Suffolk Education Foundation Awards $18,000 in

Instructional Grants to Impact 4,000 Students in 2022-23

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The Suffolk Education Foundation is proud to announce its financial support of the following classroom instructional programs that will impact more than 4,000 students during the 2022-23 school year – a total of $17,955.  

 

Each year, the Foundation invites instructors at all Suffolk Public Schools to apply for up to a $2,000 for innovative projects within their classrooms. The programs that receive funding demonstrate the innovation of our teachers and their commitment to engage students in the classroom. The Suffolk Education Foundation has funded more than $375,000 in instructional grants over the years. 

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The Suffolk Education Foundation is excited to support the creativity of the dedicated teachers in Suffolk Public Schools.  These grants are made possible through the community’s financial support at events like our annual Milton Liverman Golf Tournament.

 

• Elephant’s Fork Elementary School – Arcing School and Home
  Each kindergarten and first-grade student would receive a keep-at-home literacy kit with instructions, tips, and ideas to encourage family involvement in learning. Impact: 180 students  … Rebecca Knight  ($1,056)

 

• Oakland Elementary School - Intro to Robots
  Fourth- and fifth-grade students will indulge in the world of robotics using technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots. Impact: 150 students … Holly Wulfekuhle  ($1,925)

 

• Nansemond River High School – Keys to Choral Success
  The chorus program will upgrade its piano lab with an expanded keyboard curriculum to assist student singers learn to read music, and more.  
  Impact: 150 students … Karen Waddell  ($1,415)

 

• King’s Fork Middle School - Lego BricQ: Exploring Science and Math through Motion with Sports
  With these Lego robotic kids, students will learn hands-on science and math through sports-type robotic challenges.  Impact: 800 students … Elizabeth Zartman  ($1,320)

 

• Nansemond River High School – 2nd Annual Earth Day
  Oceanography students will hold this second annual fair in April on Earth Day, designing their own games, activities, display boards, and student-made videos to promote environmental awareness. Impact: 150 students, plus school-wide participation … Angela McElroy  ($1,500)

 

• John Yeates Middle School - Xscape the Class
  Using riddles, locked boxes, and escape room design and techniques, students will review lessons as they unlock a series of boxes to try and Xscape the Class.  Impact: 100 students … Jeffery Seneca  ($500)

 

• King’s Fork Middle School - Reignite Your Research: Travelling Through Nonfiction
  All students will benefit from adding more library non-fiction library books, following a media center reorganization that weeded out underused and outdated books.  Impact: 800 students … Dacia McBride  ($1,000)
   

• Nansemond River High School – Poetry in Plain Sight: Suffolk
  Students from the three high schools will submit poems about Suffolk -- its history, people, businesses, and students. Four poems from each high school will be selected to display in area businesses.  Impact: 100 students … Carol Krauss  ($500)

 

• Creekside Elementary School – Hear in the Moment
  Early Start preschool students will benefit from a new Listening Center, with comfortable furniture, audio equipment, and a library of audio books.  Impact: 25 students ... Danielle Hare ($1,001)

 

• King’s Fork High School - Yorktown Field Trip for French Students
  Students taking French will explore the Franco-American connections at Yorktown included a guided museum tour to discuss how French troops helped us win the American Revolutionary War.  Impact: 40 students … Christina Havlin  ($1,260)

 

• John Yeates Middle School – Earth Science ROCKS!
  Earth Science students will benefit from hands-on lessons using mineral identification kits, rock kits, and plate tectonics manipulatives.  Impact: 50 students … Mary Francisci  ($752)
   

• Oakland Elementary School - Saving for a Rainy Day
  Preschool students in Early Childhood Special Education classes will add indoor playroom items to encourage large body movements and daily physical activity, especially when the weather does not permit outside recess time.  Impact: 20 students … Tonya Griffin  ($153)
   

• Oakland Elementary School - Writing is Fun
  This grant will add Boogie-Board writing tablets to replace the traditional and messy white boards, while also allowing the teacher to electronically track student writings.  Impact: 25 students … Bobbi Schuermann   ($325)

 

• Forest Glen Middle School - Ready or Not Tots
  Family & Consumer Sciences classes will add an infant manikin that simulates a baby’s varying needs, and hopefully take the glamour out of teen pregnancy as they experience real-world baby care.  Impact: 200 students … Patricia Alt  ($2,000)

 

• Kilby Shores Elementary School – Independent Reading Center
  First-graders will enjoy reading on their own with an expanded classroom library of non-fiction books, noise-cancelling headphones, phonics kits, and comfortable pillows.  Impact: 20 students … Megan Bales  ($1,600)

 

• Hillpoint Elementary School -  iRobot
  Adding the iRobots to the instructional experience will allow student exploration in all areas of computer science and STEM (science, technology, engineering & math). Impact: 700 students … Megan Farabaugh  ( $1,648)

 

A committee makes awards following an application process and review. The committee includes members of the Suffolk Education Foundation’s board of directors and volunteers. Selection criteria include academic impact on the most students, collaboration with other programs, and potential for sustainability.

 

If you are interested in making a difference in the lives of Suffolk Public School students, you can make a contribution to the Suffolk Education Foundation online at suffolkeducationfoundation.org or by mailing your tax-deductible donation to P.O. Box 394, Suffolk VA 23439-0394. Donations are accepted in honor or memory of individuals or in direct support of other initiatives like dual enrollment courses, AP test fees, and of course, scholarships.

 

The Suffolk Education Foundation (SEF) was founded in 1993 and received its IRS 501(c)(3) status in the same year. Since that time, the board has worked hard by developing a variety of fundraisers to raise additional donations and to ensure that students and staff of Suffolk Public Schools receive scholarships and classroom grants on an annual basis.

 

The mission of the Suffolk Education Foundation is to support Suffolk Public Schools by connecting the community’s talents and resources to expand educational opportunities for students and staff. Over the past 25 years, Foundation investment assets have grown to more than $500,000. By supporting Suffolk Public Schools, the Foundation is ensuring that the Suffolk community will have talented leaders and citizens long into the future.

 

For more information, please contact SEF President Patrick Belcher or visit the Foundation’s website at www.suffolkeducationfoundation.org

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