Panhandle Alliance for Education grants top $125,000
Alliance announces awards for 51 classroom projects
SANDPOINT — Classroom projects ranging from Academic Decathlon coaches to welding safety equipment have been approved for the 2006-'07 school year by the Panhandle Alliance for Education.
In all, 51 projects totaling more than $125,000 were approved by the PAFE board at its annual meeting on May 10.
"This year's grant requests were solid ideas for classroom investments," said PAFE grants committee chairman Don Robson. "They demonstrate once again the creativity and dedication of teachers in the Lake Pend Oreille School District." The grants committee reviewed 70 proposals with requests totaling $285,000.
The competitive process forced the committee to eliminate nearly one third of the proposals — "a very difficult decision for the committee" noted Robson. He added that "in only five short years the Panhandle Alliance for Education has given over $432,000 and supported over 168 classroom projects."
"The results are very gratifying," Robson said, "so many of our students have benefited from these grants."
An impressive number of grants will fund projects in the area of math and science.
Sixth grade teacher Jayne Sturm will receive measurement equipment enabling students at Northside Elementary to experiment with various weights and measures, a lesson that extends from math into science. John Hastings at Sandpoint High will foster a teaching curriculum at the Water Life Discovery Center, a habitat education and interpretive area being built on the shores of the Pend Oreille River at the Sandpoint Hatchery. Jan Fitzgerald will receive money to purchase field microscopes enabling her Lake Pend Oreille High Science students to examine the full spectrum of life forms on ecology field trips. These are just a few examples of the grants in this discipline.
The largest grant went to Pat Valliant at Southside Elementary for his second year of support for the "ICAN" reading program. The $8,500 grant funds tutors to increase students' reading opportunities before school begins. Valliant believes that "this grant's impact on our school is a major reason for meeting AYP standards this year."
Once again, the Betty Ann Diehl Fund for music and arts education went to teacher Cindi Smith for her work with Sandpoint High School's State Champion Dance Team. Four diverse dance masters will bring their specialized talents to strengthen the team's technique in the area of jazz, ballet, use of props, and Hip Hop. Several other grants in the arts include financial support for; POAC's Ovations performing arts and Kaleidoscope and Perspectives visual arts, an art and music library at Sandpoint High, band recording equipment at the Sandpoint Middle School, and books for puppet plays at Washington Elementary.
The Academic Decathlon Teams at both Sandpoint High and Clark Fork High will share a grant this year. The award pays for coaches from the DemiDec Company to provide instruction in speech, essay and interview skills. Both teams finished 2nd place in their respective divisions in the Idaho State competition. DemiDec is a resource for Academic Decathlon curriculum and many state champions have relied on their expertise for a competitive edge. Both teams have set a goal to achieve first place next year.
"We are very excited about the number of grants that we were able to fund this year", explained Marcia Wilson, PAFE's executive director. "The increase from 33 in 2006 to 51 in 2007 is significant. So many more teachers and students are able to participate in these enrichment programs. With greater demands on teachers, and fewer dollars from the state, the need is bigger than ever. We hope to continue this growth through the generous support of our local community."
The Panhandle Alliance for Education is a nonprofit organization comprised of local citizens, businesses, and educators. Its mission is to promote excellence in education and broad-based community support for the Lake Pend Oreille School District. Donations are distributed as a combination of permanent endowment which is managed by the Idaho Community Foundation, and as a working pool of money used to create local teacher grants and fund a district wide accelerated reading program (RPMS). Since its inception in 2003, the Panhandle Alliance for Education has committed to over $814,500 in contributions to the Lake Pend Oreille School District. Local citizens are encouraged to join by making tax deductible donations. To learn more about PAFE, or to make an on-line donation, visit its Web site at www.panhandlealliance.com or call Marcia Wilson at 208.610.3236.
