Page through for information about grants awarded in previous cycles.
Foundation for Belmont Education
Innovative Teaching Initiative Professional Development Grants
Approved April 2021
| Colleen Foley and John Bracey |
Chenery and Belmont High School |
Diversifying Latin Curriculum for Grades 6-12 | to pay for professional development and teacher time for Latin teachers to support their work to diversify the Latin curriculum, adding more representation of people of color, various ethnicities, and other examples of diversity into the curriculum through the resources used in the courses | $2,100 |
| Deb McDevitt and Lisa Hurtubise |
Belmont High School | Integrated Project for 9th Grade Students in World Geography | to provide teacher time to enable staff to collaboratively define a focus area and create a driving question for an integrated project among the English, social studies, and physics classes that connects content and supports the application of skills in an interdisciplinary way for all 9th grade students | $1,800 |
| Isaac Taylor and Sarah Winn | Belmont High School | Restorative Justice: Tier 1 Circle Training for Students and Staff | to fund the Institute for Restorative Initiatives to provide training for a pilot group (15 staff) in the practice of Circles as part of a Restorative Justice model to prepare pilot groups to serve as liaisons and guides as we include more community members next year |
$7,570 |
| ITI Professional Development Awards |
$11,470 | |
| GRAND TOTAL | $50,995 |
Foundation for Belmont Education
Special Initiative and Innovative Teaching Initiative Professional Development Grants
Approved May 2019 for FY2020
| Applicant | Target School | Award Title | Grant Purpose | Amount |
| Elizabeth Baker | System-Wide | 6-12 Science Modeling Professional Development | to fund 4 science teachers and 1 curriculum director to attend a two week content based workshop to learn approaches called for in the 2016 STE Curriculum Frameworks and for teacher time to revise and incorporate new teaching techniques to the curriculum | $8,950 |
| Deborah McDevitt | Chenery Middle School | Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices in World Geography | to fund curriculum development time for 3 teachers to create simulations to introduce high-level concepts for Grade 7 world geography that align with and support culturally responsive teaching practices and promote effective information processing | $2,160 |
| Elizabeth Baker | System-Wide | National Association of Science Teachers Conference Boston 2020 | to fund 18 teachers to attend the 2020 National Conference on Science Education for workshops, demonstrations, and presentations by nationally renowned speakers focused on the best practices in science education | $8,100 |
| Colleen Foley | System-Wide | Pathway to Proficiency in the Foreign Language Program | to fund professional development by Rebecca Blouwolff in 3 two-hour workshops for foreign language teachers at BHS and Chenery in the area of innovative teaching practices in the classroom that align with new recommendations for best practices | $2,300 |
| Rosa Inniss | System-Wide | Restorative Practices Training | to fund a consultant to assist the staff at Belmont High School and Chenery Middle School to research, design and implement Restorative Practices for building a positive school culture and climate | $5,705 |
| Jaynene
Dellitt-Young |
Elementary-All | Understanding Dyslexia Online Training | to fund an on-line course for 9 elementary reading specialists to provide a deeper understanding of what dyslexia is, how to identify the signs and symptoms, and to dispel myths about this learning disability so as to better meet our student needs | $1,800 |
| Patricia Soliozy | Belmont High School | The Beauty of Math | to develop multiple high school elective courses with a focus on non-traditional mathematics, by studying a) the intersection of math and the arts and (b) game theory, highlighting the intersection of math, economics, and sociology | $1,800 |
| Jessica DeFrances | Elementary-All | Targeted Professional Development for First Grade Teachers in Outdoor Learning | to fund professional development and provide resources so that all first grade teachers will be able to teach science outdoors | $1,480 |
