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LEEF announces educational grant recipients

Date: 12/4/2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

LONGMEADOW — On Nov. 26, the Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF) celebrated its 11th year of providing supplemental grants for educators in the district.

"Today is a very special day for us at LEEF, for it is the culmination of a year's work with an opportunity for us to show our gratitude to you and to present you with these grant awards," Joe Aberdale, LEEF publicity media chair, told the grant recipients at a press conference at the Longmeadow High School Library. "You have accepted our challenge, risen to the occasion and submitted a variety of creative and wonderful ideas and lessons."

This year, LEEF, which is funded strictly through donations and fundraising efforts, awarded 16 grants totaling $50,664. With the awards, LEEF has awarded 252 grants since 2002 totaling $871,000.

The grants allow educators in the Longmeadow Public Schools the opportunity to purchase equipment or take part in programs that they would not normally be able to take advantage of because of budget constraints.

"All of us at LEEF are committed to providing you with as many opportunities as possible to foster and enhance your creative and innovative visions in the classroom," Aberdale said. "Our goal is to help make the realization of those visions become a reality so that our children and you can thrive and prosper in a full and rich educational environment."

Longmeadow Public Schools Superintendent Marie Doyle praised LEEF and the grant recipients for their continued work to provide innovative experiences that she said would give students an advantage.

"It's been said that we need to prepare students for their future, not ours," she said. "How do we accept this challenge to educate students to excel in this global economy? We do this through innovation ... That's what LEEF grants are all about. Innovation fuels education, especially in these rapidly changing times."

Beth Renola, a teacher at Blueberry Hill School, was awarded three grants one for an International Dyslexia Conference, which will benefit all four Longmeadow schools; a grant for her "Literacy and Math Recipe Plan" at Blueberry Hill; and "Lexia Reading," a grant she wrote with Ann Linehan, a fellow Blueberry Hill teacher.

Blueberry Hill also received funding for "Using iPads for Reading Intervention," written by Sara Brennan.

Wolf Swamp Road School teacher Krishna Longanecker was awarded two grants she wrote "Providing High Interest Non-Fiction Reading Materials to Low Level Readers" and "Ebooks: Expanding the School Library."

Wolf Swamp Road School was also awarded funding for the following grants: "Math Enrichment — Grade 5," a grant written by Janet Aronson and Nancy Moriarty; "Outdoor Classroom for Wolf Swamp Road School," written by Christopher Pratt; and "Engineering is Elementary Science Enrichment Project," written by Rebecca Powell.

Middle School music teacher Daniel Albert's popular Band Day, which incorporates music students at Glenbrook and Williams middle schools, also received continued funding through LEEF.

Williams Middle School also received the following grants: "WMS Drama and Talent Show Support," written by Kathleen Lawson and "iPad Cart," written by Chris Collins.

Caitlin Dugree received funding for her "Winter Cross Country Ski Program" grant for Glenbrook Middle School, while Tim Symington's "Standard CPR/AED/First Aid Training for Educators" grant was also funded.

Center School was awarded two grants: Correna Roberts' "Cell Microscopes" grant and Donna Hutton's "21st Century Community Space."