By: centraljersey.com
MILLSTONE – The Millstone Township Foundation for Educational Excellence (MTFEE) on Friday awarded six grants totaling $24,036 to township schools, including 15 iPads.
Since 2002, MTFEE – a nonprofit organization devoted to funding extraordinary educational experiences for Millstone’s public school students – has awarded more than $410,000 in grants to its schools.
In keeping with its mission, MTFEE is the first organization in the district to fund the use of iPads in the classroom. This is not the first time that MTFEE has been the first organization to fund an innovative pilot program for which the district did not have funds. Other examples include funding the first Smart Board in 2002 before they were the norm in classrooms; first Mobile Lab for the language arts program in 2003; first Mobile Computer Lab for the math department in 2005; and first Mobile Music Lab in 2007.
Following is a listing of the grants awarded Friday and the recipients:
– iRead: Using iPads to Promote Literacy in Developing Readers, $8,259. Third grade – Lisa Kennedy, Jennifer Kohn and Michelle Williams.
Overall, 15 iPads will give students an advantage in the areas of technology, scholastic advancement and literacy. Specifically, they will be used to:
* provide enriching word study and decoding skills, as well as vocabulary opportunities where students interact with words through apps such as Clicktionary;
* build a model for, analyze and build student fluency by enabling students to record themselves reading and have the text read back to them in apps like Sundry Notes or iBaldi;
* develop reading comprehension, allowing students to simultaneously take notes, draw visualizations and record their own audio while reading a book in any of the notepad apps like Penultimate, Notability or Chalkboard;
* give immediate feedback of student work through the eClicker app, which will allow teachers to take quick polls of the students in the group to see how they are progressing throughout the lesson.
– LabQuest Learning: Linking Science and Mathematics, $7,825. Sixth, seventh and eighth grades – Beth Topinka.
The nine LabQuest handheld computers and sensors will provide students with the ability to collect, display, graph and analyze earth, life and physical science data in lab, classroom and fieldwork settings.
LabQuest lessons address national STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) initiatives, helping students prepare to compete for higher education and future careers where math and science literacy are essential.
– Nonfiction Collection Development, $4,704. Pre-K through fifth grades – Francine Kamen, district librarian).
Collection of current and appealing nonfiction books to supplement the primary and elementary schools libraries’ collections in support of the curriculum. Topics include biomes, solar system, energy/matter, presidents, dinosaurs and Revolutionary War to name a few.
– The Write Stuff Columbia University Writing Project (TCRWP) Summer Institute, $1,700. Third and fifth grades – Jennifer Kohn and Sara Stofik.
Two teachers will attend TCRWP, an organization that is on the cutting edge of current trends in education. Its staff is committed to helping teachers turn their classrooms into richly literate writing and thinking workshops. The project’s mission is to enable young people to become avid writers and thinkers through research, curriculum development and by working with students, teachers, principals and superintendents.
– National Council of Teachers of English annual convention, $1,130. Seventh-grade language arts – Kathryn McKenna and Rachael Moriarty.
Two teachers will attend workshops during the convention to provide them with additional continuing education from the foremost professional organization in literacy education, to bring the most timely and effective practices into Millstone Township classrooms.
– Talkies Language Development Program, $418. Pre-school through second grade – Patricia Marzzullo.
Program of instruction for young children with severe weakness in oral vocabulary and language expression including students on the autism spectrum. The goal of the instruction is to develop mental imagery (pictures in the mind) as a base for language comprehension and expression.
"In tough economic times, when school districts are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain their high educational standards, MTFEE is able to provide the means for students to have the opportunities and tools to keep them current and truly excel to meet their full potential," said Melanie Napp, grant chairperson. "The teachers who submitted grants for items they feel will enhance their students’ education worked hard to compile their submissions. So it’s always an exciting and gratifying day when the MTFEE Grant Patrol surprises them and sees their tears of joy and smiles."
Grants are awarded in spring of each school year. Once applications are received and compiled, the grant committee (consisting of the trustees who are nominated onto that committee) has an opportunity to review them individually and then come together as a group to discuss them before their recommendations are presented to the MTFEE board for final approval. The committee uses a grading system, similar to a rubric that the teachers use, during the review process to fairly evaluate the applications.
For more information about MTFEE or becoming a trustee, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.mtfee.org and see the MTFEE on Facebook.