| Lindsey Rinder | Chenery Middle School | Strengthening the Upstander Experience – 8th Grade Holocaust Unit | to fund curriculum development time for three 8th grade English teachers to extend the existing Upstander/Bystander curriculum to allow students to access first-hand, real-world experiences that will impact them on a deeper, more meaningful level | $1,200 |
| ITI Special Initiative Professional Development Awards (FY20) | $33,495 | |||
| SPECIAL INITIATIVE: | ||||
| Janice Darias | System-Wide | Project Based Learning, Teacher Work Time | to allow the 35 participants of the 3 day Project-Based Learning (PBL) Institute in June 2019 to each receive up to 12.5 hours of curriculum development time to create PBL units to implement in their classes | $17,500 |
| GRAND TOTAL | $50,995 |
Foundation for Belmont Education
Special Initiative and Innovative Teaching Initiative Professional Development Grants
Approved May 2018 for FY2019
| Target School | Award Title | Grant Purpose | Amount | |||
| System-Wide | Project-Based Learning, Grades 5-12 | to offer a 3-day Workshop on Project-Based Learning (PBL) to 35 teachers led by the nationally-recognized Buck Institute for Education, two additional days of on-site support by Buck Institute experts, and staff time for the 35 participants for curriculum development work to create PBL units to implement in their classes | $23,000 | |||
| System-Wide | Social and Emotional Learning as Core Practice in the Belmont Public Schools (for 2018-19) | to sustain and enhance the district SEL Framework through the creation and implementation of an SEL foundational course offered annually to new teachers, continued parent workshops on SEL, and continued administration and analysis of climate surveys from parents, staff, and students | $10,950 | |||
| System-Wide | Active Anti-Racism and Cultural Proficiency to Improve our African-American/Black Achievement Gap | to continue to improve the learning outcomes and school experience for our African-American/Black students through professional development, both required and elective, and consulting with experts in the field of anti-racist and culturally proficient teaching | $24,000 | |||
| Special Initiative Awards (FY19) | $57,950 | |||||
|
Innovative Teaching Initiative Professional Development Awards Approved for FY2019: |
||||||
| Applicant | Target School | Award Title | Grant Purpose | Amount | ||
| Elizabeth Baker | Belmont High School | Curriculum Development for Intro to Robotics Course | to incorporate the new VEX robotics kits into the new Intro to Robotics course | $800 | ||
| Danielle Betancourt | Elementary-All | Fostering a Responsive Classroom Community | to provide two sessions of an introductory workshop of ‘Responsive Classroom’ to 30 educators each at all four elementary schools | $4,800 | ||
| Deborah McDevitt | Chenery Middle School | Integrating Civics Education into the 8th Grade Curriculum | to provide training for one 8th grade teacher through the Primary Source workshop Strengthening Civics Education Throughout the K-12 Curriculum and time to share the learning and collaborate with the 8th grade team to expand the focus on Civics in 8th grade | $720 | ||
| Deborah McDevitt | Chenery Middle School | Teaching about Africa in World Geography | to provide training for one 7th grade teacher through the class, “Africa and Africans: The Making of a Continent in the Modern World” and time to share the learning and collaborate with the 7th grade team to expand the focus on teaching about Africa in World Geography | $480 | |
| Lindsey Rinder | System-Wide | STARI Tier 2 Reading Intervention for ELs | to incorporate the STARI Tier 2 Reading Intervention into the BHS EL curriculum | $1,175 | |
| Patricia Soliozy | Belmont High School | Using Technology to Enhance the Statistics and Data Analysis with Applications Course | to revise and enhance the High School Honors Level Statistics course to integrate technology, projects, and current real world applications into the curriculum | $2,000 | |
| Jaynene Dellitt-Young | Elementary-All | Writing Homegrown Institute
(Summer 2019) |
to provide a Homegrown Institute for writing in grades 1-4 from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project | $10,745 | |
| Patricia Soliozy | Belmont High School | Math and Social Justice: An Interdisciplinary Course | to begin working on a new course at Belmont High School that will be interdisciplinary (math and social studies) and will examine social justice issues through the lens of mathematics | $1,200 | |
