Published July 17, 2020
MELROSE — The Melrose Education Foundation has announced the grant recipients in our first round of giving in the 2020-2021 school year.
Grants are awarded in three categories: Innovation, Boost and Professional Development. Each supports innovation and excellence in Melrose Public Schools. From 40 applications, 12 grants were awarded based on the potential for student impact and innovation in teaching and learning. The Foundation is grateful for the opportunity to support these projects and initiatives.
Innovation Grants
Innovation Grants award up to $5,000 to support innovation and excellence across our district. Innovation Grants engage students in deeper learning, pilot new educational approaches and support educators to collaborate across disciplines, grade levels and schools. Initiatives are multi-faceted and take place over the course of the year. Funding is comprehensive and can include professional development, collaborative planning time for professional learning communities, guest speakers and outside facilitators, classroom materials, technology, and more.
Title: Thematic Realignment of Grade 10 English Curriculum Focused on “Isms”
Educator(s): Arielle Gillette, Jennifer Natusch, Amy Mirasolo, Robin Loewald, Jennifer O’Sullivan, and Angela Singer, 10th Grade English
School: Melrose High School
Description: This comprehensive initiative supports the grade 10 English Team to realign their curriculum around in-depth, student-driven research and analysis of a social justice issue. The year long timeline includes ongoing professional development, curriculum planning, classroom implementation, evaluation and reflection, support materials, and guest speakers. It builds on a previous Boost Grant that supported greater diversity in literature circle choice for students. The result will be a year-long project-based experience for students that integrates language arts skills with authentic opportunities to engage as a community with issues of social justice and equity.
Title: Elevating Voices of Change
Educator(s): Hannah Edsall, Anne Gardiner, Social Studies; Amy Jackson, METCO
School: Melrose High School
Description: This initiative will create a model for engaging and elevating student voice and agency around racial equity in our schools and community. Funding will support stipends for speakers of color to engage with Melrose High School students. It will also support professional planning and facilitation time for the lead educators to create intentional opportunities for students to elevate their own voices as they reflect, organize and share antiracism opportunities for actionable change with the MHS community.
Boost Grants
Boost grants award up to $500 for individual educators to implement a new project, elevate an existing experience, or try something new in their classroom.
Title: Motorized Model of the Solar System
Educator: Betsy Giovanardi, Computer-Aided Design
School: Melrose High School, Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Description: High School CAD students will manage a large scale project to model, create and assemble a motorized model of the solar system, which will be donated to Middle School to support science instruction.
Title: Piloting Unique Learning Opportunities in Specialized Programs
Educator: Alicia Bushey, Special Education
School: Melrose High School
Description: In this pilot program of the Unique Learning System, students will engage with age-appropriate content materials that are differentiated to support their individual learning abilities and interests.
Title: Video Editing Software for Virtual Performance & Practice
Educator: Luke Miller, Orchestra
School: Melrose Elementary, Middle and High School
Description: Orchestra students will have the opportunity to perform and practice collaboratively even if learning is remote or ensemble size is limited through the school year.
Title: Summer Book Club: So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
Educator: Robin Loewald, Arielle Gillette, English
School: Melrose High School
Description: Students will participate in a 5-week Summer Book Club, reading and engaging in facilitated conversations about racial equity and the book “So You Want to Talk About Race,” by Ijeoma Oluo.
Title: Creating Multi-Sensory Centers in Choral Classrooms
Educator: Kimberly Piper, Chorus
School: Melrose Middle School
Description: Learn to Read Music kits will be used in student-led classroom centers to engage students in hands-on visual learning.
Title: Biography and Identity Project
Educator: Elizabeth Petersen, Reading and Special Education
School: Melrose Middle School
Description: Students will be engaged in projects focused on identity and self-discovery connecting with a new series of classroom bibliographies.
Professional Development Grants
Professional Development Grants award up to $1,000 to educators to deepen knowledge in their field, develop new skills, or explore opportunities that will enhance teaching and learning in the classroom. Grant recipients also have a commitment to share professional learning with other educators in their building or practice/content area across the district.
Title: World Language Core Practices & Remote Learning
Educator(s): Denise Wagstaff, Michelle Stepper, Global Language
School: Melrose High School
Description: Professional development through the Massachusetts Foreign Language Classroom Collaborative, focused on integrating core teaching practices in both face to face and remote learning environments.
Title: American Civil Rights Movement
Educator(s): Rob Mahoney, 6th Grade Social Studies
School: Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Description: Course work focuses on the major events of the Civil Rights Movement and supports development of creative lesson plans to bring historical events to life and to discuss issues of prejudice and racism with sensitivity and respect.
Title: Primitive Reflexes-Integrated Learning Systems
Educator(s): Jennifer Papasodoro, Occupational Therapy
School: Melrose Elementary Schools
Description: Course work focuses on occupational therapy assessment and treatment strategies to support development of critical foundation skills for students to reach their academic potential.
Title: Making Friends with Yourself: A Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Teens
Educator(s): Francesca LoGrasso, Guidance
School: Melrose High School
Description: A train-the-trainer course brings an evidence-based mindful self-compassion skills training program to students to promote wellbeing, decrease anxiety and depression, and support stress management.
Supporting Innovation in the Melrose Public Schools
Educators across the Melrose Public Schools are innovating now more than ever, responding to the challenges of learning disrupted by a global pandemic and the opportunity of the social justice movement unfolding around us. The Melrose Education Foundation is grateful for the opportunity to support their efforts with these grants.
Please consider a donation to the Melrose Education Foundation to support these grants and future grants like them. The Foundation is an all-volunteer run nonprofit organization. It depends on donations from individuals in our local community to support innovation and excellence in our public schools. Thank you for your generosity.