WCEF Announces 2023 Educator Grant Awards

by with 0 Comments

The Woburn Community Educational Foundation (WCEF) recently awarded 24 grants to Woburn Educators that support a diverse portfolio of exciting new programs, educational initiatives and proven learning enhancements across multiple disciplines at every grade level. This year’s program gifted a total of $20,676 to the Woburn Public Schools.  

These Educator Grants will purchase hands-on learning tools, deliver interactive classroom technology, increase access to music instruction and the performing arts, connect students with local history and celebrate the diversity of our community. We are proud to invest in these projects that create excitement in learning and support the academic success of all students.

“This year we were pleased to receive grant proposals from almost every school in the district, representing the diverse interests and needs of the students at each grade level. These Educator Grants directly support school and classroom based programs and represent our shared commitment to the educational experience and academic achievement of today’s students,” noted WCEF Executive Director Maureen Willis. “Since our founding in 2014 and the opening of our Grant Program in 2015, WCEF has awarded almost $200,000 directly to our schools as Educator Grants and has secured a total of more than $600,000 in new funding to support instructional enhancements and new projects. Working together we have brought some very exciting programs to our schools.”

Special thanks to the Cummings Foundation for its leadership support of WCEF and to the Winning Home Foundation for its continued partnership support and commitment to Woburn’s children as demonstrated by a 3-year grant to bring the Caring School Community program to the district’s middle schools.

WCEF is a nonprofit organization formed to increase private investment and community involvement in the Woburn Public Schools.  We invest in new programs and projects that cannot be funded by the regular school budget. To learn more about WCEF and to get involved, visit us online at www.woburnedfoundation.org.    

WCEF Announces 2022 Educator Grant Awards

by with 0 Comments

The Woburn Community Educational Foundation (WCEF) is pleased to announce our 2022 grant awards to support exciting new projects and educational initiatives across multiple grades and disciplines in the Woburn Public Schools.  Through the generosity of our community, $19,441 was granted to support 27 innovative classroom-based, whole-school and district-wide programs designed to introduce students to new concepts and technology, increase their understanding of our shared history and the world, and to support their social-emotional well-being and development. These funds will purchase hands-on learning tools, deliver interactive classroom technology, support the arts and expand the use of diversified texts, all to create excitement in learning and support the academic success of today’s students.     

“These grants represent an important milestone in the history of this educational foundation,” noted WCEF Executive Director Maureen Willis during the recent Grant Awards Presentation. “Since our founding in 2014 and the opening of our Grant Program in 2015, WCEF has awarded $170,000 directly as Educator Grants and has secured a total of $530,000 in new funding to support our schools.”

She told the assembled group of educators, “It is so wonderful to see you here, and to have the opportunity to thank you in-person for all you have done to support your students and our community during the past 2 years.”

Special thanks to the Cummings Foundation for its leadership support of WCEF and to the Winning Home Foundation for its continued partnership support that will fund a new out-of-school time program for the district’s ELL students, as well as five of the Educator Grants awarded this year.

WCEF is a nonprofit organization formed to increase private investment and community involvement in the Woburn Public Schools.  We invest in new programs and projects that cannot be funded by the regular school budget. To learn more about WCEF and to get involved, visit us online at www.woburnedfoundation.org.    

Winning Home Foundation Funds New Programs in Woburn Schools

by with 0 Comments

WCEF is pleased to announce receipt of a $15,000 charitable grant from Winning Home, Inc. to support the 2022 Educator Grants Program as well as a new out-of-school time program for Woburn’s low-income and English-language learner students. This year’s generous award brings the total investment from Winning Home, Inc. to $55,000 in just 6 years; past grants provided critical support to Woburn Schools during COVID-19, as well as funding for 35 innovative school-based projects that continue to benefit every student in the Woburn Public Schools. 

“Woburn educators are concerned about their most at-risk students, many of whom have experienced learning setbacks due to the loss of in-person instruction during COVID-19, explains WCEF Executive Director Maureen Willis. “To address this educational disparity, they have developed a new program, designed to offer engaging and educational experiences during school vacation and summer breaks to low-income and English language learner students. We were pleased to invite Winning Home to partner with us to fund this important new initiative.”

“Access to meaningful learning activities during out-of-school time has been shown to level the playing field for those who may otherwise academically fall behind their peers,” confirms WPS Superintendent Matt Crowley. “This grant will allow us to bring students in Grades 4-12 on excursions to local museums and places of historical interest across Greater Boston during school vacations, providing supplemental learning opportunities for our most at-risk students.”

Winning Home grants are helping to improve the educational achievement of Woburn’s most at-risk students, opening doors of opportunity in the future. These funds are making a difference for these students in every grade and at every school in the district.   We are grateful to the board of Winning Home for its continued commitment and investment in the potential of Woburn’s children.