Here is a complete list of the 2007 PAFE Grant Awards:
1. Solar Cars — Sandpoint Middle School, Perky Hagadone, $2,315
This grant introduces the power of solar energy to middle school students. Funding is used to tie the use of solar energy to real-life experiences for future scientists. The goal of this unit is to ignite an appreciation for the power of this clean and constant form of energy. Each student will construct a twelve inch long solar car and race at the Solar Grant Prix. Students will learn the properties of aerodynamics, drag, traction and friction.
2. Metric Mass Measurement Equipment — Northside Elementary, Jayne Sturm $1,100
Measurement in metric and customary units is in the math program for all students at Northside School. This equipment will allow the students to understand the concepts of weight and mass by actually weighing a variety of objects. The school has been borrowing equipment from the middle school for this unit. More students will now be able to participate because the equipment will be housed in the school math and science lab.
3. Wild Life Discovery Center — Sandpoint High School, John Hastings, $5,000
The Water Life Discovery Center is a habitat education and interpretive area on the shores of the Pend Oreille River at the Sandpoint Hatchery. The Center provides a self or teacher-guided educational experience for students to learn about the role of and develop a better understanding of the importance water plays in natural ecosystems. This grant will facilitate an educational curriculum and teaching materials for the Center. It will provide district teachers with a menu of ready-to-use activities and material that will provide hands-on, experiential learning to supplement existing curriculum.
4. Video Technology for Chemistry — Sandpoint High School, Woody Aunan, $3,500
The current generation of high school student is heavily dependent upon technology for information and entertainment. Summarizing and presenting the principles of chemistry in a creative format utilizing digital cameras and video editing software demands the highest level of understanding. Chemistry students will create two very short movies over the course of the year. The best projects will be shown to all freshmen physical science students. Entering freshmen will become aware of what is possible when scientific principles are combined with active, creative imaginations.
5. Field Microscopes — Lake Pend Oreille High, Jan Fitzgerald, $1,300
Field microscopes will enable students to examine the substance of surroundings while on field trips. Ordinary objects become fascinating to observe and enhance the outdoor experience. These cordless field microscopes will heighten the excitement of their outdoor adventure and encourage student discovery.
6. Robotics — Sandpoint Middle School, Richard Ross, $3,620
This grant will implement a robotics unit in the Industrial Tech. Curriculum. Students planning to enter the field of engineering, medicine and science will need to be aware of robotics and industrial control which is quickly becoming a mainstay in American Manufacturing. The grant will purchase LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Engineering II Kits and Curriculum.
7. Art Library for Student Enrichment — Sandpoint High School, Heather Guthrie, $824
This grant will enable art instructors to provide students with access to art literature and a successful understanding and knowledge of master artists through art history. In addition a video series titled "The Visual Experience" will inspire student discussion of various art styles through time.
8. New Public Address System — Clark Fork Jr/Sr High, Phil Kemink, $688
This is a school investment grant for the purpose of replacing the worn and broken parts of the public address system. The new system will be used for athletic events, assemblies, drama and graduation ceremonies.
9. Native American Culture — Farmin Stidwell, Peggy Gaudet, $2,098
The purpose of this grant is to expand the knowledge and appreciation of Native American cultures. The goal is to create an interactive unit that incorporates reading, math, social studies, science, technology and arts. This month long study will culminate in a Potlatch Day celebration that includes performances by Hopi dancers.
10. Books for Puppet Plays — Washington Elementary, Shirley Moore, $700
This grant provides books by William Steig for fifth grade students to write puppet play scripts based on the books. The books will be read aloud to the primary students prior to viewing the fifth grade puppet plays. Reading fluency and comprehension will be enhanced by this project. This project combines reading, performing and writing.
11. Cross Country Team Heart Rate Monitor — Sandpoint High School, Matt Brass $2,800
The goal of this equipment is to guide student athletes to improve their racing times through a more scientific approach to training. In order to do this, they will purchase 24 heart rate monitors to use during certain training sessions. Benefits include preventing overtraining and under training by tracking exertion levels to achieve the correct effort for the given workout, understanding of pace, and training at maximum potential.
