Education Foundation Awards Arlington Schools $12,000

Editor’s note: The following information comes from an Arlington Education Foundation press release.

Arlington Education Foundation wrapped up its fall grant cycle by awarding more than $12,000 in innovations in education grants to support creative learning initiatives in the . Seven grants were awarded to teachers, staff and parents who will implement their projects in classrooms, libraries and academic departments.

The World Languages Department at will implement the use of iPod Touches in their classes. Student studying a foreign language will create digital stories in their target language. This technology can also be used as interactive classroom “clickers” and to provide assessment data for teachers.

All and  elementary students at the Bishop School will work on collaborative art projects based on world cultures they are learning about in social studies.

A digital film and animation pilot program will enable Arlington High School’s Visual Arts Department to create a small digital media studio. The program will be integrated into the Digital Photography II course as well as Capstone Projects, and will collaborate with local public access channel .

students in grades 1-3 will strengthen their spelling skills with a premium membership to Spellingcity.com.

In an effort to engage both struggling and reluctant readers, the Arlington High School Library will add iPod Shuffle players loaded with audiobooks—including required novels and plays for grades 9-11—to its collection.

teachers will test a more cost effective way to build an interactive whiteboard, to be used with existing LCD projectors.

At , a fifth grade class will pilot the use of Kindles during guided reading groups in an effort to engage readers and improve comprehension.

“We are pleased to fund these quality projects," said Rebecca Steinitz, president of the Arlington Education Foundation. "It is exciting to support the district’s Technology Plan with low-cost, innovative projects that focus directly on classroom needs, from interactive whiteboards to supporting struggling readers.

"We are also thrilled to expand our curriculum via the arts, through the new digital media studio at Arlington High School and the schoolwide art and social studies program at the Bishop School. AEF is proud to be a resource for a diverse array of programs that support all aspects of classroom life in Arlington.”

The next opportunity for Arlington teachers, administrators and community members to apply for an Innovations in Education grant is April 15, 2012.

The Arlington Education Foundation works to support and advance public education in Arlington. AEF funds systemwide initiatives and creative new projects to enhance the educational experiences of Arlington’s teachers and students.