The Lemont High School Educational Foundation has committed to supporting six grants for more than $32,000 for the 2010-11 school year. Grant proposals were submitted by Lemont High School faculty and staff, with the goal of enhancing educational opportunities for the school’s enrollment of more than 1,500 students.
The Foundation is funding six Educational Foundation Grants in full - for a total of $32,371 - with a stipulation that the funds provided for the projects must be used during the 2010-11 school year. The amount committed to funding next year’s programs is the Foundation’s largest grant commitment in its three-year history, surpassing the $30,000 awarded for Charter Year Educational Foundation Grants during the second semester of the 2007-08 school year.
Included among the 2010-11 Educational Foundation Grants are the following proposals:
- Adobe Creative Suite Design Software
- Breakfast Buddies
- Fostering a Discovery-Based Science Learning Environment
- Navigating Through the Technology Classroom
- We See College in YOUR Future 3.0
- Writing Matters: Navigating the Demands of High School Writing
2010-11 Educational Foundation Grant Summaries
Lemont High School teachers submitted 11 proposals for 2010-11 Educational Foundation Grants, requesting more than $150,000.
The Foundation awarded its first grants in December 2007, and less than three years into its existence, has already committed to supporting more than $100,000 in grants for Lemont High School.
The Lemont High School Educational Foundation provides revenue and support to Lemont High School in order to enhance educational opportunities and enrich the overall experience for its students. The Foundation operates independently from the school, yet fosters the district’s ongoing and systemic efforts to attain the next level of success in all areas of a comprehensive high school education for all students.
The Foundation’s mission is to partner with the community to make lasting improvements to Lemont High School that will enhance the total educational experience for all of its students. Its desire is to fund and support programs and opportunities that aid students’ growth, both academically and as citizens of the Lemont community.
The Foundation is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. All gifts to the Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent provided by the law.
2010-11 Educational Foundation Grants
“Adobe Creative Suite Design Software”
Funded at $8,310 — proposal by Laina Wing Igoe
With the areas of graphic and multimedia design becoming an increasingly popular career choice, more and more Lemont High School students are involving themselves in these areas of study, both in high school and in their post-secondary careers. This grant will allow for the purchase of a site license for the Adobe Creative Suite, which includes ten software programs, ranging from InDesign and Photoshop to Illustrator and Dreamweaver. The software will allow teachers to integrate training of industry-standard software into their curricula, which will help students transition into college programs and art- and design-related fields. The software will be used by every Art course - including Art I, II, III and IV, Drawing and Design I and II, Digital Photographic Imaging and Painting - and also may be used by the Career and Technical Education Department in its Web Design & Development offerings.
“Breakfast Buddies”
Funded at $1,575 — proposal by Joan Browning
Giving a chance for special needs students and their mentors to regularly come together, Breakfast Buddies is a successful program that benefits two unique groups of students. Held before school on Wednesdays, Breakfast Buddies attracts more than 30 students weekly. Students with disabilities gain confidence and acceptance, helping to make them feel more a part of the Lemont High School community, while their peer mentors gain expertise in working with individuals with handicaps of all kinds and are given college recommendations based on their work. As this program has progressed, many of the peer leaders involved have began pursuing careers in Special Education or Social Work.
“Fostering a Discovery-Based Science Learning Environment”
Funded at $7,659 — proposal by Tim Plotke
This project will incorporate the use of the PASCO Science Sparks Learning System - an integrated hardware and software learning system using 21st century technology - into the school’s Science curriculum. The technology will allow students to make pre-lab predictions, collect real-time data, use graphic tools to analyze data, compare their experimental data with their initial predictions, and run experiments multiple times to collect more data. Such labs - performed with equipment that includes full-color display with finger-touch navigation - challenge students to think about their data and provide responses in an electronic environment in a fashion similar to the way scientists do it in the “real world.” From beginning to end, students are engaged, challenged and able to interact with each other, as this technology is designed in a way that will help students experience, appreciate and understand data in ways they have been able to in the past.
“Navigating Through the Technology Classroom”
Funded at $7,917 — proposal by Kathy Young
Over the past school year - and thanks in part to a previous Educational Foundation grant - Lemont High School’s Mathematics Department began transitioning to the TI-Nspire graphing calculators. This grant will fund the purchase of three TI-Nspire Navigation Systems, which will help further the integration of this technology into the school’s curriculum. The system will be used in virtually all of the school’s math classes, and allows all students to wirelessly connect to the teacher. Students receive files from the teacher’s computer directly to their calculator, and teachers can monitor the work students are completing on their TI-Nspire. Teachers will more easily assess students, comparing and contrasting all students’ work simultaneously, and redirect their instruction based on the students’ performance.
“We See College in YOUR Future 3.0”
Funded at $4,460 — proposal by Kathy Brockett
Aiding students on the cusp of achieving a composite ACT score to qualify them for a four-year college or university, this grant will cover half the cost of the ExcelEdge ACT 36 prep course for 30 students, and underwite the full cost of the class for a small number of students who qualify for a fee waiver. The eight-week course helps students become familiar with the ACT and provides them with test taking strategies to help them achieve a higher ACT score. The goal is to increase the scores of the targeted students to at least 18, which not only will make them eligible for entry to a four-year college or university, but also help the school in its goal of having 85 percent of all its seniors reach that mark.
“Writing Matters: Navigating the Demands of High School Writing”
Funded at $2,450 — proposal by Patty Melei
Helping to prepare writers for the rigors of high school writing, this grant will fund a five-day summer immersion program for any incoming freshman looking to successfully navigate the school’s writing-intensive curriculum, including at-risk students. This writing camp hosted by the school’s Writing Center - “The Bridge” - will engage students with hardware and software that will help them manage the demands of high school writing and literacy. Practical writing strategies and technology tips will be provided in order to put even reluctant writers down a path towards success. Students who participate in the program will be invited to the return to The Bridge twice during the fall semester to refresh their skills. The goal of the project is to bridge gaps of both writing and understanding technology, in order to create a successful academic experience for the students involved.