| Deborah McDevitt | Belmont High School | Support For Economics Students Using Digital Tools | to provide time for teachers to develop MOOC components for economics courses such as video tutorials, organized study groups, and interactive user forums to improve and to expand student learning of content and skills | $1,000 | |
| Torrance Lewis | Chenery Middle School | New England League of Middle Schools Annual Conference | to allow six middle school educators to attend the New England League of Middle Schools Annual Conference to learn innovative methods to connect with students and increase student achievement at Chenery | $2,190 | |
| ITI Special Initiative Professional Development Awards (FY19) | $25,110
|
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| GRAND TOTAL | $83,060 | ||||
Foundation for Belmont Education
Special Initiative and Innovative Teaching Initiative Professional Development Grants
Approved May 2017 for FY2018
Special Initiative Award Approved for FY2017
| Belmont High School | BHS Auditorium Pianos | to partially fund the purchase of two new concert pianos for the BHS auditorium | $ 2,500 |
| Special Initiative Award (FY17) | $ 2,500 |
Special Initiative Awards Approved for FY2018
| System-wide | Achievement Gap Professional Learning | to provide professional learning for all Belmont educators to learn about race, our students’ experience, and how we can improve the experience for our African-American/Black students to create the optimal climate to support their learning | $ 21,980 |
| System-wide | Social Emotional Learning,
2017-18 (year 3) |
to continue training in the knowledge and practices of SEL, including instruction in facilitation skills for SEL steering committee members, and a workshop series, which will be led by the SEL consultant | $16,600 |
| System-wide | Studying Skillful Teaching, 2017-2018 | to offer a course for 25 teachers in June 2018 on the research-based best practices in all aspects of teaching and learning for Professional Development | $15,375 |
| Special Initiative Awards (FY18) | $53,955 |
Innovative Teaching Initiative Professional Development Approved for FY2018
| Applicant | Target School | Award Title | Grant Purpose | Amount |
| Elizabeth Baker | Belmont High School | Curriculum Development for 3D Printer Inclusion | to incorporate the new NVBots 3D printer into the curricula for Computer-Aided Design and Electronics and Intro to Programming | $1,600 |
| Deborah McDevitt | Belmont High School | News Literacy | to create a curriculum to build student critical thinking skills around appropriately accessing and analyzing media in the digital age, with a view to incorporating these skills into research and historical study throughout the rest of high school and beyond | $1,800 |
| Jessica DeFrances | Elementary | Math for Teachers: Online Course with Jo Boaler | to provide 35 elementary teachers, special educators, specialists, and administrators with professional development in the area of mathematics | $2,800 |
| Elizabeth Baker | System-wide | Belmont attends the MAST Conference | to send Belmont Science and Technology teachers to the state’s annual Science Teacher (MAST) conference to be inspired and bring back new ideas to the district as we design curriculum to support the 2016 Standards, particularly focusing on Science and Engineering Practices | $750 |
| Elizabeth Baker | Belmont High School | Professional Development on the Science and Engineering Practices for BHS | to further the BHS Science department in aligning with the 2016 Massachusetts STE Curriculum Frameworks by more actively engaging students with the Science and Engineering Practices in every course | $750 |
| Danielle Betancourt | Butler School | Professional Development for Third Grade Google Classrooms & Digital Literacy | to provide innovative professional development to Butler’s third grade teachers and specialists to increase their skills and capacity to effectively support students to use Chromebooks for creative and collaborative learning | $1,800 |
| Amy Spangler | Wellington School | Sara Ward Executive Function Training | to build awareness and expertise among Wellington staff and parents regarding executive functioning | $3,150 |
| Lindsey Rinder | Chenery Middle School | Analyzing and Creating Digital Media | to build the ability of 6th and 7th grade Chenery students to analyze and, centrally, create digital media to present information and share their own stories | $2,970 |
