Thanks to the Elmhurst School District 205 Foundation, $58,500 in grants will go to funding educational projects, classrooms resources and enhancements for student learning in the district, with every school benefiting from at least one grant.
The Elmhurst District 205 Board approved the awarding of Thiems Grants for technology, literacy, music, physical education and science, technology, engineering and math projects proposed by teachers. Past projects have included purchasing books as well as access to instructional databases, sensory materials to help students with different learning styles and a 3-D printer.
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Teachers who receive grants, named for former Superintendent Russell Thiems, will be notified by May 20. Grant funds must be used by June 2017.
For the 2015-16 school year, students in District 205 benefited from a total of more than $108,000 in grants from the foundation.
Foundation board member Brian Bresnahan told the school board that in the past several years, the foundation has seen an increase in community support. Foundation events include the annual gala and the Top Pizza Night.
The school board already has another project in mind for foundation funding, inspired by the Focus 205 community engagement process.
As part of the district’s efforts to see how well its facilities align with the educational goals outlined by the district and the community during the process, the district will pay Wight and Company $32,300 to evaluate each of the district’s buildings in terms of their setting in the community, safety, space use, flexibility and readiness for new technology.
Wight has proposed taking this study one step further by offering to set up three “model” classrooms, in which a teacher at the K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 grade levels will use space, furniture and other amenities to help develop prototypes to help with facilities planning.
Superintendent David Moyer told the board the district conducted a model classroom activity recently, which brought teachers together to brainstorm ideal furnishings, classroom plans and facilities use.
“When the teachers were in the room together you could see it start to come alive,” he said.
Some of the teachers who participated in this exercise shared their thoughts with the school board.
Fischer School principal Jane Bailey said the teachers could quickly see how a few changes in furnishings and layout could improve their classrooms right now.
“We’re pretty rigid, traditional, inflexible. We don’t have the flexibilities that we hope for when we use technology,” she said.
One idea, she noted, was bringing in soft seating for kids to work together on Chromebooks.
Lincoln School teacher Cecilia Dunn said she moved her classroom around after the workshop.
“I really see lots of opportunities,” she said, adding she was trying already to incorporate new ideas with existing furniture.
Bryan Middle School principal Jacquelyn Discipio talked about how the environment can affect the transition from 6th to 8th grade, and that some improvements can give students more control over their environment.
Wight can set up three classrooms based on the teacher’s input for $12,700.
“We have asked foundation to support this.” Moyer told the board. “If they do, we want to be able to order furniture and do work over the summer.”
Carol Morency is a freelance report for Pioneer Press.