12. Math Club — Farmin Stidwell Elementary, Naticia Litven, $2,560
The Farmin Stidwell Before School Math Program serves any 5th or 6th grade student interested in learning advanced math concepts at a brisk rate in a before school setting. Students compete at the Washington State Math Olympiad at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA. Competition includes the following categories: probability and statistics, algebraic sense, geometric sense, number sense, measurement and problem solving. Funds go to cover the costs of competition including registration, travel, hotel and supplies.
13. Living Voices Performances — Sandpoint High, Debbie Smith, $1,700
This grant will enable two historical performances by a group called Living Voices which will be presented as an assembly for all U.S. History 11th grade students. Topics will include Japanese Internment during World War II and Cesar Chavez & Latin American farm workers (civil rights). Approximately 395 students will participate in the event.
14. AcaDeca Coaches — Sandpoint and Clark Fork High Schools, Mary Bird, $3,000
During the past school year, both high school AdaDeca teams finished 2nd place in their respective divisions in the Idaho State competition. Both teams have set a goal to achieve first place next year. To accomplish their goal, coaches will bring in two or three members of the DemiDec staff to provide instruction in speech, essay and interview skills. The DemiDec Company was founded by a former decathlete, as a resource for Academic Decathlon curriculum materials. Today, 37 state championship teams use materials from DemiDec.
15. Band Recording Equipment — Sandpoint Middle School, Ryan Dignan, $2,500
An essential practice all musicians must learn is self evaluation. This skill is developed when musicians can hear themselves in a recording. The grant enables the middle school band instructor to offer a quick, easy way to make recordings to help students analyze their performance and provide instant feedback. The grant also includes funding for software and a presentation system to teach elements of music theory, history and details of specific scores.
16. Kindergarten Videos — Farmin Stidwell Elementary, Nicole Dash, $1920
Kindergarten teachers will support parent involvement by creating videos for incoming Kindergarten and First Grade students. The videos, one for first grade and one for kindergarten, will give an overview of the curriculum, expectations of the class, encourage the parents to become involved in their child's education, and how to best support their children's learning at home and at school. Funds will cover the costs of video production and materials.
17. German Language DVD — Sandpoint High, Patty Shook, $235
The high school German Language Text includes the ability for the students to watch the continuing story of a German family using the grammar and vocabulary in each chapter. This grant funds the DVD's to add this interesting and reinforcing benefit to the course. Listening to the native speakers is essential in learning a foreign language.
18. Sixth Grade Career Explorer — Washington Elementary, Tom Prez, $400
This grant will fund 300 career interest inventories entitled the Career Explorer Edition: How to find the Best Jobs for you, to be used with the sixth grade classes district-wide. This is a classroom guided activity and provides students with an introduction into career awareness through a self-guided interest inventory.
19. The Brain Unit — Sandpoint Middle School, Jeannie Lyon, $1,525
The grant will promote the research and study of the physical anatomy of the human brain, the eight intelligences, learning styles, and study skills for all learners. All areas of the core curriculum including language arts, social studies, math and science will be meeting Idaho State Standards through this thematic unit. The grant covers the cost of sheep brains for dissection and white swim caps for students to map their own brains on their heads.
20. Everyday Math Supplies — Farmin Stidwell Elementary, Ande Berliner, $1,340
This grant will support and strengthen mathematical concepts presented in the Everyday Mathematics program. Funding will purchase a die cutter and dies to make various fraction shapes, geometric shapes and measuring tools from paper. Students will benefit from being directly involved in making fractional and geometric models to use in building an understanding of essential mathematical concepts.
21. May Baskets — Sandpoint Middle School, Irene Adler, $300
This project involves giving all Head Start children a basket full of books, toys, etc. in the month of May. The students and staff provide all of the items that fill the baskets; the grant monies are used to purchase the baskets and wrap materials. This activity is a whole school project and involves everyone working together to make a wonderful contribution to less fortunate children. This is a wonderful lesson in community service.
