|
The following is from the Dec 26, 2006 edition
The other morning I arrived at work earlier than usual to take care of paperwork that refused to be ignored any longer. It was still dark outside when the Administrative Assistant for the Oakwood Schools Education Foundation - on her way to subbing in one of our school offices - appeared at my door. With apologies for bearing more of what I was trying to move from my inbox to my out box, she delivered a packet of seventy letters with a request for my John Hancock [signature].
Believe me, no apology was necessary. These were not just any letters; these were Thank You letters to individuals who had recently contributed to the Oakwood Schools Education Foundation. It was a privilege to represent the Board of Education and the faculty and staff of our district in signing these letters.
The letters delivered to my office this week were not the first for this school year. Since August, Ellen Ireland, chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, and I have had the happy fortune of thanking more than two hundred Partners in Education. Their contributions have ranged from $10 to $10,000 – with each gift equally important to the work of the Foundation. Some of our Partners in Education have responded to the Foundation’s Annual Fund and Golf Outing while others have contributed to Class Gifts and in memory of loved ones. All have invested in Oakwood children in a significant way.
Through these contributions, the Board of Trustees of the Oakwood Schools Education Foundation is able to realize the Foundation’s mission of Enhancing Excellence Through Philanthropy. Very simply, the Foundation is dedicated to funding, through a competitive grant process, innovative projects and extended learning experiences designed by Oakwood teachers for Oakwood students at all grade levels and encompassing all abilities, interests, and learning styles.
Earlier this month, the Foundation reviewed ten grants submitted this fall, and voted to fund six of the projects at a cost of $26,993.
The grants awarded include reading intervention materials for both elementary and junior high students; digital photography equipment for interdisciplinary application in art and science at OHS; mannequins for the secondary Forensic Science class; a Mobile Technology Package for science instruction at OJH and OHS; and art materials/plexiglass framing for the art classes at the high school.
In the past two years, the Foundation has provided more than $47,000 to fund grants that include Lange School playground equipment, elementary speech lab enhancements, LCD Projectors and Smartboards, science lab upgrades at the junior high school, a career and technical education interactive website for high school students, computer lab equipment at the junior/senior high schools and transportation for study trips.
The work of the Oakwood Schools Education Foundation is essential to the success of our students. The leadership exemplified by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees is extraordinary and the generosity of our community is inspiring – signature characteristics that directly benefit our students.
A number of local school districts in the USA and even several states have moved to provide an individual laptop computer for every student in certain grades. Which grade chosen has varied significantly from upper elementary to early high school so there has yet to be any clear research on whether or not this expenditure is worth the cost in terms of increased student achievement.
Our Oakwood Board of Education has brainstormed about such ideas, estimated the financial costs, and speculated about the best grade level(s) and subject area(s). We are looking for data/research findings and information from all possible sources. We will make no firm decisions until we have solid evidence for its basis.
For example a recent article from Australia caught our attention as it reports data which could impact any potential decisions we might make in the future. The eye-catching headline read, “School laptops to become ‘uninsurable’.” Since we are always very concerned about our school expenditures, this grabbed our attention big time!
According to this October 30, 2006 article from The Australian, “Schools may have to stop issuing children with laptop computers unless they (the youth) start looking after them as well as they do their iPods and mobiles, an insurance specialist has warned.” It seems that actual physical damage to the laptops has been escalating in recent years. The student computers were found to be 10 times more likely to be damaged than the same machines used by adults for personal or business use.
Laptops were found to be treated like textbooks being dropped, kicked out of lockers and backpacks, stepped on in the bus, and jammed shut with pens or other items still on the keypad. In contrast the iPods, MP3s and mobile phones were treated like gold because they were used for entertainment and keeping in touch with friends. Both factors are often culturally far more significant to the youth (and to adults too often) than is the care of expensive equipment used for learning and educational activity. The children may just be mirroring some adult behaviors they see far too often.
The article pointed out that the rate of damage was connected more to the culture of a school and whether it instilled a need to care for property, rather than whether it was a state or private institution. If insurance on laptops becomes unavailable, then the cost of providing (and replacing/repairing) them would become prohibitive for our very tight school budgets.
I can assure you that here in Oakwood this type of concern and data will be given a thorough analysis as we move forward on how to make the best use of technology to further the achievement of our students. For example, all of our Board members received a copy of this article several weeks ago as just one more type of information we must give serious consideration.
The Oakwood Schools Education Foundation (OSEF) is pleased to announce that grants in the amount of $26,993 have been awarded for the Fall 2006 cycle. Projects funded include:
Reading Lab at Smith Elementary: A circulating library of 2nd and 3rd grade books and “skill markers” (reading strategies to increase fluency and comprehension skills) will provide parents a specific strategy every two weeks to support their children’s reading development in the home .
Reading Intervention for Junior High School students: A matching grant for the purchase of a phonics-based, age-appropriate reading intervention software package to help strengthen basic reading skills in the seventh and eighth grades.
Forensic Science Teaching Materials for High School Science: A matching grant to provide laboratory equipment and experiments for the new elective high school Forensic Science course. Forensic Science is an emerging field that intertwines strands of biology, chemistry, and physics.
A Mobile Technology Package for JHS and HS Science Instruction: In some science classrooms, teachers and students have very limited access to computer equipment needed for teaching and laboratory work. This is a matching grant to allow staff to reach a majority of Oakwood students at both the junior and senior high levels, and to provide hands-on and simulated laboratory experiments. Careful thought was given to curricula integration, differentiated learning needs, and to the development of higher-level processing skills.
Digital Photography - Interdisciplinary Applications: A matching grant for digital photography equipment for joint projects between AP Studio Art and Biology students.
The Oakwood Schools Education Foundation (OSEF) appreciates the outstanding vision of Oakwood teachers and staff who submit innovative project proposals, and recognizes that while property taxes provide the major source of funding for a quality education, given state funding cutbacks, many high-quality initiatives would go unanswered without the Foundation’s discretionary funding.
OSEF awards grants twice a year: Spring and Fall. In 2006, the Foundation funded 10 out of 14 grant requests with awards totaling $38,204. OSEF seeks to fund innovative projects that: enhance excellence and enrich the academic opportunities of Oakwood students; extend above and beyond the district’s normal operating budget; and demonstrate partnership and collaborative efforts. OSEF also manages and awards 9 scholarships annually.
Founded in 1982 and incorporated in 1987, The Oakwood Schools Education Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization which accepts and disburses private charitable gifts contributed for the benefit of the Oakwood school system. Current trustees are: Bob Curry, Jill Farley Davis, Harry Ebeling, Dave Feldmiller, Ellen Ireland, Janine McQuillan, Jacqueline Miller, Becky Roess, Dottie Savage-Kemp, Mary Jo Scalzo, Paul Vanderburg, Chris Wallace, and Toni Winger.
If you are interested in more information, making a gift, or serving on one of OSEF’s committees, please contact the Foundation office at 297-5332. We appreciate the community’s interest and continued support of Oakwood students.
top of page
|
