sit on a bean bag, wobble stools or balance cushions. They will feel a sense of ownership over their space. This choice can help them learn and better focused on their tasks.
The Pre-K Balance Curriculum, proposed by Maria Mikuszewski of Poquonock School, aims to implement a targeted balance curriculum for early childhood classes, designed to bolster these essential skills. By integrating balance boards, spin boards, wobble discs, stepping stones, tunnels, and stilts into purposeful play during biweekly physical education classes, alongside traditional gross motor activities. The program is expected to foster greater body control and balance.
The Student-Curated Library for Spark Program, created by Tiffany Citroen of Windsor High School will increase student interest in reading and reading skills, help students improve in all other academic areas, help students become lifelong learners, and increase social and emotional learning skills.
Legos for Learning, developed by Tracy Worlund of Poquonock School, will broaden the use of Legos beyond play time. Through this project students will enhance their ability to solve problems, increase, socialization skills and strengthen collaboration skills through hands on learning. Learning for Legos will also exercise students’ creativity & imagination through the creation of different Lego models. Specifically, Legos for Learning looks to support social development for students who need support with social skills including those with autism or other disabilities.
The Stem Centers program, developed by Alicia Carpenter of John F Kennedy School, Durable Microscopes with the set of slides for each of stem stations for 5th grade. This will help me implement more science into my rotations. This will provide students with better equipment.
The Navigating Language Learning developed by Mayela Aguirre of Windsor Adult Education, focuses on extending the academic semester to provide sustained ESL instruction, enhancing language acquisition through continuous review and reinforcement. This grant will pay for the extension of the 30 hours of employment. for the facilitator. The extension will facilitate ongoing support for students, allowing them to deepen their understanding and confidence in using English.