Rockville Centre Education Foundation donates almost $31K to district schools

The Rockville Centre Education Foundation will once again enrich the learning experience of district students, as its president, Delia Garrity, was joined by grants committee chair Nancy Richner to present school district officials with a check for $30,853 at the Board of Education meeting on May 25.

The money will be used to fully or partially fund 13 of 25 proposals the foundation received from district teachers and administrators for the 2010-11 school year. Each building will receive money for at least one project. Despite the challenging economy, the foundation was able to donate over $10,000 more than it did for the current school year, raising most of the money during its annual gala in April.

“We received more requests [this year] but we were able to give more because of the community’s generosity,” said Richner, adding that members of the grants committee were impressed with the quality and creativity of the proposals and ideas.

Richner said committee members also noted the number of district-wide proposals this year, indicating a strong sense of collaboration among Rockville Centre’s educators.

A number of the proposals, which requested amounts that ranged from $400 to $15,000, involve Residencies Inspiring Students in Education (RISE). Others are technology-based, for long distance learning and video-conferencing, which Richner said really take advantage of the newest technologies and the opportunities that go with them.

One of the grants being funded this year — Scholars in Cyberspace — will enable South Side High School to help the International Baccalaureate program pilot long distance learning.

“We saw it as an opportunity to be on the cutting edge of where learning is going,” she said.

Projects receiving Education Foundation funds in the 2010-11 school year include:

“Winning Wars: Air and Submarine Power, in World War II and Beyond,” $1,363, for South Side High School and South Side Middle School to support a trip for 30 students in grades 7-12 to the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum led by the military historian and college professor who guided the Gettysburg program in 2009.