Nearly $20,000 in grant money from the New Jersey Education Association Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Excellence in Education has been awarded to two area teachers to begin a pair of special projects starting this year.
Rita Williams, an art teacher at the New Egypt Primary School and the Dr. Gerald H. Woehr Elementary School in Plumsted, received $7,500 for the Our School Museum project.
Josh Langenberger, a science teacher at Howell Memorial Middle School in Howell, was awarded the $10,000 Leonard Koch Grant for Mathematics for the C:REBOOT project.
C:REBOOT stands for Construction: Robotics Engineering that Builds Original Opportunities Through Technology.
Their projects were two of 11 in New Jersey to be awarded a portion of the $88,600 in grant money that was available this year.
The Hipp Foundation was created to provide assistance to projects throughout the state that “will enhance and improve the learning environment in our public schools,” according to a press release from the NJEA. Since its establishment in 1993, the foundation has awarded more than $1.6 million for 312 projects.
This year’s grant awards mark the second time Williams has received money for a project in as many years.
Williams’ Blue Skies Project from last year was designed to bring children closer to nature while strengthening their understanding of technology and the creative process.
For the 2013-14 school year, Williams’ project will focus more on the artistic efforts of the pupils in preschool through first grade at the New Egypt Primary School.
“I am going to dedicate a space where [the students] can hang their artwork on real gallery panels,” Williams said. “We are going to dedicate a space in the lobby which will be our school museum.”
Professional picture frames and matting will be purchased with the grant and will replace the regular way of hanging students’ artwork on the wall with masking tape, the teacher said.
Williams said the theme of the “museum” will change on a monthly basis, with the first set based on the works of Vincent Van Gogh.
A family night will be part of the project, offering an event where friends, family members and other pupils can peruse the students’ artwork and enjoy apple juice and cheese and crackers — rather than the wine and cheese that is served at some gallery openings.
“When the students are able to see their work … it is going to make them feel good about themselves,” Williams said. “We are going to celebrate the fact they do beautiful artwork.”
In Howell, Langenberger said his project came from a desire to introduce students to a new area of learning.
“It is a wonderful opportunity and a terrific concept for students to learn,” Langenberger said. “This is really an ideal circumstance to bring together kids who may have different skill sets.”
As an adviser for the Technology Student Association (TSA), Langenberger said he got the idea when a former student of his saved money to purchase a VEX robotics kit in order to compete in the annual TSA conference’s robotics competition.
Grant money for the C:REBOOT project will cover the purchase of six classroom and competition VEX robotics super kits and a custom arena in which the completed robots may compete, as well as any additional expenditures.
Each kit costs about $1,000 and comes with the base model, two add-on kits and extra components. The arena will be 12-feet by 12-feet and contain objects the robots will have to move into a scoring location during the competition.
With a focus on subjects found in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Coalition, Langenberger believes the students who participate will get a unique learning experience.
“What we have found is that kids like building, so this grant opportunity is providing them the resources to combine their skills and work collaboratively on a project,” Langenberger said. “This serves as one of the best learning experiences we can offer that is not currently being offered.”