Ephrata area education foundation

2008-2009 VENTURE GRANT WINNERS

The Ephrata Area Education Foundation would like to announce the winners of the 2008-2009 Venture Grant program. 

Adventure Based Education for At-Risk Students

Teachers: Monique Stein and David Herring (with assistance from Gordon Nesbitt, Millersville University)

Grant Amount: $685

The addition of new classrooms to the learning support department brings on new challenges to the district.  We propose to take our at-risk and students with emotion disabilities to an adventure based education environment.  The purpose would be to increase teacher control and trust, self-esteem, and class cohesion between students and teachers.  We are lucky to have a course located nearby at Millersville University.  The Millersville course has been in operation since 2001 and has been used by Penn Manor High School and Dallastown High School to engage their at-risk youth.  It is proposed that the Ephrata High School Emotional Support class and other identified at-risk youth take participants to Millersville University for a half-day Ropes Course program.  This will entail a school bus picking the students and staff up at the High School and transporting them to Millersville University and back.  Millersville University will provide well-trained staff to facilitate the program with the High School staff assisting with any disciplinary problems.  The Millersville University Teamwork and Team-Play Ropes Challenge Course consists of 10 high elements and 10 low elements.  The high elements are 30 feet in the air and focus on individual accomplishment with support from the team on the ground.  The low elements are 1-10 feet off the ground and require the group to work together to solve physical and mental challenges.  The combination of these high and low elements provides an ideal opportunity to build teamwork within the group.

AP Composition and Language Meets the Future

Teacher: Cheryl Fritz

Grant Amount: $750

This proposal is to purchase a test to supplement the on-line Blackboard/Blended Schools course for Advanced Placement Composition and Language.  This will be the first time an AP course will be taught in tandem with the classroom and the interactive Internet program.  I only began working with this program this year; monies are not available to purchase books.  I do not feel it is appropriate to ask the students to purchase their own books.  Each book costs about $12.00 and is called How to Prepare for the AP Composition and Language Test.  I would like to purchase 60 copies.

Implementation of Technology to Assist the Availability of Regular Education Curriculum to Special Education Students

Teacher: Matthew Ammons

Grant Amount: $792

I would like to implement Readingpen technology into the 5/6 Intermediate School.  Readingpens are pocket-sized pens that will read and define words or sentences for troubled readers.  There is an earplug that is attached so there is no distraction for their fellow classmates.

Social Connections for Self-Esteem Improvement

Teacher: Patrice Laboranti

Grant Amount: $866

There is a large part of our student population that lacks the skills to make positive friendships and use their leisure time wisely.  We feel without these positive relationships and skills, students will not feel like they are a part of their community.  This lack of belonging can manifest itself in poor attendance, a disinterest in grades, and a lack of commitment to learning.  We propose to establish a social club for students who lack self-esteem and a feeling of belonging.  The “Social Connections for Self-Esteem Improvement Project” is designed to teach students how to socially connect with their peers and increase their leisure skills.  Two social events will be held each month after school for selected individuals by a core group of Ephrata staff members, National Honor Society students, service learning students, and community persons.  The events will be designed to connect students with positive influences while teaching leisure skills.  Students will be selected through suggestions from guidance, the student assistance team, the special services departments, and the High School Administration team.  Events will consist of bowling, miniature golfing, community scavenger hunts, movie afternoons or evenings, recreation center outings, Ephrata High School sports outings, ice cream outings, local business tours, adopt-a-nursing home client afternoons, trips to Hershey Park or Dutch Wonderland, and outings to the American Music Theater and Dutch Apple Theater.

An On-Line Approach to Summer School (ALEKS)

Teacher: Dan Mahlandt

Grant Amount: $968

The students of the 21^st Century need instruction delivered differently than the instruction delivered in the past, and we have the technology to do it.  I want to pilot an on-line course to determine its effectiveness with our Summer School students.  This summer (2008), I would like to offer an on-line course called ALEKS, which is a web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system.  This is a competency-based program (currently being used in the High School) that works with the students to create learning at the student’s pace and individual needs.  Summer School works only from the money that it generates from enrollment, and I requesting a Venture Grant to cover the enrollment fee for the use of ALEKS and training time for the two teachers, who are going to use the program.  These costs will be for this summer only.  The program will be monitored for its successes and challenges to determine whether this program is an improvement from the teacher driven course, which has been the format offered in previous summers.

F.A.I.R.* SHARE

        *Families And Intermediate Readers

Teacher: Mindy Rosenberg

Grant Amount: $999

“F.A.I.R SHARE” will be a monthly opportunity for Intermediate School students and their families to gather for an evening to share reading and refreshments.  Each month, a team comprised of 5^th and 6^th grade teachers will choose books with a central theme, author, or genre, which will be read by all classes and suggested as reading for families at home as well.  This will culminate in an evening of parents, caregivers, students, siblings, and teachers celebrating reading.

Let The Learning Begin! 

How to Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten

Teacher: Crystal Loose

Grant Amount: $1,000

With this grant, I plan to offer 14 educational sessions throughout the 2008-2009 school year to the parents of 2009-2010 Kindergarten students of the Ephrata Area School District.  The four and five-year old Kindergarten students will be asked to attend, as the instruction that I offer will be hands on.  During these one-hour sessions, I will provide parents with information related to our Kindergarten reading and math curriculum.  It is my goal to instruct parents on ways to prepare their children for Kindergarten.  The one-hour session will be broken down into thirty minutes of demonstration on a topic and thirty minutes of application of the skill with their child.

Lunch with Literature Book Club

Teachers: Kelly Brosig and Kellie Ludwig

Grant Amount: $1,000

Based on our latest workshop experiences, we have seen and heard first-hand how book clubs can generate excitement about reading throughout a school.  We want to initiate a lunchtime book club that features high-interest and high-quality literature and discussion.  This informal yet structured setting will nurture a love of books and foster an understanding of how literature unites all humanity.  Since students are not burdened by the pressure of grades, students are free to explore and appreciate various genres of literature.

Radiation Studies:

Health, Safety, and Technology

Teacher: Doug Kellogg

Grant Amount: $1,000

Students will study alpha, beta, and gamma particles; the relationship between distance and radiation; complete lifetime measurement and counting statistics; as well as investigating background radiation sources and radiation shielding.  Students will use the results from experimentation to verify or nullify real world concerns dealing with radiation technology and the environment.

The Ephrata Middle School Natural Habitat

Teachers: Eric Martin and Marcie Palko

Grant Amount: $1,000

Our vision is to provide an outside natural habitat that will enable all students in the Ephrata Intermediate and Middle School to have a hands-on, educational, and productive environment where they can create and explore natural plants.  This Natural Habitat will enable the students to make connections between all curricular areas.  The students and staff will beautify the school with a variety of plant-life, creating a natural habitat that will attract wildlife for educational studies.

Weeding Through Writing:

Taking the Young Writer from Bud to Bloom

Teacher: Patricia Orwig

Grant Amount: $1,000

A series of creative writing sessions crafted for fourth grade writers will convene weekly for one hour after school throughout the 2008-2009 academic year.  A start-up summer 2008 Workshop will be offered for five consecutive 2-hour sessions during August 2008.  Sessions will focus on developing overall writing skills, but most keenly, the style of these young writers.  Modes of writing will include: narrative, informational, and persuasive.  Writing will be cultivated through journals, letters, personal narratives, and student-published newsletters distributed throughout the school year.