Here’s a Friday feel-good announcement for you. The CU Schools Foundation calls it the “Prize Patrol” (nice little nod to those Publisher’s Clearing House commercials). They will be delivering souvenir checks today to 108 teachers to fund 84 projects in Unit 4 and District 116, and that grant money will affect over 10,000 students in those districts. Here are a few of those projects, per the press release:
A creative collaborative effort will bring teachers and students together across the Champaign and Urbana districts. “Sensory Opportunities for all” will provide all K-5 classrooms at Stratton Elementary (Champaign) and Yankee Ridge Elementary (Urbana) with a variety of sensory materials to help students in both general and special education classes learn how to self-regulate sensory stimuli, reduce negative behaviors, and increase student attention and focus in the classroom. Partners from The Autism Program at the University of Illinois will train all teachers and staff in how to utilize these sensory materials in their classrooms. Stratton teacher Brittany Burzinski, and Nate Wahl from Yankee Ridge will be providing ongoing support for teachers in their respective schools. “This partnership will give all students support and offers resources to teachers and families from all populations”, says Ms. Bruzinski.
Funds for other proposals will be used to discover STEAM through electronics and game design at Jefferson Middle School, and expose students at Dr. Williams Elementary to the practices of environmental stewardship through a school wide composting and recycling program. At Westview Elementary, CUSF funds will support 3rd and 4th grade students developing their writing skills as they collaborate with the University of Illinois Theater Department in the Student Playwright Outreach Theater (SPOT). Students will write personal narratives to be given to the theater writing class at the U of I. In the spring of 2019, Westview students will go to the Coldwell Playhouse at Krannert to see their stories come to life in a live theater experience. Other projects include professional musical mentoring at Urbana high School, and dissecting materials for science classes at Franklin Middle School.
You can find the rest of the projects here.
Photos from C-U Schools Foundations’ Facebook