22. Kaleidoscope — Pend Oreille Arts Council Ed. Outreach, Kim Brown, $2,000
The Kaleidoscope outreach program provides visual arts education to approximately 1,500 rural students in grades 3-6 in the fiscal year 2007-08. Approximately 10 artists and 60 volunteers reach students in 11 schools (55 classrooms).The program offers art lessons once per month for one to three hours. Over the last 16 years, this effort has served over 12,000 students that would otherwise have no art education.
23. Robotics — Sandpoint Charter School, Julie Williams, $6,500
Students will assist in building a human sized robot that will be capable of walking. This project builds upon the existing robotics program and will elevate student exposure to the potentials of increased complexity in robotic engineering as they name and create this robot.
24. Arts Authors and Us — Washington Elementary, Tom Prez, $1,000
Arts Authors and Us is an annual celebration of literacy and the arts. Students read, listen, create and participate in the arts and literature. The goal is to encourage, motivate and inspire young writers and artists through hands-on activities, led by community artisans, parent volunteers and published guest authors or artists. It is a critical component of the school's language arts curriculum. The funding will be used toward the speaker's honorarium. The school will raise a matching $1,000 to fund the entire event.
25. Classroom Performance System — Sandpoint Middle School, Marcea Marine, $3,985
This grant will enable all students to engage in a question and answer session. The Classroom Performance System (CPS) provides a tool for the teachers and students to simply engage all students. Each student enters an answer on his/her individual response pad. Every student is involved in thinking, processing and putting together a reply. CPS provides both immediate and summative feedback to the teacher and supports the repetition of core learning concepts but prevents unnecessary review.
26. Ovations — Pend Oreille Arts Council Ed. Outreach, Kim Brown, $5,000
The Ovations program operates in conjunction with the Pend Oreille Arts Council's acclaimed annual performance series. Local and regional students in grades K-12 gain first hand experience with professional performers, providing cultural and artistic exposure uncommon in the local community. Youth attend educational performances and attend master classes. An estimated 3000 students will be served by this program.
27. AcaDeca — Clark Fork Jr. Sr. High, Chandra Martz, $2,228
The purpose of this project is to supply students with the necessary travel arrangements and curriculum to succeed in the Academic Decathlon class and the scheduled competitions. This is a highly competitive academic program that provides students with the opportunity to learn and master a variety of skills including public speaking, written composition, test taking, and interview skills.
28. Classroom Performance System — Clark Fork Jr. Sr. High, Chandra Martz, $2,000
The purpose of this grant is to increase the comprehension and understanding of the student in the areas of language usage, vocabulary, mathematics and reading comprehension. Through the use of a Classroom Performance System (CPS), and its required hardware, the teacher can greatly increase the amount of valid feedback given by each student. CPS is comprised of 30 remote pads, a receiver and an LCD projector. The teacher can drill core concepts and provide multiple exposures to key concepts in a variety of content areas.
29. Theatre Plays — Washington Elementary, Linda Dallmann, $1,075
This grant will supplement the adopted curriculum materials in the area of reading fluency practice. The materials include a series of reader's theatre plays at varied grade levels that reinforce and practice fluency as well as related skills of vocabulary, comprehension and critical thinking in a creative format.
30. Alternative Power — Sandpoint Charter School, Todd Claunch, $2,500
This grant will increase student exposure to alternative energy options. The primary intention is to generate bio diesel. In addition, students will explore the feasibility of solar energy on a small scale, so students understand the possibilities first hand. The unit will overlap with the iEARN program, an international team teaching organization.
