The Consortium for Public Education

The Consortium For Public Education is a member of the Public Education Network.

The Consortium For Public Education • 410 Ninth Street, McKeesport, PA 15132 • 412-678-9215 (phone) 412-678-1698 (fax)

GRANT AWARDS
Round 48 - Spring, 2011

Pre-K/PRIMARY/ELEMENTARY LEVEL AWARDS

Title: Beyond the Classroom: Helping Parents to Help Their Children
Level: Elementary
School: Bethlehem Center Elementary School, Bethlehem Center School District
Contact: Amy Jo Brown, Alexis Shaw, Erin Beyer, Angie Lipniskis, Valerie Hess, Monica Bellicini, Tracy Skariot

This project creates a network of support so that parents can engage their children in meaningful learning beyond the classroom. Parents will learn a variety of easy ways to help their children in the areas of reading, math and study skills. Teachers will demonstrate techniques that use common household items (or easily obtainable resources) to help students work on skills (sight words, phonemic awareness, comprehension, addition, and subtraction). In addition, families will learn about outside agencies and resources that they can utilize. Ultimately, this program seeks to develop a supportive and productive relationship between the home and school.

Title: Centered on Learning!
Level: Elementary
School: Charleroi Elementary Center, Charleroi Area School District
Contact: April Wright, Linda Filby, Kathy Franks

In “Centered on Learning”, students will be able to visualize academic concepts through learning stations designed to enhance and reinforce lessons taught in class. By creating learning stations with games that will build reading, grammar, vocabulary and spelling skills for language arts and games to teach money, geometry, measurement, estimation computation and other skills in mathematics, students will experience a fun, interactive learning format that encourages students to practice reading and math concepts.

Title: Story Souvenirs
Level: Elementary
School: Chartiers Valley Primary Schol, Chartiers Valley School District
Contact: Ellen Zissis, Karla Gribben, Trish Conley, Becky Yuhas, Karole Kapaunis, Valerie Brendel, Shelley Territ

This project uses story souvenirs as a prompt for the retelling of the story to parents/guardians. With each story introduced and read in first grade, students will be given a souvenir. Students will take the story souvenir home, along with a list of questions for the parents to ask about the story. The souvenir will help students recall important details about what was read and improve the child’s comprehension. In addition, this practice will help the parents become more involved with their child’s education.

Title: Literacy and Fluency Development Connecting the Curriculum
Level: Elementary
School: Chartiers Valley Primary School, Chartiers Valley School District
Contact: Colleen Mutschler, Debra Soles

Connecting to a school wide initiative to “Go Green,” this project finds students reading, researching and presenting reports on the rain forest, making an original song andperforming an original play adapted from Lynn Cherry’s book, The Great Kapok Tree. The purpose of the program is to promote literacy, develop fluency, word recognition and comprehension through differentiation and multiple modalities. As a culminating activity, the play will be presented to peers, family and community members.

Title: Bookends: Reading in Art
Level: Elementary
School: Jefferson Elementary School, West Jefferson Hills School District
Contact: Adam Gebhardt, Dennis Peterson

Bookends is a program that will develop a reading, writing, and research element as part of the art curriculum. This grant will initiate a small classroom library of art books (from art history, stories of famous artists, to “how to” art books) that the students will use for various projects as well as independent reading. Adding this component to the art classroom is another step in creating an art classroom that is focused on art content as well as creating a multidisciplinary connection to support math, science, social studies, reading and writing. Reading in the art room will include exploring artists and artistic styles, cultures, and history. The art room will be a place of creativity as well as critical thinking. Finally, the books in the art library will be integrated into the Accelerated Reader program already in place in the school.

Title: Math Marvels
Level: Elementary
School: Homeville Elementary School, West Mifflin Area School District
Contact: Gina Hilligsberg, Shelley Bishop, BJ Pugh, Walter Legge, Barb Gregory, Kelly Bandik, Michelle Kameg, Kelly Hilligsberg, Heather Vidic, Mundi Gouker, Lisa Riles

This program will employ the 24 Math Game and First in Math online programs to improve students skills in math, critical thinking, problem solving and technology use. Enhancing the current math curriculum, these programs will allow students to advance at their individual mastery of numerical fluency. The program will also engage the students’ families in their child’s learning.

Title: Kindergarten Transition Reach Out
Level: Elementary
School: Homeville Elementary School, West Mifflin Area School District
Contact: Sharna Baker, Melissa Bracco, Noelle Haney, Vern Pro, Terry Whalen

This project finds the elementary principals, counselors, and kindergarten teachers visiting the district’s low-income housing area to provide information and materials for Kindergarten readiness. The 3 and 4 year olds in these areas will receive a packet with books, crayons, color words, etc. as well as information to prepare them for Kindergarten. The goal is to reach and prepare the disadvantaged children within the school district so they are better equipped to start and succeed in school.

MIDDLE/INTERMEDIATE LEVEL AWARDS

Title: Native American Culture: Tragedy and Triumph from Columbus to Today
Level: Intermediate/Middle
School: Bellmar Middle School, Belle Vernon Area School District
Contact: Ross Farmer, Carol Aten-Frow, David Divelbliss

The purpose of this grant is to expose students to the contributions, tragedies and triumphs associated with the Native American tribes and leaders in American history. The project will not only coordinate and tie together the 7th and 8th grade curriculum but also will help students better develop reading and writing skills in their study and analysis of these important, but in many ways forgotten, contributions to American history and culture. Students will view and study early American history through the eyes of Native Americans, they will be introduced to the arts, crafts and literature of the Native American culture. Finally, students will read, research and write across the curriculum focusing on this topic.

