Skip to main content

Hopkinton Education Foundation Announces 2018 Grant Awards

By contributor,
educationfoundation_8.png

The Hopkinton Education Foundation (Ed Foundation) awarded 6 grants totaling over $55,900 to schools in the Hopkinton Public School system. These 6 grants were chosen as their ideas best met the foundation’s criteria for innovation and positively impacting the Hopkinton Public School System. After today’s announcement, the total funds awarded to the Hopkinton Public School system are nearly $1.3 million.

The grants awarded in this cycle supported a variety of topics the more standard STEM classrooms, as well as these including a focus on Social Emotional Learning, cultural diversity awareness, and physical education.

This year’s award recipients are:
The Green Zone awarded to Kelly Pickens for $2,359 - This grant develops a positive space for students, PK - 1, to exercise self-regulation, problem solve, develop their communication skills and think critically. This space will provide opportunities for students to focus on Social Emotional Learning (SEL).

SELebration Station awarded to Stephanie Doty at the Hopkins School for $11,046 – Creating a SELebration Station at Hopkins will create a flexible, resource rich environment to foster social-emotional well being along with academics. This will transform the current library into a flexible techno-library with mobile resources and a student-centered environment.

Adoption Next Generation “Space” in the Classroom awarded to Laura Kirshenbaum at the Middle School for $13,973 – DELL/EMC Grant for Math and Science - With the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards curriculum which focuses on project based collaborative science investigation, having access to a physical space, which safely accommodates experiments, is critical. Flexibility in the classroom enhances collaboration, hands on/minds on learning and improves safety in the science classroom. This grant implements a new flexible workspaces to create a dynamic learning environment for students.

Making a Difference Through Peer Training awarded to Ann Benbenek at the Middle & High Schools for $16,375,- The Stephen Gray Innovation Grant - This grants funds “A World of Difference Institute Peer Training Program” for Middle and High School Students offered through the Anti-Defamation League. This will provide a diverse group of students in grades 7-12 with the opportunity to facilitate and sustain positive social change in the schools. With the changing demographics in the schools and town, this is an innovative approach to helping students become culturally respectful global citizens

Drums Alive! awarded to Karen Renaud at the High School for $4,175 - This grant is designed to create a physical education class to inspire students with a non-traditional PE experience. Combining rhythm and music to achieve increased cardiovascular health and muscular endurance takes physical education to another level both physically and mentally.

A Therapy Dog awarded to Michael Webb at the High School for $8,000 - This grant provides a unique opportunity for Hopkinton High School to continue to be a leader in attending to the social emotional well being of students while addressing the ever increasing reported student stress levels. By providing regular access to a certified therapy dog, its been proven to reduce tension

“The grant committee was excited to see so many innovative ideas from the teachers ”said Jeneen Peschutter, Ed Foundation Grant Committee Chairperson, “We deliberated for a long time and felt that the grants we selected brought innovation into the classroom, reached the greatest number of students and were the best aligned to our mission.”