Published in the November 25, 2016 edition

MELROSE – The Melrose Education Foundation is pleased to announce that it has awarded more than $22,000 in grants to educators across the Melrose Public Schools during its fall 2016 grants cycle. The grants will support a wide range of initiatives throughout the district from civics education and social emotional learning to music education and technology. For the first time, as part of this fall 2016 grants round, the Foundation is proud to partner with the Melrose High School PTO to administer $2,000 in PTO grant funding.

The newly awarded grants will directly impact students across the district and fund a range of educator-inspired projects, professional development opportunities and inquiry-based learning designed to engage students. Some of the grants build on successful programs previously funded by the Foundation, such as expanding the Generation Citizen civics education program and supporting Advanced Placement teaching in social studies. New initiatives include a composer-in-residence at the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School (MVMMS), Melrose High School (MHS) and all five elementary schools, as well as enhanced usage of the state-of-the-art Melrose Learning Commons.

Recipients were notified on Nov. 18 and the complete list of grants is now available on the Foundation’s website at https://melroseedfoundation.org/grants.

“Since its founding in 2013, the Foundation has awarded 149 grants to educators across Melrose, which is very exciting,” said Jen Grigoraitis, grants committee co-chair. “Yet, grant requests continue to outpace available funds. The Foundation received 30 grant applications from educators totaling over $35,000 during the fall grants cycle. Some grants were funded in full, some were partially funded and some grant requests were not able to be funded.”

Of the 20 grants awarded, 11 directly benefit Melrose High School and Melrose Veterans Memorial Middles School students, while 9 support elementary education.

“The Foundation is grateful to the individuals, organizations and local businesses who support our initiatives. We especially acknowledge the Melrose High School PTO for their partnership and the Melrose Cooperative Bank Foundation, which supported this fall grant round with a generous donation,” said Kim LaFontana, vice president of the Foundation.

Fall 2016 grants include:

• A music composer-in-residence at the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School (MVMMS), Melrose High School (MHS) and all elementary schools.

• Professional development for AP Social Studies teachers, instruction and test preparation for AP Social Studies students at MHS and MVMMS.

• Literature for Global Language teachers on the topic of teaching languages with proficiency, focusing on creating assessments and curriculum design at MHS.

• Expansion of Generation Citizen and Civics Day initiatives to implement the teacher-led version of these programs at MHS and MVMMS.

• Social skills staff training geared toward strengthening Positive Behavior and Intervention Systems (PBIS) practices at the Roosevelt School.

• A one week residency with writer/actor/director Steve Kidd in which students will write and perform their own dramatic pieces that will address social responsibility and action (MVMMS).

• Additional social-emotional learning resources to support students at the elementary schools, MHS and MVMMS.

• Equipment and resources to enhance the new Learning Commons and Makerspace at MHS.

• Instructional coaching, books and multimedia materials in math for all new teachers at the elementary level.

In addition to these grants, the Foundation will once again be funding the Melrose Summer Institute, which provides district-wide professional development to Melrose teachers in all subjects.

The Melrose Education Foundation launched in June 2013 with the mission of supporting innovation and excellence in Melrose Public Schools by raising funds to provide grants to educators. Since then, the Foundation has awarded 149 grants totaling more than $100,000, including the awards announced today. Learn more at: www.MelroseEdFoundation.org.