Galloway Schools Making Use of Two Grants Heading Into School Year

Two teachers recently received grants that should help the Galloway Township School District as it heads into another school year.

third-grade teacher Theresa Dougherty recently received a grant for her work with children who are constantly relocated because their parents are in the military.

physical education teacher Angela McDonough has been named among three recipients of AtlantiCare’s Healthy Educator Award.

Dougherty has seen the difficulty children of military parents experience when moving around firsthand. Her husband is in the military, and she’s had to move her two children repeatedly.

“There are different standards for different schools from state to state,” Dougherty said, using Everyday Math as one example. “You move from one state to another, and it’s a very different program.”

Dougherty said she “definitely saw a need” for tutoring for children in this situation, which is why she began tutoring three years ago, with the help of the Rotary Club. 

She’s worked with children with parents in the Coast Guard, the National Guard and the Navy, and she recently received a grant from the Military Children Education Coalition for her work.

She has also begun working with the to use the school’s on-campus Service Learning Center for her to work with her growing number of students, which is up to 25 for the first time. Typically, she has worked with between eight and 10 students at a time.

Over the summer, she worked with 10 students in the . The summer school program is for children in Kindergarten through eighth grade.

For the first time, she’s working with students from outside Galloway Township, including those from Brigantine, Mays Landing and Egg Harbor Township.

“We created (the program) to help students catch up,” Dougherty said. “I’ve experienced the same thing first hand with my own children. … Curriculums differ from state to state, and I can feel for the children because I’ve been in the same position.”

Her children have gone through the school system, and now attend Rutgers and Rowan universities.

For all the children she works with, the goal is to not only bring them up to speed with their new school district’s curriculum, but to help them adjust socially. She also recognizes the need to work with the parents, who are often young and “just don’t know what to do,” Dougherty said.

“I also show the parents what they need to do,” Dougherty said. “They just need help, and if you give them a way to get that before they really need it, they’ll be more prepared, and more successful.”

Meanwhile, the Healthy Schools grant McDonough has received is a three-year grant that can be used in any way, including for staff, students and nutritional guidance.

“This year, our goal is to get kids more active because the obesity rate is soaring,” McDonough said.  “But if we frame it as we’re having fun, and learning lifetime activities, they can become healthier and have fun, too.”

McDonough said the school conducted an online survey, in which students gave their input as to what they wanted to see more of.

“They wanted more adventure activities, so we purchased a climbing wall,” McDonough said. “They tried it, and they kept going back.”

This was the first year making use of the grant, and McDonough would like to build on that success. She has been attending various workshops, collecting different ideas as to how to keep children active. The key is to continue to have fun.

"The goal is to become healthier, and to have fun, too,” McDonough said.