2021-22 GRANT AWARDS

RSTD AWARDS

Summer Reading Initiative, RTSD Sue Dahlstrom

Grant Award: $7,775

Students scoring at least two levels below grade level in literacy are invited to participate in the Summer Reading Camp. These students represent some of RTSD’s most vulnerable students. Funding offers an incentive to attend Summer Reading Camp. Students can earn “Book Bucks” for each day they attend. On the last day of camp, students visit Children’s Book World in Haverford to purchase a book (or a few) of their choice using their Book Bucks. They also enjoy a frozen yogurt treat at So Fun Yogurt in Wayne.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AWARDS

Growing with STEM, IES Bill Hirt

Grant Award: $4,700

Funding supports the purchase of a vertical growing tower with 288 plant spaces. Using the vertical tower, elementary students are introduced to hydroponic farming, one of the fastest growing sectors of the agricultural industry that uses artificial lighting and limited water and power to grow food.

Play for Plays, WES Rick Goldstein

Grant Award: $1,000

Through the purchase of literature in a drama format, upper elementary students at WES can read and discuss quality plays while sharpening comprehension and fluency skills. This funding fulfills a missing component in the language arts curriculum.

Geodes Decodable Readers, WES Amy Chermela

Grant Award: $3,916.70

Funding supports the purchase of new Geodes Decodable Readers®, accessible, information-rich books for emerging and developing readers. Each book in the collection is designed to cultivate a deep reading experience, enabling students to apply decoding skills while building knowledge.

Orba Music Initiative, WES Ross Frey

Grant Award: $1,000

Funding supports a pilot program to expose students to a new form of technology called an ORBA, a self-contained musical loop creator made to fit in the palm of the hand. The ORBA gives students the chance to create and compose music and supplement their musical understanding of beat and the relationships between timbres and sound.

School Supplies, WES Gretchen Gerrow

Grant Award: $2,000

Funding purchases school supplies for the school’s financially disadvantaged students, allowing students to begin the school year knowing they have all the school supplies they need for a successful year.

Multilingual Multicultural Libraries, WES Sarah Steiner, RES Meghan Tomescu, &IES Teresa Park

Funding supports the purchase of more fiction and nonfiction books for the development of multilingual and multicultural libraries in the English Language Development classrooms. Recognizing that 18% of RTSD’s families report that they speak a language other than English, the new books represent the countries and cultures of the current students. The new libraries allow students to read and borrow books in their home language. This fosters a home-school connection with families that are learning English and will allow families to feel supported and to be active partners in the Radnor community.

RADNOR MIDDLE SCHOOL AWARDS

Girls Lead – RMSMojdeh Keykhah

Grant Award: $5,000

In partnership with the Women’s Resource Center this longstanding program focuses on developing positive decision-making skills and enhancing the interests, abilities, and character of middle school girls, resulting in increased self-esteem.

Garden Redesign- RMS Maureen McConnell &Patricia Klusman

Grant Award: $5,700

Funding supports the purchase of materials and supplies to renovate an existing garden space at RMS. The new garden offers a more usable, lower maintenance, and accessible space for students to have fun learning about gardening, understand the process of growing healthy foods, and make a real connection to the farm to table concept, while enjoying the results of their planning and planting.

Nathan Hale Author Presentation – RMS Keturah Duncan & Gina Visor

Grant Award: $2,000

The ability to engage the arts through illustrations in literature promotes a love of writing and supports the school’s ELA curriculum across grade levels. On February 15, 2023, Radnor Middle School will host Nathan Hale, author and illustrator of the Eisner-Nomination, New York Times bestselling graphic novel series on American history, Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales. All Radnor Middle School students will be able to attend one of two assemblies, which exposes students to the development and creative process of novel development in a fun, interactive, and creative way.

Back to School Supplies – RMS Celia Wampole

Grant Award: $1,110

Funding purchases school supplies for the school’s financially disadvantaged students, allowing students to begin the school year knowing they have all the school supplies they need for a successful year.

RADNOR HIGH SCHOOL AWARDS

League of Women Voters Registration – RHS Student William Meyer

Grant Award: $870

In partnership with the League of Women Voters , funding supports voter registration activities in Radnor High School. Prior to graduation, each high school senior receives voter registration information and a sweet treat from Insomnia Cookies.

PTO Multicultural Committee Holi Celebration – RHSEsther Choi

Grant Award: $2,000

Funding supports the purchase of supplies for the second annual Holi Celebration at Radnor High School, a Hindu celebration that includes music, dancing, games and food, and culminates with the throwing of bright and colorful powder called gulal. Organized by the Multicultural Committee of the RHS PTO , this event celebrates and
recognizes the diverse and varied cultures that make up the RHS community and perpetuates one of RTSD’s core values of respecting and valuing diversity.

Zen Den – RHS Students Eleanor Adams & Chris Goncher

Grant Award: $6,084

Funding supports the purchase of comfortable, durable, and high-quality furniture to provide a place for students experiencing stress or anxiety to relax and unwind in the RHS library. A complement to the flexible seating planned for the school library, the new “Zen Den” will have a set of guidelines that ensures that the space is used for its intended purpose of supporting the mental health of the students.

Flexible Updated Library – RHS, Michelle Wetzel

Grant Award: $9,774

Funding supports the purchase of new furniture that provides an area for flexible large group, small group, and individual seating opportunities for RHS’s 1,200 students, as well as over 100 teachers and staff. The new furniture allows for more flexible, mobile, creative, and instructionally active space.

COMMUNITY AWARDS

RCSE Speaker Series -Radnor Committee for Special Education- Nicky Mendez

Grant Award: $3,500

Funding supports a four-part series providing parents, educators, support staff and various community stakeholders the best practices for inclusive education and how to effectively implement them virtually.

The Radnor Educational Foundation Grants Committee meets three times during the academic year to consider grant applications submitted by teachers, administrators, parents, and community members. Grant facilitators are assigned to each grantee to help shepherd the process. Guidelines for Submission are at: www.radnoreducationalfoundation.org/grant-process