from the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation
The Groton Dunstable Education Foundation is pleased to announce its Fall 2007 grant awards. For this ninth cycle, GDEF [0] received nineteen grant applications totaling more than $9,400 in funding requests. The GDEF Board of Directors has voted to fund 14 of these grants for a total of $7,033. Four grants, totaling $2,050, were funded using a grant generously awarded to GDEF by the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation for programs supporting "Integration of the Arts".
Grants funded this cycle include:
- An "Author's Talk" by published author Sharon Wooding for 6th graders
- Museum of Science programs: "Engineering is Elementary - A Stick in the Mud [0]" for Flo Ro 2nd graders and "Weather: Wind, Water and Temperature" for Prescott 1st graders
- A Drawbridge Puppet Theatre performance and a sing-a-long for Boutwell students
- Differentiated learning centers and materials for guidance counseling groups at the Middle School
- Music and poetry workshops for Prescott 1st graders
- A lecture on the technology of high definition television for High School students
- Additional books for the education resource libraries at Swallow Union, Flo Ro, Prescott and the Middle School
Funding will also provide professional development opportunities for curriculum leaders focused on improving academic achievement for all students, Smartboard training for 5th grade teachers, and attendance at the National Science Teacher Association conference in Boston for the K-8 Science coordinator.
Over the past four years, the Foundation has funded almost $177,000 for 116 grants benefiting students at all grade levels in all six district schools. A larger spring grant cycle will close on March 1. To make grants possible, GDEF relies on the financial support of community members and area businesses. GDEF President Kerri Figueroa reiterates, "The support we have received to date has been phenomenal, and we wish to thank our Annual Giving Donors for their generous contributions. We also extend a huge thanks to our Gold Business Partner Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union of Lowell for their continued support of our organization. If you haven't yet participated, we hope you'll consider making a donation to our Annual Giving Campaign which will allow us to offer additional enrichment opportunities in our schools. Just visit www.gdefinc.org [1] and click on the "Donate Now" star!"
Be sure to look for a GDEF newsletter in your mailbox soon, and mark your calendar for GDEF's big fundraiser, the "Reach for the Stars" Benefit Auction on March 15 at the Groton School. For more information on the Groton Dunstable Education Foundation and a complete listing of grants already funded, visit www.gdefinc.org [2] .