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Photo: Bryan Goodchild
Seventeen Worcester Public Schools’ teachers received nearly $23,000 in mini-grants this year, funded by the generosity of UMass Chan Medical School employees and students through the North Quadrant Support Services initiative.
“This grant isn’t going to just help us prepare for the new school year, it’s going to also support us in the years ahead,” said school adjustment counselor Leah Hall, one of five teachers at Roosevelt Elementary who received funding. “It provides us with the tools we need now, allowing us to put interventions in place in a timely fashion.”
Hall received a $1,500 grant to enhance the resources available in the school’s Multi-Tiered System of Support, a framework that provides targeted academic, behavioral and social-emotional support based on students’ individual needs. The funding will help expand the counseling office’s psychoeducational library, provide motivational prizes for behavior charts and more. According to Hall, as many as 120 high-needs students will benefit from the grant.
Christina Anderson, a board-certified behavior analyst at Roosevelt, received a $1,500 grant to help build out the school’s sensory room which serves more than 100 students. The sensory room serves students with sensory processing challenges and helps in developing self-regulation, improving behavioral outcomes and increasing access to learning.
“The students need a space to be able to get their sensory needs met or reinforced,” Anderson said. “I applied for this grant to help us provide these students with more options throughout their school day. It will help us create different corners of space in our sensory room and allows us to purchase essential, durable sensory equipment that addresses a range of sensory needs.”
Also supported at Roosevelt are special education teacher Juliana Kallio, whose project will provide independent literacy materials for students with varying reading abilities; third-grade teacher Sofia Clark, who is using a grant to expand her classroom’s library; and first-grade teacher Katie Swan, whose project will improve classroom technology, including the purchase of a wireless camera for the classroom’s interactive screen.
Other funded projects at five schools across the quadrant included YMCA memberships and fitness and swimming lessons for students in North High School’s Life Skills Program; supporting the production of “The Crucible” by the North High Performing Arts Program and the school’s after-school theater program; a field trip to the planetarium at the EcoTarium for third-grade students at Belmont Street Community School; a field trip to Berlin Orchards for Lake View School kindergarten students; and more.
“Supporting Worcester Public Schools through the North Quadrant Support Services initiative is one of the many ways UMass Chan employees and students can make a direct impact in the communities where we live and work,” said John Erwin, vice chancellor for government relations at UMass Chan. “These mini-grants give educators the flexibility to provide their students with resources and experiences that can make a meaningful difference in their learning and development.”
The grants were funded by students, faculty and staff who directed their UMass Chan Cares charitable campaign donations to North Quadrant Support Services.
