FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — The Freehold Township Education Foundation (FTEF) recently announced the recipients of the 2015 William J. Setaro Building Blocks for Innovation (BBI) grants program.
A total of four teacher-written grants were funded, divided among three schools in the Freehold Township K-8 School District among the Joseph J. Catena School, the Laura Donovan School and the Marshall W. Errickson School, according to a press release from the foundation.
“We received 12 outstanding applications from schools throughout the district,” foundation Vice Chair Denise Bartone said. “Each application was innovative and very well done. Congratulations to the winners!”
The single largest grant funded was for Colleen La Salle and Kim Mulligan’s grant “iPads for Art.” The Catena school teachers were awarded just under $5,000 to fund their project.
“Gone are the days of students watching a video or playing a quick multiplication game using a device; iPads are quickly emerging as one of the most powerful and engaging tools in education today. The students of the ‘new’ 21st century no longer just consume information from devices, they are capable of engaging in learning at a whole new level,” the teachers wrote in the grant.
The grant money will go toward building a mobile learning lab which will include 10 iPad Airs and a charging cart, along with various applications to help incorporate at least one digital art project across all grade levels, according to the press release.
The other recipients of the grant were:
“Smart Robots for Curious Minds” – Monica Hittinger and Jane Kablaoui, Laura Donovan School.
“MaKey MaKey: Bridging Science and Music for 21st Century Learners” – Julia Henderson and Kristen Kearney, Marshall W. Errickson School
“Enhancing Donovan Strong through Traverse Rock Climbing” – Ted Olsen and Tami Campfield, Laura Donovan School.
“It is our organization’s mission to fund initiatives that foster excellence in Freehold Township schools and I believe we were successful in that regard in the funding of these grants,” FTEF Chairman John Zalepka said.