School Foundation awards more than $151,000 in grants

      Debbie Hyler, Executive Director of The School Foundation, presents 2014-2015 grants check to FSD1 board.

Florence 1 schools get 2 large projects, 5 small projects funded through charitable organization

Posted: Monday, May 19, 2014 6:00pm

By Shamira McCray, Morning News
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FLORENCE, S.C. – The School Foundation will distribute $151,771.93 in grant awards to schools in Florence School District 1 for the 2014-2015 school year.

Grants committee chairwoman Trisha Caulder announced the news at a reception held Monday night at the Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation Library.

"We were absolutely thrilled with the grants we received," Caulder said. "We wish we had more funds, because there were so many we needed to fund."

The TSF grants committee reviewed 19 applications that requested a total of $396,985. Five requests for mini-grants – projects under $500 – were funded for the upcoming year and will benefit classes at McLaurin Elementary School, Moore Middle School, West Florence High School and South Florence High School.

Of the 10 applications received in the major grants category, which includes projects of $10,000 or more, two were selected for funding.

"STEAMED! (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Driven)" will receive $137,550 and will benefit students at the district's three middle schools and three high schools.

"Ready2Rate" also was funded for $12,014.01.

"The purpose of our grant is to make sure students are prepared to reach any goal they may have," said Neal Vincent, FSD1 Director of Secondary Instruction. "It also focuses on problem solving and making sure they have those skills when they move ahead."

According to a TSF news release, the grant takes note that today's global economy is focused on high-growth and technology-driven careers, and FSD1 is charged to educate, prepare, and inspire all students to enroll in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, or STEM courses, and to promote innovative and creative learning experiences.

The grant application indicated that FSD1 believes that STEM integration along with arts integration throughout the curriculum — STEM plus arts equals STEAM — is imperative to ensure district graduates succeed by providing quality, personalized learning experiences that support development in four essential 21st century skills, or the 4 C's: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication.

In the STEAMED! Grant, the district has selected Project Lead the Way (PLTW) programs to assist with this effort. Through PLTW, students learn 21st century STEAM skills pertinent to becoming highly qualified professionals in a globally challenging society. Students learn how to communicate effectively, work in teams, facilitate discussions, practice professional conduct, think critically and problem-solve solutions.

Susan Rhodes, coordinator of PLTW for FSD1, said the STEAMED! grant was a quest to implement PLTW. The grant will be used for equipment needed to launch several classes under the PLTW program; automation and robotics, medical detectives, principles of the biomedical sciences and introduction to engineering design. For additional information, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT4FA1QqRZg&list=PLcCTPHuIP75L4OB5bdEiFmryWewqxbXRT

The second major grant winner, "Ready2Rate" will be directed by Floyd Creech, FSD1 Director of School Readiness, with a goal of improving the school readiness level of children entering school in FSD1.

Improved readiness will be achieved by increasing the ABC voluntary ratings of 10 child care centers, group child care homes or family child care homes in the FSD1 attendance zone. In order to increase these ratings, the project will include live and online child care provider training, five hours of monthly technical assistance by an early childhood educator, and four additional Start SMART resources currently in place.

The Start SMART resources include Start2Read book distribution, home visitors helping parents utilize the Start SMART website, Parent Child Home (PCH) Verbal Interaction Stimulation Materials demonstrations and child assessments using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test.

"My goal is that we'll have children entering school ready to learn," Creech said. "By touching the people that work in the child care centers, we will be able to touch a lot of children."

This year, 90 percent of the money awarded by The School Foundation was put toward the STEAMED! grant. Caulder said in order for students to be successful in the global marketplace, the skills they are going to learn with the STEAM program is unbelievable.

"The excitement, the hands-on approach, is absolutely necessary if these kids are going to be successful in our society," she said. "It is going to be easy for us to get our industries involved once they see the magnitude it holds for our students."

Caulder said the TSF grants committee looks for an innovative idea when choosing who they will award funds to.
Debbie Hyler, Executive Director of TSF, stated, "I am so excited about the learning opportunities that the STEAMED grant will bring to all of the secondary schools. I am confident that students will be better prepared for jobs in the areas of healthcare as well as manufacturing and industry. Students in these classes will create, design, build, discover, collaborate, and solve problems while applying what they have learned in math and science. The hands-on, project-based engineering and biomedical sciences courses engage students on multiple levels exposing them to areas of study that they typically do not pursue."

To date, TSF has distributed more than $961,000 in funds to FSD1.

FSD1 grants funded for 2014-2015 by The School Foundation

Steamed! (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Driven), $137,550, all middle and high schools, submitted by Neal Vincent

Ready 2 Rate, $12,014, Office of School Readiness, submitted by Floyd Creech

Using Technology to Build Language Skills!, $214.92, McLaurin Elementary School, submitted by Miriam Carsten

ReMARKable (Motivating Awesome Reading Knowledge), $500, Moore Middle School, submitted by Shellia Daniels Anderson

Research Gets Graphic!, $493, West Florence High School, submitted by Gail Hayes

At the End of the Ropes, $500, South Florence High School, submitted by Alli McKain

Smart Music, $500, South Florence, submitted by Ramonta Lee