| Jaynene Dellitt-Young | All
Elementary |
Units of Study for Teaching Reading Implementation | to provide additional Units of Study for Teaching Reading kits to all 2nd grade teachers, as well as the time to collaborate and plan instruction during the summer months, and to purchase additional kits for other grade level teams to support study groups during the 2017-2018 school year | $13,325 |
| Elizabeth Baker | Chenery Middle School | Teacher Teaching Teachers Geology | to utilize teacher expertise to share content knowledge with other grade levels preparing to teach geology under the new Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework | $2,740 |
| Danielle Betancourt | Butler School | Fostering a Culturally Responsive Community for Learning | to help the Butler School continue to develop into a culturally responsive community that effectively supports and challenges all of learners | $2,821 |
| Elizabeth Baker | Belmont High School | Neurobiology Curriculum Writing | to modify the existing Neurobiology curriculum to include more Science and Engineering Practices and opportunities for collaborative learning | $2,400 |
| Lindsey Rinder | Belmont High School | Senior Capstone Project | to reinvent the senior thesis for a new generation of learners in order to increase student choice and voice | $2,720 |
| Colleen Foley | System-Wide (BHS & Chenery) | Incorporating Innovative Teaching Practices in the Foreign Languages | to provide foreign language teachers with work time to develop lessons, learning activities, and assessments incorporating innovative teaching practices acquired during FBE funded workshops so that students will be able to further develop their abilities to communicate in the target language | $3,800 |
| Steve Mazzola | Belmont High School | Belmont High School Instructional Technology Team | to form an energetic team of up to fifteen teachers at Belmont High School who will collaborate to support the successful integration of technological resources to promote student learning | $9,895 |
| Lindsey Rinder | Chenery Middle School | A Differentiated Non-Fiction Reading and Media Literacy Curriculum | to strengthen middle school students’ ability to analyze media and detect “fake news,” as well as improve the 6th grade non-fiction reading class by adding opportunities for challenge and extension | $3,429 |
| ITI Special Initiative Professional Development Awards (FY18) | $56,750 | |||
| GRAND TOTAL | $113,205 |
Foundation for Belmont Education
Special Initiative and Innovative Teaching Initiative Professional Development Grants
Approved May 2016 for FY2017
| Belmont High | Innovative Teaching Initiative, Year 4 | to purchase technology-based learning tools (iPad technology) as part of Year 4 of the FBE’s Innovative Teaching Initiative. | $60,125 |
| INNOVATIVE TEACHING
INITIATIVE AWARD |
$60,125 | ||
| Systemwide | Social Emotional Learning
2016-17 |
to continue training in the knowledge and practices of SEL, including instruction in facilitation skills for SEL steering committee members, and a workshop series, which will be led by the SEL consultant. | $38,000 |
| Systemwide | Studying Skillful Teaching | for Professional Development for 2016-2017. | $14,500 |
| Systemwide | Analyzing Teaching for Student Results | to allow four district leaders (evaluators) to attend a course which provides a common language for evaluators and educators to talk about effective instruction, and equips evaluators with the tools and knowledge to support their ability to observe and give effective feedback to educators. | $ 4,800 |
| SPECIAL INITIATIVE AWARDS | $57,300 |
| Applicant | School | Title | Purpose | Amount |
| Deborah McDevitt | Belmont High | Creating an International Economics Summit at BHS | to provide training for teachers to create an International Economic Summit at BHS and planning time for teachers to develop the curriculum to prepare students to participate in the Summit. | $1,635 |
| Elizabeth Baker | Belmont High | Creating Computer Models in Physics Class | to develop computer models of computer code covering each of the 13 units of study in a typical physics curriculum. These models will consist of computer code, written in either the Python or VPython languages, that can control visible objects on the computer screen. | $ 800 |
| Applicant | School | Title | Purpose | Amount |
