Assistance League of Diablo Valley's Scholarships Teacher Grant Recipient Expresses Gratitude

By BETTY MILLER (Open Post)

One of eight philanthropic programs of Assistance League® of Diablo Valley, Scholarships was established in 1999. Each year, this program has offered financial aid to high school and college students who demonstrate the need and desire to improve their lives by furthering their education. Since 2007, the Scholarships Teacher Grant Committee has awarded grants, 96 in total, to deserving classroom teachers in the Pittsburg and Mt. Diablo Unified School Districts for funding student enrichment programs.

One Teacher Grant recipient, 11-year veteran Elizabeth Swanson, has taught kindergarten, transitional kindergarten and, presently, a combination of the two emphases at Mt. Diablo Unified School District’s Silverwood Elementary School, in Concord.

At Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s October regular meeting, Ms. Swanson defined the need for a teacher grant by citing a language/vocabulary and interaction disparity between children of lower socio-economic families and those of higher socio-economic families as presented in The Thirty Million Word Gap. This discrepancy adversely affects disadvantaged children’s performance later in life, a discrepancy addressed by the Core Curriculum Standards endeavor.

Through the use of science kits, journaling and parent-involved, small group instruction, Ms. Swanson’s model emphasizes the power of the spoken language to increase verbal and social skills while building a strong “stem*” content vocabulary. “Stem” content knowledge focuses on science, technology, engineering and math, terms required for jobs of the future, jobs to be facilitated by group problem solving. This innovation fosters scientific and higher level thinking and fine motor skills that propel primary grade school students into such areas of study as nutrition, plant life, ornithology and scientific experimentation.

Ms. Swanson added that each year’s “Stem” adventure culminates with a field trip to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, in Walnut Creek. After profusely thanking Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s Scholarships Program’s Teacher Grant committee for funding her instruction model, Ms. Swanson updated its status by stating the need to lower group size in order to increase student engagement.

To date, five of Assistance League of Diablo Valley’s eight philanthropic programs support children in their respective learning environments. More specifically, these programs promote a multisensory approach that appeals to all types of learners.

To read more about Assistance League of Diablo Valley; please visit this website: diablovalley.assistanceleague.org.