Libertyville Elementary Dist. 70 awards mini-grants

Thirty Libertyville Elementary District 70 teachers have been awarded Partners for Excellence in Education grant monies this year to enhance education through innovative and creative new programs in their classrooms.

Seventeen grants totaling more than $ $6,250 were awarded to progressive teachers in five schools. There were 23 applications for the grants.

The grants are sponsored by Partners for Excellence in Education, a group of local business representatives who offer their time and financial donations to District 70. This is the 16th year for the partnership's "Mini-Grant Awards" program, which has awarded almost $100,000 over the years for direct use in the classrooms.

This year's grants will go to fund such programs as polishing writing and reading skills, buying books to help parents when their children have school problems, a new schoolwide system to improve student behavior, permanent games painted on school blacktop for Peaceful Playgrounds, creating calm classrooms, and buying drawing tablets for computers,

“These teachers go above and beyond what is expected in the classroom,” Supt. Dr. Guy Schumacher said of the mini grant winners. “This year they presented extraordinary grant ideas and the Partners are very excited.”

Two partners presenting the winning grants at a board meeting this week were David Stuart of Improv Playhouse and Michael Barbini of Libertyville Bank and Trust.

While Schumacher helps guide the business group with the grant applications, he steps out of the decision-making process. The business partners make all the final decisions based on core criteria set up for the grants.

The individual grants range from $61 to $500.

The recipients are:

Adler Park and Butterfield Schools

Denise Dorf, Angelia Pontarelli, Maggie Barrett and Janine Hogan. Speak for the Trees a Recycling Project. Kindergartners at both schools will focus on recycling after reading The Lorax,” trying to recycle enough paper to plant a new tree.

Adler Park School

Leah Shepard. Parents are Partners! Buying books to loan to parents with children having school related problems including dealing with gifted children, students with reading issues and what ‘Tweens do online.

Erin Carr. Read & Feed. Third through fifth-graders join a Read & Feed Book Club during lunch and review the books in a group.

Holly Simon. Adler Park School Student Council Leadership Invitational. Fifth-graders and Student Council members spend a day learning about leadership and team building, including after-school workshops on leadership for Student Council.

Butterfield School

Bill Etnyre, Pat Krech, Candice Kehoe and Andy Elbert. Buddy's Backyard.

Butterfield will transform the new, asphalt hardscape into a colorful arrangement of permanent games for students in Peaceful Playground.

Krista Panock, Amy Reichart, Linda Knoll and Maureen Rogers. I Know That.com. First-graders explore, through interactive website, a wide variety of academic subjects to engage their problem solving skills.

Copeland Manor School

Julie Jermakowicz, Becki Jo Miranda, Beth Weaver, and Amy Hay.

21-Century Writer: Using Service-Learning Projects to Develop Third Grade Writing Skills. Buy materials needed so third-graders can publish letters, books and poetry collections to be shared with selected local, state and national non-profit organizations.

Amy Hay. Fostering the Relaxed and Focused Classroom. Buy “The Calm Classroom Training Manual” and practice method to help reduce students' stress levels, anxiety and broaden attention.

Rockland School

Danya Greenberg. A Positive Behavior System for Rockland School.

Introduce a new student behavior program to monitor student behaviors utilizing the SWIS data system, as well as celebrating positive student behavior.

Danya Greenberg. Reading Around Town. Buy eReaders to encourage struggling student readers to read outside the classroom.

Linda Snader. Grammar Rocks! Students interact with one another and learn grammar while singing, acting drawing, coloring, reciting poetry and playing games.

Highland Middle School

Melissa Rosen and Kim Hauman. Digital Drawing: For Images and Animations (Second year). Buy graphic tablets to help eighth-grader applied technology students in Digital Art, Digital Storytelling and Animation create illustrations.

Crysta Sharp and Brianne Smith. Co: Writer 6 Initiative: A mini-grant for Innovation in Education. Each awarded grant to work cooperatively with Language Arts/Literature students to increase students' success with writing through new software. (Two mini grants as programs entered separately.)

Linda O'Connell and Katie Schwind. Let's Hear MORE TRUE Stories Providing Engaging Nonfiction Titles for sixth-graders. Students will work collaboratively as a team to read, discuss, question and make connections to non-fiction texts.

Kara Dirst, Carey Fox, Linda O'Connell, and Erin Wyatt. Virtually Connected: Authors and Students Discuss Reading and Writing.

Use video conferencing to connect students with published authors for discussions about literary elements and the craft of writing.

District Partners

The award money is derived from local businesses belonging to District 70's Partners for Excellence in Education program. Local companies working as partners include A Village Green Montessori School, Anomaly Art, Candlewood Suites, Cary M. Salm - State Farm Insurance, City Subs and Smoothies, Cross Ways Pre-School, Culvers Frozen Custard, Domino's Pizza, Encore Theatre, GreenAssociates, Growing with Grace Preschool, Improv Playhouse, Jersey Mike's Subs, Libertyville Bank & Trust, Libertyville Cooperative Nursery School, Marjo Graphics, Mickey Finn's, Music Now DJ Group, Papa John's Pizza, Picolo Soccer Club, Retirement Plan Consultants Inc., Stephen Parker, DDS, Sunset Foods, and Trattoria Pomigliano.