Teacher Grants By Year
CURRENT GRANTS AWARDED TOTAL $111,613
The Mamaroneck Schools Foundation has approved funding for the following slate of seven grants for the 2023-2024 school year. The grants, which total $111,613, will have an impact on the entire community.
Holy Smoke: A Smoker and Wood Chips for the Culinary Arts Lab
Grantee(s): Bryan Luff, Mario Washington
School: Mamaroneck High School
This grant will provide the Culinary Arts Lab with a new smoker enabling the students in Culinary classes and the Culinary Arts Club to master the art of hot and cold food smoking. The smoker will enhance the Culinary program by exposing students to alternative methods of food preparation and preservation, as well as outdoor cooking experiences.
Child Study Room Renovation
Grantee(s): Joanne Hindley, Ilene Zucker
School: Central School
Central School’s Child Study Room will be renovated with expansive whiteboard walls, moveable tables, rolling chairs, and a fresh coat of paint. The new flexible and innovative workspace will enable greater collaboration, benefiting teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, and students.
An Ear-Resistible Approach to Reading in Kindergarten
Grantee(s): Mindy Friedman, Danielle Beshar, KellyAnn Trombley
School: Central School
This grant will fund updates to the listening centers in Central School Kindergarten classrooms. Listening to stories introduces students to vocabulary above their decoding levels and helps students to develop critical auditory comprehension skills. Each classroom will have a “hub” where students can listen to stories using wireless headphones. The grant will also fund low tables and flexible seating to promote group listening experiences.
Soundscape: Enriching the Acoustic Environment in Central’s LGI
Grantee(s): Ethan Wojcik, Kayleigh Junz, Jaclyn Elliot, Ilene Zucker
School: Central School
This grant will enrich the acoustic environment of Central School’s performance space, known as the LGI. Funds will be used to create a more vibrant and immersive sound experience for students and families through the addition of new speakers, subwoofers, soundboard, wireless microphones, and choir microphones. This audio equipment is portable, allowing it to be used for indoor and outdoor performances.
Celebrating Cultural Contributions Throughout History
Grantee(s): Maureen Montone, Anna Grippo
School: Murray Avenue School
This grant will enhance the 4th grade Social Studies curriculum at the Murray Avenue School. Teachers will collaborate with consultant Cheryl McGinnis to create immersive touchstone experiences that will help students build a culturally-inclusive understanding of the history of New York and the United States. Working with Ms. McGinnis, teachers will learn approaches that can be incorporated into the District’s curriculum going forward.
Reimagining the Central Library
Grantee(s): Ilene Zucker, Joanne Hindley
School: Central School
This grant will fund an essential first step in redesigning the library at Central School. The District’s preferred architectural firm, LAN Associates, will collaborate with building and District administrators to develop a schematic interior design concept. If the design is subsequently enacted, it will transform the library into a reimagined space for 21st Century teaching and learning. The schematic will also incorporate furniture funded by a prior MSF grant.
Kindergarten Fine Motor Centers
Grantee(s): Bess Rathbone, Sandra Zazrima
School: Mamaroneck Avenue School
This grant will fund the development of Fine Motor Centers for Kindergarten classrooms at the Mamaroneck Avenue School. These Centers will provide students with tools that promote finger strength, hand strength, eye-hand coordination, and motor planning, all of which support the development of handwriting skills. In these Centers, students will engage in both guided and free-choice activities.
Creating a Therapeutic Environment for TASC (Therapeutic & Academic Support Class)
Grantee(s): Ronald Blain, Marni Ross
School: Mamaroneck High School
The TASC program serves MHS students who are emotionally fragile. This grant will fund the purchase of furniture that will create a warm, welcoming, and safe space for TASC students when they are unable to attend mainstream classes. The new surroundings will help reduce anxiety and support emotional and behavioral regulation.
*This grant is partially funded by the Barbara Bennett-Rones Memorial Endowment.
“Stepping With Positivity” Mural Project
Grantee(s): Mary Grainzvolt-Moran, Jennifer Solomon
School: Chatsworth Avenue School
This grant will fund a multi-faceted mural project that will beautify and accent the main entrance, staircases, and specialist spaces of Chatsworth Avenue School. In addition, the murals will showcase the shared vision of belonging at Chatsworth. These areas will be transformed into spaces of beauty, positivity, and creativity, thereby supporting a feeling of wellness and vitality among students, faculty, and staff.
La Chandeleur: Crêpe Day
Grantee(s): Ellen Illanes
School: Hommocks Middle School
Through this grant, crepe machines will be purchased so that students can enjoy crepes during their French language rotation and get a firsthand taste of French culture. Oooh la la!
Mamaroneck UFSD BIPOC Affinity Groups Learning Through Exploration of History, Culture, and Community - Trip to Washington, DC
Grantee(s): Keila Brigandi Reyes, Zoé Ruiz, Kimberly Omoloju, Amary Seck, Leon Whyte
School: Mamaroneck High School, Hommocks Middle School
This student-driven trip to Washington, D.C. will bring together the Hommocks and MHS BIPOC affinity groups for an experience that will nurture peer-to-peer relationships across schools. Building on conversations facilitated during monthly BIPOC affinity group meetings, students will visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture: A Smithsonian Museum, Howard University – a Historically Black College/University, the United States Capitol, and other landmarks where the country’s elected officials work to make policies and laws that impact all citizens.
