Williamstown Endowment Awards Grants for Elementary School Enrichment
August 27, 2007
The Williamstown Elementary School Endowment Fund (WESE), a fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, announced today that it has awarded 11 grants totaling $14,965. The grants fund innovative and creative projects proposed by teachers, parents and community members to enhance Williamstown Elementary School’s curriculum and promote excellence in education.
Grants were awarded to the following projects, which will be implemented during the 2007-2008 school year:
$2,000 for Words are Wonderful, an annual literacy festival that celebrates the power and magic of words through workshops, performances, and presentations by professional authors, illustrators and performers.
$1,500 for Discovery Boxes, units of study developed by the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, that will help to connect children to the natural world.
$1,385 for scriptwriting workshops with a writing program instructor from the nationally recognized Collins program for students in grades 4-6.
$2,000 to a hire a nutritionist/dietician consultant who will work with students, teachers, parents and cafeteria staff to promote an ongoing wellness program of life-long healthful eating habits.
$1,500 for Inkspot, literary an independent parent run literary magazine that publishes student work, including poems, essays, short stories and art.
$1,000 for a tutoring coordinator who will link Williams College students with Williamstown Elementary School students for after-school tutoring, serving 45-50 children per week.
$1,380 for participation in a band competition for fifth grade students at the Great East Festival juried concert band event.
$750 for a math club, which will allow students in grades 1-6 who are interested in math to meet with faculty and students of Williams College after school.
$2,500 for a media literacy program that will expose students to two local media resources: WilliNet, the local community television station, and Images Cinema. Students will learn how to upload videos on iMovie, sequence and edit footage, add special effects, and download onto DVDs.
$150 for Amigos del Mundo, a pen-pal program with students from Guatemala. The grant will allow the purchase of a digital camera so that students can include photos in their correspondence.
$800 for a regional book club, which will give 6th and 7th graders the opportunity to attend three book groups throughout the academic year.
A voluntary advisory board reviews applications to WESE and awards grants based on excellence of the proposed project or service, its impact on the students, and its enhancement of the educational offerings of the school. The next deadline for WESE grant proposals is April 30, 2008. Applications are available online at www.berkshiretaconic.org/grants-scholarships.html or by calling 800-969-2823.
Founded in 1997, WESE is a permanent, non-profit fund for the town’s public elementary school to support extraordinary and innovative programs that go beyond the core curriculum. WESE is not intended to substitute for public funding of the school’s operating budget. Instead, it is intended to go beyond the school’s basic needs and fund programs for children that can spark excitement, enthusiasm, and innovative thinking. The fund provides annual grants for exceptional educational projects.
The WESE board of trustees includes Pamela Besnard, Janette Kessler Dudley, Rose Ellis, Judy Fraser, Russ Howard, Sue Killam, Maragaret McComish, Margot Sanger, John Skavlem, Carol Stegeman, Geoff Strawbridge, Jane Swift, and Jennifer Trainer Thompson. The superintendent of the school is Dr. Rose Ellis and Stephen Johnson is the principal.
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization that cultivates philanthropy in ways that have a direct positive impact on the cities and towns of Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; Berkshire County, MA; and northwest Litchfield County, CT. It believes that effective charitable giving can result in positive change and a better quality of life for all residents. Berkshire Taconic distributes more than $7 million annually, helping hundreds of nonprofits carry on their good work and thousands of donors achieve their philanthropic goals.
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