| Patty Soliozy | Belmont High | Project Based Learning in Algebra 2 Honors 1 | to implement project based learning into the Algebra 2 Honors 1 curriculum to allow students to demonstrate mastery of content through creative and collaborative methods rather than strict use of formal assessment. | $1,200 |
| Lindsey Rinder | Chenery | Supporting
Our Students Through Nonfiction |
to invigorate the English Language Arts curriculum through an inquiry approach to learning, expanding our repertoire of high-interest, non-fiction leveled texts and incorporating current events via online resources, to improve both student engagement and student understanding of the form and function of non-fiction while building background knowledge. | $3,360 |
| Elizabeth Baker | Belmont High | Zoology for the Future | to innovate the BHS College Prep Zoology curriculum to align with current research, technology, school and district priorities by researching other curricula and reading materials, creating a framework for the curriculum, and incorporating SMARTBoard and iPad technology into the curriculum. | $1,800 |
| Jaynene Dellitt-Young | Winn Brook | Immigration Unit Development,
4th Grade |
to enhance the 4th grade Immigration Social Studies Unit including professional development from Primary Source, planning time to further develop this curriculum, and the opportunity to incorporate a classroom field trip to the Commonwealth Museum and the Kennedy Institute during the 2016-2017 school year. | $6,255 |
| Applicant | School | Title | Purpose | Amount |
| Deborah McDevitt | Chenery | Interdisciplinary Innovation in Grades 5 & 6 using iPads | to provide planning time for teachers to apply their learning from the Creating Digitally Curious English, Humanities & Social Studies Classroom training and create interdisciplinary lessons and projects in grades 5 and 6 ELA and social studies classes. | $2,000 |
| Deborah McDevitt | Belmont High | Using GoogleEarth to Extend Student Learning in Modern World History | to enable the incorporation of the Google Earth application into the Modern World History curriculum in order to expand the course’s global reach and relevance for students. | $1,095 |
| Colleen Foley | Belmont High | Utilizing Authentic Interviews to Aid Cross-Cultural Proficiency and Linguistic Development | to provide French and Chinese teachers with curriculum development time to allow innovative lesson planning integrating the new online resources which facilitate language development and cultural proficiency. | $2,000 |
| Jaynene Dellitt-Young | Winn Brook | Massachusetts Reading Association-MRA 2017 | to allow 15 reading specialists and special education teachers to attend the Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA) conference April 6-7, 2017. | $4,500 |
| Tricia Clifford | Burbank School | Open Circle Training for Specialists at Burbank | to provide Open Circle Training to specialist teachers at the Burbank School to support the Social Emotional Learning curriculum. | $ 800 |
| Colleen Foley | Belmont High | BHS Language Lab Improvements for Collaboration | to upgrade the BHS Language Lab system to facilitate improved collaboration, integrate iPad technology, and extend learning beyond the classroom. | $12,152 |
| PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
TO SUPPORT INNOVATIVE TEACHING |
$37,597 |
| GRAND TOTAL | $155,022 |
Foundation for Belmont Education
Special Initiative and Innovative Teaching Initiative Professional Development Grants
Approved May 2015 for FY2016
| BHS | Innovative Teaching Initiative | To purchase technology-based learning tools (iPad technology). | $95,805 |
| INNOVATIVE TEACHING
INITIATIVE AWARD |
$95,805 |
| District Wide | Small Technology Fund | To train staff in 11th grade and beyond in iPad related curriculum opportunities and to hire a consultant to provide teacher support during this transition. | $10,000 |
| District Wide | Social Emotional Learning Program | To fund planning for a district-wide Social-Emotional Learning program. | $25,000 |
| BHS | Innovative Teaching with iPads | To train staff in 11th grade and beyond in iPad related curriculum opportunities and to hire a consultant to provide teacher support during this transition. | $17,700 |
|
SPECIAL INITIATIVE AWARDS |
$52,700 |
| Applicant | School | Title | Purpose | Amount | ||||
