Teacher Grants By Year
CURRENT GRANTS AWARDED TOTAL $189,436
The Mamaroneck Schools Foundation has approved funding for the following 14 grants totaling $189,436 for the 2024-2025 school year. Every school in the District is represented and these grants will have an impact on the entire community.
HMX Lunch Soccer Program
Grantees: Adriane Hirsch-Klein, Bryan Suertegaray-Santana
School: Hommocks Middle School
This grant will provide soccer clinics during lunch recess facilitated by experienced soccer coaches. This program, which will hopefully serve as a pilot for future recess programming at HMX, is important for students who need structured activities in order to play safely during recess, build healthy peer relationships, and promote overall camaraderie. This grant will take place in the Spring and Fall 2024.
Elevated Energizers
Grantees: Carolina Pelaez, Kari Cooke, William Byron
School: Mamaroneck Avenue School
This grant aims to revolutionize the climbing equipment for the PE department at MAS—encompassing the spirit of the ninja warrior, gymnastics, and the challenges of a comprehensive fitness course. The grant will fund the purchase of climbing equipment including a climbing net, scaler net, ninja course, and mats. This equipment, combined with the climbing curriculum, will promote physical fitness and also contribute to the social and emotional wellness of the students, enabling students to explore different forms of physical activity, fostering curiosity and enthusiasm. This equipment expansion will benefit mainstream students while also creating an inclusive environment for adaptive students.
New Town Center Turf Field
Grantees: Bari Suman, Kristen Barnard
School: Mamaroneck High School
This grant will provide funding toward the renovation of the annex field at the Town Center, which will create a turf, multi-sport practice facility for use by MUSFD athletic teams, MHS Physical Education classes, and community youth sports leagues. The new annex field, next door to MHS, will allow MHS and HMX athletic teams to have an additional practice space, which will alleviate the need for multiple teams sharing space on Memorial Field and provide better opportunity for game preparation. The new field will also provide MHS Physical Education classes with an additional outdoor, all-weather option for their classes.
*This grant is funded by the The Jatin and Bharti Shah Family Foundation.
Spanish Club
Grantees: Tania Lopes, Melissa Cruz-Gomez
School: Central School
This grant will fund a new Spanish club at Central School that will enable students to learn about Spanish language, culture, and history outside of the classroom. This pilot program will work to further the students’ love for the Spanish language and introduce them to different aspects of Hispanic culture through music, art, and literature. In addition to highlighting the diversity of our own community, the club will utilize the Level Up Village Program, a digital platform that allows cultural collaboration between students from around the world. Through this collaboration, students can build communication skills and collaborate with global peers.
MHS Community Garden
Grantees: Carly Markowitz, Matthew Alonge
School: Mamaroneck High School
The Mamaroneck High School Community Garden will provide students with hands-on learning experiences through a multidisciplinary approach. Students will plant and harvest herbs, fruits, and vegetables for the Culinary Program, Transition Academy’s life skills classes, and the larger MHS community. This grant funds landscaping and excavation work at MHS and the installation of custom-made raised beds and raised planter boxes in the enclosed garden, gardening supplies including a wheelbarrow, buckets, shears, shovels and trowels, picnic tables, and starter planting supplies such as seed packets, organic fertilizer and plant food.
Sensory Hallways at Central
Grantees: Ilene Zucker, Linnea Fargo, Cassandra Domeika
School: Central School
This grant will fund two sensory hallways at Central School that will transport students to a realm of tranquility: one hallway by the Pre-K, kindergarten, and 1st grade classrooms; and one hallway by the 2nd-5th grade classrooms. Originally conceived for students with sensory integration challenges, these calming hallways have proven in other schools to be a source of serenity for all students. The sensory hallways will include floor tiles, wall light panels, wall puzzles, wall dominoes, meditative movement animals and a nature sensory pathway.
“Stepping with Positivity” Mural Project – The Playground Edition
Grantees: Mary Grainzvolt-Moran, Jennifer Solomon
School: Chatsworth Avenue School
Last year, with funding from Mamaroneck Schools Foundation, Chatsworth Avenue School undertook a multi-faceted mural project to beautify and inspire interior spaces at the school and showcase their shared vision of belonging at Chatsworth. This year’s grant will fund a mindful maze and beautiful hopscotch mural on the blacktop in the Chatsworth playground that will promote play and connection.
