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Boardman Schools Fund awards seven mini-grants
BOARDMAN
The mini-grants awarded by the Boardman Schools Fund for Educational Excellence offer teachers the chance to test drive innovative technology that can be implemented throughout the district.
The fund, a component of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, awarded seven mini-grants worth nearly $8,000 at a news conference Tuesday.
Kyle Sheehan, a Boardman High School social-studies teacher, applied for a grant to fund his project Supporting ESL students in the Classroom.
With the grant, he will purchase translating ear pieces to be used by high-school students learning English as a foreign language.
“They will help bridge the communication gap between myself and students, and students and their peers,” Sheehan said.
Investing in this technology on a small scale will help school leaders determine the impact of these gadgets in the classroom.
“We might not normally have invested in that because it’s an unsure technology, but we can grant him the money. He can try it, and if that becomes something that impacts and helps kids, it can become part of our regular budget,” said schools Superintendent Tim Saxton.
Chelsea Wisbar and Tim Harker, teachers at Glenwood Junior High School, were awarded a grant that will bolster Boardman’s growing STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics) program, which aims to integrate art and technology.
Their award will fund the purchase of 3-D pens, a green screen and a vinyl cutter.
These tools will help students explore art-related career fields such as architecture and graphic design, Wisbar said.
“It’s so much fun to be able to reward people who have good ideas with money and stuff that they can use,” said Edie Davidson, president of the Boardman Schools Fund and former art teacher at the high school.
The grant money also will fund the purchase of a visual presenter, seating for students with disabilities, nature field-study kits and hands-on learning tools that integrate literature and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) stations for kindergartners.