| Jaynene Dellitt-Young/Janet Carey/Amy Spangler | Wellington & Winn Brook | Integrating Technology into Reading Instruction and Intervention with the iPad | To train reading specialists on iPad applications to assist in their literacy intervention strategies. | $1,490 | ||||
| Lindsey Rinder | Chenery | Project Based Learning: Of Mice and Men Mock Trial | To enable the eighth grade English teacher team to collaborate and strengthen the 8th grade “Of Mice and Men” mock trial experience by utilizing community resources and research. | $3,360 | ||||
| Deb McDevitt/Heidi Pasternack | BHS | Innovating Modern World History Curriculum using new Technology and the iPads | To attend Ed Tech Teacher training and spend four days doing curriculum development to redesign the Modern World History class with innovative classroom instruction utilizing the iPad. | $1,555 | ||||
| Lindsey Rinder | BHS | Creative Writing: Finding Your Voice | To redevelop the Creative Writing Course at Belmont High School utilizing new resources and technologies. | $600 | ||||
| Colleen Foley | BHS | Utilizing Authentic Interviews to Aid in Cross-Cultural Proficiency and Linguistic Development | To fund the online program (“This Is Language”) that will be incorporated into the lesson planning in order to enhance the curriculum of the High School Spanish classes. | $4,300 | ||||
| Jessica Baron | BHS | Using “The Physics Classroom” | To incorporate a new resource (“The Physics Classroom”) website into the ninth grade curriculum to enhance students’ learning. | $800 | ||||
| Patty Soliozy | BHS | Using Technology to Investigate and Analyze Multiple Representations of Functions in Algebra 1 | To integrate technology by adopting a new iPad accessible textbook in the Algebra 1 curriculum and lesson planning for ninth grade students. | $800 | ||||
| Arto Asadoorian | All Elementary | K-4 Music Curriculum Review – Updating and Enhancing the Student Experience | To provide working sessions for all four elementary Music Teachers to update and enhance their instructional activities allowing students to learn in ways that are more relevant to today’s students. | $1,800 | ||||
| Arto Asadoorian | BHS | iPad Training, Smart Music and Assessment – Updating and Enhancing the Student Experience | To train staff on integrating SmartMusic software into performing ensembles at BHS. | $1,180 | ||||
| Jaynene Dellitt-Young | All Elementary | Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) Professional Development | To provide all four elementary school reading specialists three days of training in Leveled Literacy Intervention to support this system already being utilized in the district. | $1,900 | ||||
| Janet Carey | Winn Brook & Butler | EmPOWER Writing Intervention | To send three elementary special education teachers to the EmPOWER Writing Course in order to learn strategies for implementing successful writing intervention, plus six hours each of collaboration time. | $2,970 | ||||
| Jaynene Dellitt-Young | All Elementary | Daily 5 Online Seminar and Study Group | To allow 25 elementary teachers to participate in an online summer seminar on the Daily 5 to develop strategies for structuring classroom literacy time. | $4,645 | ||||
| Jaynene Dellitt-Young | All Elementary | Shared Inquiry Course from the Great Books Foundation | To provide 25 teachers, specialists and aides in grades 2-4 access to a two day shared inquiry course to in order to have same foundation across all elementary buildings. | $5,625 | ||||
| Janet Carey | Winn Brook | Examining Student Motivation and Learning a New Approach for Teaching Children with Behavioral Challenges | To provide a half-day of training next fall for all staff at the Winn Brook school as well as three day workshop for the guidance counselor in Collaborative Problem Solving. | $3,275 | ||||
| Amy Spangler | Wellington | Furthering Growth Mindset Professional Learning | To train a core group of staff to become “experts” on teaching and implementing Growth Mindset in the classroom. | $600 | ||||
| Tricia Clifford | Burbank | Open Circle at the Burbank School | To train the three third grade teachers at Burbank in Open Circle Curriculum. | $3,000 | ||||
| PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO SUPPORT INNOVATIVE TEACHING |
$37,900 |
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|
GRAND TOTAL |
$186,405 |
Highlight Fact
Annual giving to our teachers and administration exceeds $200,000.