*This grant is funded by the The Jatin and Bharti Shah Family Foundation.
Sensory Friendly Library and Kindergarten Way Mural
Grantees: Bryan McClellan, Maria Albano
School: Mamaroneck Avenue School
This grant will fund a sensory friendly space in the library for students with sensory needs from five self-contained special education classes at MAS. The space will be outfitted with an LED wall bubble panel, a sound machine, weighted blankets, noise reducing earmuffs, sensory items, gel tiles and dimmer switches, creating a sense of calm in a currently unused alcove area. In addition, this grant will fund a “enter the world of reading” mural, create a welcoming entry space to the library for all kindergarten classes that walk through “kindergarten way.”
Inclusive and Accessible Playground at MAS
Grantees: Maria Albano, Sandra Zadrima
School: Mamaroneck Avenue School
This grant will help fund the MAS playground renovation project currently underway and expected to be completed in the Summer of 2024. The goal of this project is to provide playground options that allow greater accessibility for students who cannot use a majority of the current equipment due to their age (grades K-2) and/or a variety of possible challenges, including physical barriers. This equipment will be used daily during recess as well as for physical education and physical therapy when appropriate.
“What’s your Superpower?” Author Visit at Hommocks
Grantees: Kelsey Cohen, Lisa Manheim
School: Hommocks Middle School
This grant will fund a children’s author visit by Marc Tyler Nobleman to 6th grade students at Hommocks as a part of their English Language Arts unit on power. Mr. Nobleman will give one-hour presentations to all 6th grade teams as well as a writing workshop to a smaller group of students in the library. The workshop will foster students’ curiosity and develop research and inquiry skills. Each 6th grade ELA classroom will also receive a full set of his most recent book, “Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman” to allow all students to share a compelling real-world inquiry that connects with the reading and writing unit as well as copies of his earlier book, “Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman.”
Strengthening the Hommocks Fitness Center
Grantees: Alexis Cisneros, Caitlin Murphy, Scott Gilberti, John Dale, Danielle Jaycox
School: Hommocks Middle School
A well-designed fitness center can motivate students to engage in regular physical exercise by creating a safe and fun environment in which students can challenge themselves in healthy ways. With that in mind, this grant will fund the purchase of new, state-of-the art fitness equipment and technology for the Hommocks Fitness Center, including stationary bikes, benches, weights, medballs, and dumbbells. The transformed space will enable students to build their strength and confidence, while also preparing them to use the equipment available at MHS. The newly outfitted space will be utilized by the Hommocks PE classes and will allow students a much higher rate of active participation during those classes.
12:1 Art Therapy
Grantees: Kristina Martin, Melissa Herrick, Lisa Callahan
School: Hommocks Middle School
During the current school year, the Hommocks Special Education teachers have seen great success utilizing art as a coping strategy to help students express their feelings and emotions. As a way to build on this momentum, this grant will provide a series of 15 art therapy sessions led by an external licensed art therapist for the 12:1 Special Education classroom. This grant will augment the Unified Arts Program at Hommocks by providing programming specifically designed for the needs of our special education student population.
*This grant is partially funded by the Barbara Bennett-Rones Memorial Endowment.
Trout in the Classroom – A School in the School
Grantees: Drew Scecina, Matt Porricelli, Tina Ponce, Alison Ivler, Maureen Montone, Anna Grippo, Melanie Arminio, Debra Schrank
School: Murray Avenue School
This project will bring live wild brown trout to Murray Avenue School. Students will rear the trout from eggs to the fingerling life stage before releasing them into a nearby river or stream. Daily care activities will include feedings and water quality tests. The grant will fund the purchase of materials needed to construct and maintain the aquarium as well as an in-school songwriting workshop with a trout theme.
Sensory and Regulation Room at Chatsworth
Grantees: Claire Mulgrew-Boyles, Jennifer Solomon, Claudia Voyiatzis
School: Chatsworth Avenue School
This grant will provide equipment that will promote and support students’ regulation and sensory processing needs for the new occupational therapy program space at Chatsworth Avenue School. Through use of this equipment, students will be able to incorporate the regulation room into their daily schedule and routine. These consistent opportunities to regulate during the day should decrease behavior incidents and increase students’ time actively participating in learning.
