Dec. 7, 2004 – The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) is pleased to announce the award of $21,000 in grants to 41 public school teachers on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. These annual grants are from the ANDERSON FAMILY FUND For EDUCATION at CFVI. Since initiating the teacher grants in 2002 the Fund has provided more than $63,000 in 122 grants.
The Anderson Family Fund was established to improve public education for economically disadvantaged children in the USVI by supporting educational enrichment programs unavailable as part of the regular school curriculum. "The Anderson Family and the Topa companies are very pleased to support the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands," said John E. Anderson, Chairman of Topa. "These funds will be put to good use in many different community-oriented projects in the Virgin Islands."
According to Dee Baecher-Brown, president of CFVI, grants from the Anderson Family Fund have been appreciated by students and teachers. "Teachers have been so grateful to have the opportunity to offer more to their students by providing special projects. They have sent reports, thank you letters, videos and pictures of the work their students have accomplished. When we look at the numbers, we estimate that close to 4,000 students have benefited from these grants in some way. It's an honor to work with donors like the Anderson family."
A committee of volunteers from the community carried out the difficult task of evaluating proposals and awarding $21,000 in grants to an impressive pool of more than one hundred applicants. Priority was given to proposals where students are directly involved in the project, creative strategies and activities are used to improve student learning, and outcomes are measurable and substantive. Forty-one grants ranging from $1,000 to $100 were awarded to support innovative projects in the classrooms. The attached list outlines the funded proposals.
The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands was established in 1990 to serve the children and families of the Virgin Islands. Currently there are more than 70 named funds at the CFVI. In the past year, CFVI awarded a million dollars in grants, scholarships and services to charities, nonprofit organizations, families and individuals in the USVI. CFVI also sponsors the Fatherhood Collaborative to focus on the importance of responsible fatherhood, and produced the fifth annual Kids Count report on the status of children and families in the USVI. The grants in the St. Croix District were:
1. Charles H. Emanuel School: Claudia Graham. School Community Partnership: As the school works to develop a community of readers, writers and thinkers our students will also establish a school-community connection partnership with the Senior Citizens at the Flamboyant Gardens on St.Croix. Story telling, role-playing, plays and choral reading will be the media employed to share what students have learned in the class room with the senior citizens. $1,000
2. Charles H. Emanuel School: Mable Henry. Weekly Reader – Expanding our World: In an effort to address the low reading scores of Charles H. Emanuel students on the ITBS test, the project will purchase a year's subscription to the Weekly Reader for each student. $790
3. Charles H. Emanuel School: Maria Aurora Stiles. Keeping our Roots Alive (Strengthening Community through the Arts and Culture): Keeping Our Roots Alive is an arts in education cultural enrichment approach through which young people are empowered to carry on the spirit of indigenous creativity. This makes use of a series of lecture/demonstrations in various cultural art forms. These are then followed by hands-on workshops where students will make the art form discussed in the previous class. $500
4. Eulalie R. Rivera: June Charles. African American Art Past and Present: During Black History month, students will be introduced to various African American artists. Students will be able to increase their artistic knowledge and background through biographical study of African American artists, critical analysis of each artist's style and technique as well as creative application of the styles and techniques studied. $250
5. Eulalie R. Rivera: Danica David. African American Art Past and Present: During Black History month, students will be introduced to various African American artists. Students willl be able to increase their artistic knowledge and background through biographical study of African American artists, critical analysis of each artist's style and technique as well as creative application of the styles and techniques studied. $250
6. Eulalie R. Rivera: Caroline A. Sackey-Lawrence. Scrabble Club: The project seeks to use scrabble to assist in the development of the students vocabulary, spelling and non spatial relation skills. $250
7. Eulalie R. Rivera: Yvonne P. Westerman. Having Fun While Learning: The aim of the project is to assist students in developing higher level thinking skills by providing reinforcement and enhancement of the instruction students receive in their regular classrooms. Skills are reinforced through the use of these board games and the listening center. $500
8. John H. Woodson Jr. High: Jane Meade. Camera in the classroom: In an effort to improve the literacy and science skills of our students and meet the mandates of our school improvement plan, the Science Department has identified this project, Cameras in the Classroom. The project will help to motivate our students to interact with their environment, learn science, language art skills and produce an authentic product that reflects their learning. $1,000
9. Juanita F. Gardine Elementary: Sheryl A. Muckle-Williams. Using Culture (Quadrille Dancing) to motivate students academically: The project seeks to expose students in grades 2-5 at the JG Elemenatry to the cultural art form of quadrille dancing. In so doing we will be making a contribution towards keeping our culture alive for generations to come. $250
10. Juanita F. Gardine Elementary: Veronica Prescott. Water, Water Everywhere: This project is designed to teach students about the importance of water for all living organisms. Through experiments, field trips, and presentations, students will learn about the dangers facing our water resources, and the need to protect our water from environmental hazards. They will learn about water quality, treatment, and the necessity of keeping drinking water safe. The similarities and differences of salt and fresh water ecosystems will also be explored. $500
11. Ricardo Richards Elementary: Bonovet Baptiste. Reading (Phonics) Learning Centers: The project seeks to set up hands-on learning centers where children who are having problems grasping early reading and phonics concepts can practice phonics and reading skills with a partner. This should help to increase the students reading scores. $250
12. Ricardo Richards Elementary: Grete Garcia. Learning Tools: To enhance students understanding and retention of information by using a hands-on method of learning. This will be done through purchasing necessary classroom materials $250
13. Ricardo Richards Elementary: Ermine Jeffers. Scrabble in School: The project will use Scrabble as an enrichment experience. Scrabble is a fun innovative teaching tool, which has been shown to contribute to the development and expansion of vocabulary, spelling and writing skills, as well as spatial relation skills. These skills are crucial to academic performance. $100
Individuals or businesses wishing to know more about CFVI or the funds should call 774-6031.
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