31. Mentoring Program — Sandpoint High School, Cindy Albertson, $4,120
The purpose of this project is to continue the Pathfinder Mentor Program sponsored by VG Leadership which has been successfully implemented at Sandpoint High. Pathfinder is a student-to-student mentor program designed to assist schools in their efforts to place students on the right path to personal achievement and positive growth. Upperclassmen (mentors) who are positive role models are paired with the 9th grade students in small groups to offer support and guidance in their first year of high school. Funds will be used for monthly training provided by professionals from VG Leadership and social activities for the freshmen.
32. Costume Making — Sandpoint High School, Jeannie Hunter, $1,160
The drama department has broadened its scope in the complexity of productions. Their current need is improve their ability to build costumes and to alter existing ones. This grant will enable purchase of 2 dress maker forms, 2 sewing machines, and a serger to help develop the costuming skills of the technical crews. This grant will aid in the development of over 60 stagecraft students.
33. Sixth Grade Yearbooks — Washington Elementary, Susan Lee, $925
Students will learn the basics of digital photography, photo journalism, and production of a year book. They will be writing, revising and editing script. Students will learn headline and caption writing, and copy editing. Software used in the publishing industry will be introduced. Students will be involved in producing, printing and the final binding and distribution of the yearbooks.
34. ICAN — Southside Elementary, Pat Valliant, $8,500
I CAN! (Intense Cognitive Advancement Now) This award will continue the work at Southside Elementary to provide students with opportunities to become better readers. Reading is the single greatest indicator of a student's future academic success. The goal of this project is to target all students each morning prior to the beginning of the school day with reading opportunities including an open library, two classrooms and the computer lab. The funds will pay for tutors and pizza parties for peer tutors.
35. AcaDeca Materials and Travel, Sandpoint High, Mary Bird, $5,000
This grant provides partial funding for the AcaDeca team to participate in competitions. AcaDeca provides an opportunity for students in both the upper and lower quartiles a chance to earn recognition for academic achievements, to compete in events that are essential to work place success, and to explore honors level curriculum. Academic Decathlon is an activity that helps address the goals of the LPOSD and the No Child Left Behind legislation. Students will study the Civil War.
? More PAFE grant awardees will be featured in Sunday's Daily Bee.
36. Life Skills — Lake Pend Oreille High School, Colleen Ross, $4,960
This program will focus on the WHOLE Child through a series of group counseling sessions utilizing the Life Skills NW Therapists, nutrition activities, stress management and communications skills, goal setting physical and mental well being, community service and involvement and leadership skills. This is a proactive approach to working with at risk children. Students learn to set boundaries, respect self and others, develop trust, accept responsibility, learn to forgive, break the bonds of shame, manage anger and break patterns of abuse.
37. Dance Team, Master Teachers — Sandpoint High School, Cindy Smith, $4,775
(Betty Ann Diehl and PAFE Grant combined funding)
Dance Team Coach Cindy Smith will bring three diverse masters to broaden the horizons of her dance team. The goal is to provide the experience of working with other instructors, increase the students' technical knowledge and build diversity through challenging choreography. The team will use the experience in competitive performances. The grant funds two-day, 6 hour per day workshops with each instructor.
38. Video Production Equipment — Sandpoint High School, Jeannie Hunter, $2,300
This grant enables the theatre department students to develop video production skills. Advanced acting and stagecraft classes will develop skills in front of and behind the camera. Students will expand to a video production class focusing on movie making, sports broadcasting and daily news/announcement broadcasting.
39. Projectors for U.S. History — Sandpoint High School, Casey McLaughlin, $5,000
This grant provides projectors for four U.S. History classrooms. The projectors will be used for various applications including discussions, notes, integration of technology into the curriculum, power point, reviews, websites, projects, films and various other teaching tools and methods. The projectors enable teachers to bring history to life and make learning more interesting.
40. Music Library — Sandpoint High School, Aaron Gordon, $2,500
This music library grant will update the current collection with the basic literature necessary for a proper musical experience. Missing originals and individual parts and scores currently keeps students from participating at a state and national level. Most competitions have specific lists of repertoire that must be performed to qualify.
