2 Brick Schools Receive $10K OceanFirst Grants

BRICK, NJ — Two Brick Township schools have received $10,000 grants from the OceanFirst Foundation through its Model Classroom program, the district and the foundation announced.

Brick Township High School and Emma Havens Young Elementary School each received the grants, which were presented at the Brick Township Board of Education meeting on Nov. 17.

The two schools were among 15 in Monmouth and Ocean counties to receive grants out of 86 that applied, the foundation said.

At Brick Township High School, the grant will be used to transform the current self-contained special education vocational classroom into a modern environment where students can thrive in the workforce, district officials said.

The proposal was written by staffers Darla Novick, Sherri Ryan, and Tiffany Aguayo, along with Principal William Kleissler, officials said.

"In this classroom, students will learn vocational tasks such as running a business, organizational skills, and interactive, hands-on activities that are critical in preparation for life after graduation," officials said. The space also will include a fully functioning school store run by the students, where both staff and general education students will interact with the special education students, "providing an additional opportunity for students to experience real-world situations."

At Emma Havens Young Elementary School, the grant will fund the creation of an active multi-station lab classroom, called "Movement for the Mind."

“The new space will look more like Facebook or Google offices," Emma Havens Young Principal Patricia Lorusso said. "The new model classroom will have yoga balls for chairs, stationary bikes and stand-up desks that promote brain-storming, creative thinking, origination and a healthy sensory system.”

The Emma Haven Young proposal was the result of a collaboration by 11 staffers: Kelly Constantino, Charissa Fromm, Stepahnie Hoff, Courtney Johnson, Cathy LaVance, Samantha Palermo, Jamie Pratt, Karen Salle, Jeanette Wehner, Nicole Wersingerm and Kourtney Wunderlich.

In addition, a partnership is planned with Ocean Mental Health, Meridian Fitness and Stevens Institute of Technology to provide professional development that will include topics on how to reduce stress and anxiety and how to infuse movement into an educational setting, Lorusso said.

"The Brick Township Public Schools and the OceanFirst Foundation share in the supported vision of innovation and creativity in the classroom while promoting a culture of academic excellence," district officials said in a news release. "Our staff has made us proud and we are honored to have such dedicated, innovated supportive educators throughout our district."

OceanFirst Foundation Executive Director Katherine B. Durante and Nina Anuario, senior vice president of business development at OceanFirst Bank, presented checks to the two grant winners at the Board of Education meeting.

Photo via Brick Township Board of Education