Title: More Than Just Super Heroes
Level: Intermediate/Middle
School: Steel Valley Middle School, Steel Valley School District
Contact: Heather Huber, Steve Singer

This grant project creates a quality graphic novel library that will provide struggling readers the opportunity to increase their reading fluency and comprehension through an alternative medium. Employing visual learning along with the written word, students will be encouraged to read the available high -nterest reading materials. The project will be integrated into the current Accelerated Reader program, curriculum scope and sequence, and reading comprehension across the curriculum. Non-fiction selections will be used for Science and Social Studies classes.

Title: Mathgellan: Charting a New Course in Mathematics
Level: Intermediate/Middle
School: Steel Valley Middle School, Steel Valley School District
Contact: Steve Large, Michael Hofbauer

This project utilizes magnetic gel boards (a type of instant response system) to maximize student engagement and teacher feedback in mathematics. Students will use gel boards for daily instructional lessons and as work progresses, teachers will be able to differentiate their instruction based on the individualized understanding and diagnosis of student errors of the concepts presented. Through formative assessment made possible by this interactive process, students will have improved academic success.

HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL AWARDS

Title: Picnic on the Patio - School Improvement Project
Level: High School
School: Bethlehem Center High School, Bethlehem Center School District
Contact: Gene Fox, Jamie Gammon, Jill Matiyasic

In this project, students will make picnic tables for the school courtyard. Students will apply math and science skills as they make tables for use by their peers and create a sense of school pride through a student-driven school improvement project.

Title: Learning and Earning for Life
Level: High School
School: Elizabeth Forward High School, Elizabeth Forward School District
Contact: Marc Bellora, Nicole Corson, Mike Huber, Ryan Brain

This great idea gives Life Skills students the opportunity to design and make jewelry as they collaborate and build relationships with regular education students from the Accounting II class to operate a school store. Students will design, create, and advertise their products using their English and Math academic skills but also independent living skills practiced in the classroom and in occupational and physical therapy. Life skills students will also develop social and work skills in this program. The store would be available for all students to use with profits helping to pay for community-based instruction programs in the private and public sector.

Title: "Eyes on the Road" Dont Drink, Drive and Text
Level: High School
School: Forbes Road CTC
Contact: Georgiana Gamberoni, Edward McMullen, Cindy Wittman, Elizabeth Willcox, Dawn DelDuca, Janel Perretta, Don Kosker

In this project, students will be presented with the graphic details of a crash site that resulted from driving under the influence or texting. Students will use a simulator that virtually makes them part of the accident resulting from DUI. Instructors will team with Emergency Response Service students to plan the event. Automotive students will assist in setting up the accident scene. Advertising students will create fliers, posters and pledge cards. Cosmetology students will apply their theatrical makeup skills for the victims of the mock accident scene. Community members will also be involved. Students will then pledge not to drink/text and drive.

Title: Broadcasting Studio
Level: High School
School: Frazier High School, Frazier School District
Contact:

This grant will create a school district broadcasting studio that will engage students in filming, editing, and broadcasting school events. It will also make possible the creation of a live educational game show. Also, videoconferencing and community partnerships will be possible as a result of this project. Skills to be gained by students include interviewing, public speaking, technical skills, editing, production and career awareness.

Title: Is It Possible to Build a Dinosaur
Level: High School
School: McKeesport Area High School, McKeesport Area School District
Contact: Marla Hayes, Lee Smith, Joan Smith, Jackie Thompson

The purpose of this grant is to provide students the opportunity to learn about the groundbreaking research currently being conducted by a molecular biologist and a paleontologist that uses the modern chicken to reverse time and discover its ancient relatives in dinosaurs. Using an inquiry-based lab, students will use simulations to develop insights about the genetic process involved when natural selection is operating on a population in equilibrium. The students will evaluate the data gathered from the simulations, which will lead to a better understanding of the complexity of natural selection in nature. As a culminating activity, the students will attend a school-sponsored visit to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for a tour of The History of Life on Earth.

Title: Chapter 1 "My Career"
Level: High School
School: McKeesport Area High School, McKeesport Area School District
Contact: Monica Kitta, Diane McKelvey, Anthony Gallaher, Lindsay Brown, Toni Stolic, Kim Rose, Jonna Flannery, Bill Bain, Jason Jones, Mike Locke, Mike Dischner

In Chapter 1 “My Career,” students will document their learning experiences and accomplishments from high school in a professional student portfolio. Documentation will include resumes, letters of recommendation, volunteer and community activities, awards and accomplishments, and photographs of student learning experiences. Development of the photo journal portfolio will take place in all the technical classes and include all students in the school.

Title: You Are What You Eat - "The Omnivore's Dilemma"
Level: High School
School: West Mifflin Area High School, West Mifflin Area School District
Contact: Veronica Mattson, Patty King

This grant expands the successful previous grant project, Science Is Non-fiction by giving the students the opportunity to read and discuss “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Students read and discuss selected science related non-fiction novels weekly. While the goal is to entice students to read for enjoyment, the reading selections used in Science Is Non-fiction relates to science lessons taught in their classes.