9 Stamford Educators Receive Grants For U.S. & Foreign Studies

STAMFORD, CT — Nine Stamford educators will receive grants totaling a combined $35,000 from the Dalio Foundation under the Fund for Teachers initiative to support professional learning efforts, announced Stamford Public Schools. According to the organization, Dalio announced a total of $650,000 in new grants on April 5, to support a total of 140 Connecticut teachers.

As FFT Fellows, grant recipients will embark on self-designed professional learning odysseys over the summer. This year, Stamford’s FFT Fellows will be traveling across the continental United States, as well to Hawaii, Costa Rica, Spain, the United Kingdom and Africa. These teachers will return with new insights, connections and tools to benefit their students.

Stamford’s 2018 FFT Fellows are:

• Deborah Chaikind, Stamford High School: Enroll in The Prince’s School for Traditional Arts and a course on the Art of Islamic Patterns in London to learn avenues for incorporating art into geometry classes and expose students to ways professionals use geometry in their jobs and lives.
• Jenna Cinelli, Dolan Middle School: Attend the Hawaii National Great Teachers Seminar to learn innovative and creative approaches to current educational problems and implement those solutions to improve students’ literacy skills.
• Tamara Dilworth and Robin Konrad, Westhill High School: Enroll in a Spanish immersion program in Costa Rica to improve Spanish communication skills, connect linguistically to our EL students and parents, and gain insight into education norms and standards in Central America.
• Susan Dougherty, Stamford High School: Attend NASA’s Liftoff teacher development program and the National Center for Earth and Space Science national conference for program directors whose students are sending an experiment to the International Space Station.
• Tammy Friedman, Cloonan Middle School: Develop under Barcelona artist Martin Brown skills to create “trencadis” mosaics popularized by Antoni Gaudi to teach this Spanish art from to students and collaborate on the creation and installation of similar murals throughout the school.
• Elisavet Kousidis, Rippowam Middle School: Attend the 2018 International Society for Technology in Education conference in Chicago to learn from experts how to re-engage learners with modern tools that significantly improve academic outcomes.
• Dorothea Mackey, Stamford High School: Create in Mozambique, Africa, a case study on the Sunshine Nut Company and Fair Trade Tourism to inspire entrepreneurship students in the creation of business plans incorporating sustainability and social responsibility
• Keely Norton, Scofield Magnet Middle School: Attend the International Society for Technology in Education conference in Chicago to create a library environment that increases teachers’ comfort-level with technology and supports student growth and engagement in the classroom.

Connecticut FFT Fellows were chosen by a committee comprised of teachers, school leaders, district administrators and community stakeholders. According to the organization, every fellowship application was read three times and carefully reviewed against FFT’s objective rubric.

Since 2015, the Dalio Foundation has invested more than $2.8 million in FFT, providing opportunities for nearly 500 Connecticut teachers to pursue professional learning fellowships.

A complete list of 2018 Fellows, their schools and their fellowships can be found here.

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