41. Welding Safety Equipment — Sandpoint High School, Yogi Vasquez, $1,250
This grant provides needed safety equipment for the high school welding program. Items such as leather welding jackets, updated welding masks, leather gloves, safety glasses, and misc. hand tools such as slag hammers, wire brushes, and tip cleaners. These items are consumable and need to be replaced when worn out.
42. Graphing Calculators — Lake Pend Oreille High School, Tom Pagliasotti, $1,080
This grant is a continuation to a successful grant award from last year. The scope and potential benefits are wide ranging: the calculators will be kept in class and used by geometry and algebra II students. Calculators expose students to forms of technology most are not likely to encounter elsewhere and allow even beginning students to see the immediate connections between variables in basic functions and the ways graphs change when the variables of the functions change.
43. Advanced Placement History Exam Review Books — Sandpoint High School, Debbie Smit, $900
New versions of the Advanced Placement History Exam Review Books include a CD which provides students with practice exams in preparation for their test. This comprehensive course review is frequently cited as the best available and the six practice exams include every type of question that students will encounter.
44. Calculators — Kootenai Elementary School, Kimberle Clad, $1,598
This grant provides low income students with standard mathematical tools. Access to calculators in 6th grade, before they are required to use them in middle school, is essential. A class set of TI-15 calculators will give educators the opportunity to expose students to necessary mathematical equations and explicitly instruct them in their use with the aid of an overhead calculator that is the same model.
45. Interactive Classroom for AP History — Sandpoint High School, Debbie Smith, $2,106
This grant supports an interactive classroom system focused on assessment for learning. It outfits the classroom with 32 remote clickers that are used to give students instant feedback on comprehension of content material presented in class. It will be used in all grade levels.
46. Math Re-do On-line — Sandpoint High School, Jayne Davis, $4,930
This project offers students the ability to hear and see and re-hear/re-see math lectures from class on the web. With the use of a PC Tablet and voice recorder, teachers will make available their class presentations. By writing and projecting from the tablet, the notes are saved in a file along with the instructor's voice. They are then loaded on to the server and made available from the teachers' Web sites for any student to access. This is currently a common practice in colleges and universities. This will benefit students that are absent, need to be refreshed, need to rehear/see parts of the present lesson numerous times.
47. Honors History Books — Sandpoint High, Debbie Smith, $1,870
This grant funds 60 copies of the book titled, They Thought They Were Free by Milton Mayer. This book is used to enrich and accompany the study of World War II. It has proved to be a powerful tool to understanding Nazism. Feedback from students indicates that this book provides a moving and meaningful addition to the course.
48. Wireless Access — Sandpoint Middle School, Sandy Ross, $1,100
Funding for this grant will improve the physical range of the wireless coverage in the school so more teachers can utilize the existing laptop lab. In addition, new peripherals are needed to replace outdated equipment.
49. Advanced Placement History Through Literature — Sandpoint High School, Damian Gooding $2,000
This grant funds history through literature for 10th and 11th grade U.S. history honors students. During each of the thirteen units of study, students will read and analyze a landmark novel or work of non-fiction that either significantly influenced our nation's history or is especially descriptive of America during a given time period. Students gain a deeper understanding of our nation's history and further develop their literacy skills.
50. Honors History Books — Sandpoint High School, Debbie Smith, $1,710
New books titled A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, will be incorporated into the curriculum. The book provides an alternative view of historic events that complements the version of History given in the student's standard text. It provides a provocative way to increase student's critical thinking skills. It enables students to see the controversies inherent in U.S. History.
51. Anatomy/Physiology AP Texts — Sandpoint High School, Amy Yost, $7,987
This grant enhances the Anatomy & Physiology AP course curriculum (initiated with a PAFE grant in 2006/7) by purchasing textbooks. The course currently relies on photocopies and other materials to convey course content.