East Fund Approves Initial Grants

September 10, 2004

Making the Learning Connection

Ron Mersch, Ed.D., Associate Principal for Curriculum & Instruction

• $3,837 for Learning Packets, after school stipend for selected staff and clerical personnel, and support further staff development options for teachers. This amount was adjusted to allow evening parental sessions to provide $16.25 per student program fees. This program would require future funding to be continued, none was identified. 
• All students in grades 9 and 10, ranging from at-risk to Honors students. 
• Core academic disciplines and select elective areas based upon teacher interest.

Read outcomes...

This program will use the research-based learning model developed through Learning Connections. This model has shown great promise in a number of areas, and staff who has used elements of the Learning Connections model have noted a real insight into the learning processes of individual students. For the past two academic years individualized learning profiles have been created for current freshman and sophomore students. District grant funding has restricted the application of this important information to select freshman classes at the information exposure level only to those teachers desiring this information. Further resource funding will enable additional staff and parents an opportunity to partner with students to create an even more supportive educational base for every student at these grade levels. SME is one of the schools in the nation that has staff interested in pursuing more training on this educational model. Quality work at SME has already begun and with additional funding this work can both grow in its application within our school and also serve as a model for feeder schools into SME and set an example framework for replication to our sister schools and perhaps to additional secondary schools across the nation.

Current freshman and sophomore students -- District grant funding has restricted the application of this important information to select freshman classes at the information exposure level only to those teachers desiring this information. Further resource funding will enable additional staff and parents an opportunity to partner with students to create an even more supportive educational base for every student at these grade levels. SME is one of the schools in the nation that has staff interested in pursuing more training on this educational model. Quality work at SME has already begun and with additional funding this work can both grow in its application within our school and also serve as a model for feeder schools into SME and set an example framework for replication to our sister schools and perhaps to additional secondary schools across the nation.

Mathematics Technology Initiative

Dan Gruman and Carolyn Seeley, Department Chair

• $9,384 for 2 SMART Boards, 2 SMART Board Stands, 4 Laptop Computers, and Maple 9.5 Software licenses. No subsequent funding is necessary.
• This grant request will impact 2000 students in grades 9-12 including lower achieving students as well as IB students.
• Mathematics and Computer Science are the curriculum areas primarily involved, but sharing with Science students would also be possible.

In light of the continuously changing and increasingly demanding state of education, the mathematics department is renewing its emphasis on keeping all students actively engaged in the educational process. Modern instructional methods of mathematics often emphasize that concepts should be taught from three perspectives: analytically, graphically, and numerically. Traditional approaches focus primarily on the analytic methods. Lower achieving students are often not successful in a traditional classroom setting and need to be actively engaged in a variety of ways. In order to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind and Adequate Yearly Progress, it is imperative that we take advantage of a wide variety of instructional approaches.

With this new technology, more attention on the learning styles of lower achieving students can be provided, thus increasing their proficiency in mathematics. In contrast, IB students may also include Maple as a resource for developing math or computer science projects. Results will be tracked in Kansas State Assessment, ACT, ITED and Advanced Placement scores, as well as anecdotal evidence gathered from teachers regarding student participation and understanding.

Grant Application