By Helena McSherry, Member, PR Committee, Board of Directors, The Bronxville School Foundation

May 27, 2015:  The Bronxville School Foundation announced its 2015 grant awards, giving $526,000 in resources to benefit children in kindergarten through twelfth grade at The Bronxville School.

The foundation grant requests came from teachers, administrators, parents, and students. This year's grants continue to reflect the school's work toward creating a sustainable model of excellence, aligned with the district's goals of delivering the best possible curriculum and instruction, integrating new technologies, and providing improvements to our school facilities and equipment that best support the current and future learning needs of our students.

After careful consideration from the grants committee and the board of directors, grants were awarded to all areas of the school. "This year's grant awards will enable teachers to continue to innovate and implement new programs and will create a more challenging and enriched environment for our students," said Lisa Barr, vice president of grants.

Foundation chair Ashley Hanrahan added, "These grants continue to support our mission to focus on pursuing innovative ideas, piloting new programs, providing state-of-the-art technology, and making improvements to our facilities. We are very grateful for the community's support."

The following is a complete list of the approved grants for the 2015-16 school year:

Program, Curriculum Development, and Equipment: 

•  Bronx River Research Curriculum & Equipment
•  Indoor Recess Activities for ES
•  Imagination Playground
•  Common Core-Aligned Libraries for Kindergarten through Fourth Grade
•  Pilot Mindfulness for ES Classrooms
•  Singapore Math Manipulatives
•  STEM Science & PE Collaboration for Gym
•  Yamaha Keyboard for Auditorium

Innovative Learning Spaces

•  MS Computer Lab Redesign and Technology
•  Innovative Fellows Classroom Redesign for HS 

Professional Development

•  Humanities Research for 21st-Century Learners
•  Mindfulness in the Classroom--Conference & Training
•  Project-Based Learning Initiative
•  National Social Studies Conference
•  Socratic Seminar Training
•  Columbia Teachers College Writing Project for MS

New Technology

•  Computer Science Laptops for HS
•  ES Technology--Chromebooks & Professional Development
•  Mac Laptops for Media Classes & Final Cut Software
•  Classroom Sound Enhancement System Pilot

Athletics Equipment

•  Athletic Training Facility Equipment
•  Football Sled

Christine Fitzgibbons, vice president of development, noted that the foundation's community drive had another strong year. "Our community understands the important role the foundation plays in enriching the school's programs and providing a first-rate education for our children."

The Bronxville School Foundation depends upon contributions from school families and the community. If you would like to learn more about the foundation, please contact the foundation's executive director, Peggy Williams, at 914-395-0515, or visit the foundation's website at www.BronxvilleSchoolFoundation.org.  Online donations will be accepted.

Pictured here (L to R):  Ava Black and Mae Thomas working with Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education.

Photo courtesy Helena McSherry, Member, PR Committee, Board of Directors, The Bronxville School Foundation