About Winning Home:  The Winning Home Foundation was formed through the sale of land assets of what was locally known as “Winning Farm for Children”.  The sale process produced cash assets for long-term investment, and preserved approximately 50 acres of the farmland as permanent open space.  Winning Home, Inc. remains true to the spirit and intent of its benefactor by working “for the benefit of children who are economically, socially, physically, emotionally or mentally handicapped or disadvantaged and their families.” Since its conversion from a landowner to a charitable trust, Winning Home has made grants over $4.8 million to area charitable organizations.  Learn more at www.winninghome.org

Photo Caption:  Members of the Winning Home and WCEF at the recent check presentation. Pictured are (l-r):  Winning Home Board Member Michael Maher, WCEF Board Member Nancy Whalen, Winning Home Board Chair Robert E. Maguire, WCEF Board Member Colleen Cormier, WCEF Executive Director Maureen Willis, Winning Home Treasurer Chip Curran.           

WCEF Announces 2017 Educator Grant Awards!

by with 1 Comment

WCEF is pleased to announce the list of projects awarded funding as part of the 2017 Educator Grants Awards Program.  These projects were selected through a competitive review process, and reflect outstanding efforts by Woburn Public School teachers to develop innovative and interactive programs designed to engage their students in meaningful learning to support their academic success.

Congratulations to the 2017 Educator Grant Award Recipients

Presenting our 2016 Educator Grant Awards!

by with 0 Comments

The Woburn Community Educational Foundation is pleased to announce our 2016 grant awards to support educator-inspired projects and programs in the Woburn Public Schools.  The continued success of our fundraising activities and the generous investment of local organizations has resulted in a 60% increase in funds available to Woburn Educators this year.  We are grateful for the interest and support of the Greater Woburn Community in our efforts to bring new resources to our Public Schools.   

Our 2015-2016 Educator Grants Program received proposals that totaled more than $46,000 to support projects designed to provide enhanced learning experiences and individualized educational support for students at every school in the district.   We want to thank these educators for the time and effort they put into these proposals and for sharing their creative ideas to support student achievement. 

A Grants Committee, made up made up of members of the WCEF Board, was given the difficult task to review these proposals, and based on the constraints of our budget, recommend for funding projects which most closely met our goals to support innovative instruction, enriched curricula, and the creative use of learning tools and approaches in the classroom.  Through this process, we are proud to announce grant awards totaling almost $16,500 to fund 18 projects that we feel have tremendous potential to engage, excite and advance academic success in Woburn students.  In just two years, WCEF Educator Grants have invested almost $27,000 in the Woburn Public Schools. 

Congratulations to the 2016 WCEF Educator Grant
Award Recipients

 

Woburn Memorial High School:

Rosemary Donovan, Guidance:  $800.00 for EmWave Mindfulness System

Abby Gillis, English:  $1,000.00 for Travis Roy Motivational Speaker

Miller & M. Walsh, History:  $946.00 for Google Viewer Virtual Field Trips

Susan Thifault, Fine Arts:  $1,000.00, GoPro Video Production Program   


Joyce Middle School:

Joanne Young, Grade 8:  $850.00 for Connecting All Students with Technology


Altavesta Elementary School:

Judi O’Neil, Resource Room:  $1,000.00 for Customized Learning with IPads


Goodyear Elementary School:

Bethany Newman, Music Education:  $595.00 for Moving on the Musical Staff

Kathleen Sawyer, School Adjustment:  $1,000.00 for Wonder Books Anti-Bullying Program

Kerri Vasquezi, Life Science/English:  $500.00 for Life Cycle of Raptors Enrichment Program


Hurld Elementary School:

Marlene Faulkingham, Math:  $996.00 for IXL Technology Based Math Program


Linscott – Rumford Elementary School:

Susan Plamondon, 2nd Grade:  $890.00 for Lego Build to Express Program

Cheryl Dabrieo, 3rd Grade:  $890.00 for Lego Build to Express Program

Linda Riley, STEM:  $1,000.00 for AIM Project for Advanced Learners


Reeves Elementary School:

Marie LaCour, Art:  $1,000.00 for Historical Woburn Art Installation

Erin Murphy Dean, Resource Room:  $929.00 for Learning Literacy Technology Center

Bethany Newman, Music Education:  $982.00 for Making Ukulele Music


Shamrock Elementary School:

Pamela Barry, Resource Room:  $501.00 for Social Thinking Curriculums

Alicia McAnulty, Speech & Language:  $800.00 for Visualizing & Verbalizing Program

Thomas O’Halloran, Social Studies:  $800.00 for Virtual Multi-Cultural Classroom   

 

 

 

An Inside Look at Our Educator Grants Program!

by with 0 Comments

For anyone who wanted to take a peak at our Educator Grants Process, this post is for you!

