Innovations in Education Grant Program
In the 2023-24 school year, The Somerville Foundation (operating then as the Somerville Education Foundation) awarded $15,000 to many Somerville educators to support innovation and creativity in their pursuit of a high quality and engaging educational experience for all students.
Teachers, administrators, and other educators in Somerville Public Schools can apply for grants to fund various classroom based and school wide programs that fall outside the regular school budget. To apply for a grant of up to $1,000, please click the blue button above and submit your proposal before 11/15/24.
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Below are statements given by '23-'24 grantee's regarding the impact that IEGP had on their students.
"Steven (pseudonym) had been working really hard to learn letters/sounds and sight words. It was often challenging for him, but he persevered. After reading his first book by himself, he held the book up above his head and with wide-eyes he declared, “I just read a book! By myself! I can’t wait to tell my dad!”
Developing Readers in Kindergarten
"The purpose of this project was to support kindergarten teachers’ literacy instruction with texts that provide appropriate phonics decoding practice for developing readers. The structured literacy routines and reading I used with these kindergarten teachers/students was very effective. As a result, we have expanded its use to all the kindergarten classes in the district. In January 2024, I was able to do a Professional Development workshop with all the K teachers in the district where I introduced these routines. Many of the teachers began the routines and are seeing student growth! The district ELA curriculum coordinator wants all K teachers to use these routines starting in September. This will ensure that more of our students are leaving kindergarten as readers." - Jan Buckwalter, Winter Hill Community Innovation School
SEEK Sensory Room
"The goal of our requested grant funding would be to provide students in the SEEK program (Social Emotional Enrichment at the Kennedy) a sensory space and support tools to promote the development of self-regulation skills, decrease emotional and behavioral dysregulation, and increase academic engagement and success. The impact is seeing the power, promise, and effectiveness of providing a space and tools for children, who are struggling, to self-regulate and feel in control of their own emotions. Watching students in the space identify strategies and tools and then work to calm themselves was very empowering. Students were able to take 5 minutes to ready themselves to fully engage in class and feel safe and calm." - Janet O'Reilly, Kennedy School
A student was having a difficult time with peers in class and was quite dysregulated. We went for a walk up to the "Zen Zone." The student loved the calmness of the space and immediately went in to a tent with a few sensory tools. We set the timer and the student then used a body sock and accessed the sensory wall. The student's body calmed and disposition changed so that the student was now regulated, relaxed, and ready to return to class. The student was able to rejoin the class successfully and happily.
VEX EXP products for the SHS Robotics course and summer programs.
The materials provided by this grant are helping me (and SPS colleagues) to develop a vertically-aligned curricular pathway for robotics instruction from grades 6 through 12. Previously, we only have had access to the LEGO robotics kits and the materials for the FIRST robotics team; these VEX kits offer an in-between solution that will help us to design a strong pathway that offers a clear and coherent learning arc for students as they progress through our programs. - Laura Peters, Somerville High School
Author Visit with Kate Fussner
The Somerville Foundation provided funding to purchase books (Song of Us) in preparation for Kate Fussner's author visit to Healey 7th graders. The 7th grade was thrilled to welcome Kate Fussner, author of the middle grades book-in-verse The Song of Us to the Healey. Thanks to a grant from the Somerville Foundation, we were able to purchase a class set of the book from All She Wrote books and have Fussner come speak to students. During their poetry unit this year, students read either The Song of Us or The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Fussner told the students all about the origins of the book, inspired by the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice. She also talked about how much editing and collaboration goes into the publishing process. She ended with a spirited Q&A that covered topics ranging from her dog, to character analysis, to alternate endings of the book, to her mentorship with the famed Jason Reynolds. We are so proud of the 7th graders for displaying the Healey value of openness with their great questions and curiosity during this author visit! - Emma Daniels, Arthur D. Healy School
