IPEI Awards 16 New Teacher Grants

The Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) has awarded 16 new Teacher Grants totaling $19,055 for projects that will engage more than 1,500 students in educational enrichment programs during 2015-16 school year.

Teachers across the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) have developed with community partners a variety of innovative programs in math, science, history, literacy and the arts. 

“The grants show the amazing creativity of our teachers, from using drones to monitor vegetation changes to exploring a piece of art in its cultural setting to using rhyming and music to develop early literacy skills,” said Sandy True, chair of the IPEI Teacher Grant Committee. “Our community has a deep passion for education, and IPEI has channeled this energy to assist our teachers in creating an environment where our students enjoy learning!”

One of the Teacher Grants will bring a geographic information specialist (GIS) to science classrooms at DeWitt Middle School and Ithaca High School to learn about energy decision-making. “Creating science curriculum around real-world problems and providing opportunities for students to learn and practice the skills that will enable them to address one of our biggest challenges is what motivated me to create the IPEI project,” said Laura VanVleet, science teacher at DeWitt. “Almost every day, the topic of energy is in the news, both globally and locally. Every citizen needs to be involved in the conversation, but the content and the skills involved are complex. Media literacy skills, data and map analysis, debate, and opinion writing with evidence are just some of the skills we will tackle. Having targeted curriculum that addresses these skills and the science content will help young people become a part of this conversation, and at the same time become engaged in activities that foster critical thinking and motivation.”

At Beverly J. Martin Elementary School, a Teacher Grant will help improve literacy skills of fourth-graders through an interdisciplinary approach to studying poetry and other writing techniques, map-making and social studies practices, and photography and short films. “We want to present our fourth-grade writers with ‘listening-learning-noticing-knowing’ structures paired with literacy pieces like poems, books and short films,” said Sarah Wolff, a local poet collaborating with BJ Martin teacher Katie Dietrich Cacciotti. “We believe that the saturation of literacy processes will yield infinite reading and writings from the students.”

Other projects include a Wassa Pan Afrikan Dance Ensemble performance at Lehman Alternative Community School in February for Black History Month, Pre-K through fifth-grade workshops with a graphic novelist at Fall Creek Elementary School, and a study of Medieval and Renaissance periods in European history by tenth-grade global students at the Johnson Art Museum at Cornell.   

All 2015-16 Teacher Grants are listed below and at ipei.org.

The annual deadline to apply for an IPEI Teacher Grant award of up to $1,500 is November 1.

IPEI is a community-based not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that develops supportive community and private sector relationships with the Ithaca City School District.  Founded in 1996, IPEI is committed to connecting school and community through collaboration, engagement, gifts and grants.  For more information, see www.ipei.org or contact 256-IPEI (4734).

By Heather Zimar, IPEI Public Relations Committee

IPEI Teacher Grants 2015-16

Harmonious Harps at Belle Sherman                                                                                            

Cindy Daly/Belle Sherman with

Lisa Craig Fenwick, Professional Harpist

Inside Outside Upside Down: Discovering the World through the Language of Dance              

Sheri McWhorter-Wyckoff and Mary Anne Camel/Beverly J. Martin with

Lisa Tsetse, Choreographer

Scaffolding to Infinity                                                                                                                       

Katie Dietrich Cacciotti/Beverly J. Martin with

Sarah Wolff, Poet

Yoga Storytelling and Strengthening a Sense of Self                                                                  

Sarah Smith and Kelly Craft/Fall Creek and Beverly J. Martin with

Diane Hamilton, Yogi and Storyteller

ELEVATE Science Learning with Drones*                                                            

Brian VanGorder/Caroline with

Matt Sacco, Cayuga Nature Center, and CUAIR Cornell University Drone Club

Where in the World                                                                                                              

Kerri Burke/Caroline with

Mary Beth Ihnken, Artist

Energy Decisions: Problem-Based Learning for Enhancing Student Motivation and Critical Thinking in Middle and High School Science *                                                                                               

Laurie VanVleet/DeWitt and Ithaca High with

Karen Edelstein, GIS specialist

Using Rhyming and Music to Build Early Literacy Skills                                                            

Sharon Ciferri/Enfield with

Judy Stock, Musician

Barry Deutsch Author Visit                                                                                                 

Allison Andersen/Fall Creek with

Barry Deutsch, Author

Fall Creek Family Dance      **                                                                                            

Karla Notarianni/Fall Creek with

Victoria Armstrong, Dance Caller, and Dave Davies, Musician

English 10 / English 12 Viewing of Macbeth (2015) at Cinemapolis                                               

Michael Reiff and William Asklar/Ithaca High School with

Brett Bossard, Cinemapolis

Medieval and Renaissance Extravaganza*                                                                        

Cassidy Fisk/Ithaca High School with

Carol Hockett, Johnson Museum of Art, and Maryterese Pasquale-Bowen

Reforesting Chestnut Street                                                                                               

Sarah Jane Bokaer/LACS with

Pamela Markham, Horticulturist

LACS presents Wassa Pan Afrikan Dance Ensemble                                                                 

Marcy Little/LACS with

Nana Kwasi Anim, Director of Wassa Pan Afrikan Dance Ensemble

How to Keep Our World Healthy and Clean for Everyone and Everything                            

Emily Kerry/Northeast with

Tompkins County Solid Waste, and Cayuga Compost

Take One Picture                                                                                                                 

Alison Pritz/South Hill with

Carol Hockett, Johnson Museum of Art, Jai Hari Meyerhoff, Yogi

*Selected to be funded by the Charles E. Treman Jr. Teacher Grant Endowment of the Tompkins Charitable Gift Fund in memory of the former president of the Tompkins Trust Company.

**Selected to be funded by a gift from a retired ICSD teacher who encourages the integration of music into elementary classrooms.