During our first-ever round of Educator Grants in 2015, we received some truly awesome proposals from Woburn Educators. WCEF was proud to provide funding for these innovative projects; a complete list of grants awarded can be found here.

This year, we have received several requests to view an example of a WCEF Educator Grant Proposal and Report.

With permission, we are posting the grant proposal submitted by Linda Riley, an ELL Educator at the Linscott-Rumford Elementary School, as well as her Final Report on the results of her funded project:  Kindles for the Classroom.

Grant Proposal:  Riley Linscott Kindles for the Classroom 2014-15 Grants

Final Report:  Riley Linscott 2015 Kindles Final Report

We hope this inspires Educators in the Woburn Public Schools to participate in WCEF’s Educator Grant Program.  The deadline for our 2016 Grants is January 22, 2016.

Thank you for your interest and support!

 

WCEF Funds Wicked Cool Programs at the Shamrock School

by with 0 Comments

Second Grade Science students in Nancy Osgood’s class will enjoy the Wicked Cool for Kids Program, made possible with $1,000.00 in funding from WCEF.

Grade One students will have a Complete Leveled Reading Library Collection in Laura Rebelo’s classroom.  Her grant proposal was funded for $1,000.00.

Hurld School Educators Secure $3,000 for Innovative Programs

by with 1 Comment

WCEF was proud to award Hurld School Educators Maureen Kozachuk and Maura Hooper $1,000.00 each to fund the Lexia Reading Program for their third grade and first grade students.

Marlene Faulkingham’s second grade class will have access to cutting-edge educational applications on their new Ipads.  WCEF was proud to support this grant proposal with $1,000.00 in funds.

Congratulations to these innovative Hurld School Educators!

Music, Reading and Science Programs Funded with Educator Grants

by with 0 Comments

WCEF was proud to fund the following Educator-inspired projects as part of the March 2015 Grant Awards:

Bethany Newman, Music Educator at the Goodyear, Reeves, Shamrock and White Elementary Schools, wrote a proposal for instruments to incorporate a Rhythm & Drumming Program into her lessons.  She received a $480.00 grant.

Jessica Cefali’s proposal for the Feeding the Need to Read at Our Level Program for the Goodyear Elementary School’s Resource Room was funded for $998.00.

Goodyear Kindergarten students will also experience enhance learning through the Top Secret Science Program.  Shannon McDonough’s proposal to WCEF secured $1,000.00 for this project.

Congratulations!

WCEF Announces Educator Grant Awards

by with 0 Comments

The Woburn Community Educational Foundation is pleased to announce the first-ever round of grant awards to Woburn Educators.  These funds were made available through fundraising activities led by the WCEF Board during our first year of operations, to include our spring Teacher Tribute Campaign and Fall Womens Forum event, as well as donations from local businesses and individuals.  We are grateful for the interest and support of the Greater Woburn Community in these efforts to bring new resources to our Public Schools.

On December 22, 2014, we invited all Woburn educators at every school and in all subject areas to apply for grants of up to $1,000 to fund their great ideas, with a six-week deadline for requests of February 2, 2015.  We were very pleased to receive thoughtful and well-developed grant proposals from Woburn educators to support learning enhancements across a variety of curriculum areas, to include music and fine arts, reading, literature, STEM skills and technology.  We want to thank them for taking the time to submit these grant proposals.

A Grants Committee, made up of members of the WCEF Board, reviewed these proposals and recommended funding for all of the projects which met our criteria to support innovative instruction, enriched curricula, and the use of new technology and approaches in the classroom.   The WCEF Board of Directors has voted to approve funding for all these grants, which total $9,771.85.

Congratulations to the Educator Grant Award Recipients:

Woburn Memorial High School:
Sarah Dugan:  $750.00 for a Photography Lighting Workshop

Goodyear, Reeves, Shamrock & White Elementary Schools:
Bethany Newman:  $478.89 for a Rhythm & Drumming Program

Goodyear Elementary School:
Jessica Cefali:  $998.00 for “Feeding the Need to Read at Our Level”
Shannon McDonough:  $1,000.00 for ” Top Secret Science”

Hurld Elementary School:
Marlene Faulkingham:  $1,000.00 for Ipads for Classroom Use
Maura Hooper:  $1,000.00 for the Lexia Reading Program
Maureen Kozachuk:  $1,000.00 for the Lexia Reading Program

Reeves Elementary School:
Kimberlee Johnson:  $789.00 for  “Success with STEM Skills”
Keryn Landry:  $755.96 for Listening to Literature

Shamrock Elementary School:
Nancy Osgood:  $1,000.00 for ” Wicked Cool for Kids”
Laura Rebelo:  $1,000.00 for a ” Complete Leveled Reading Library”