2023-2024 Excellence Grant Awards

In its 29th year, the Amherst Education Foundation is thrilled to announce a total of $29,317 in grants have been awarded in support of programs spread throughout the Amherst-Pelham School District. Please see below for details on our funding of the following projects: ARHS Bridge to Resilient Youth in Transition Mindful Gardening, Combating Sexual Harassment, Fort River Table and Project-Based Development Initiative, and Protect the Investment.

Bridge To Resilient Youth In Transition (BRYT) Mindful Gardening Project
Lead Grantee: Karen Peters
Grant Amount: $3,677
School: ARHS
Description: Amherst Regional High School's BRYT Program seeks to deepen the overall wellness impact for students coping with mental health or medical issues that have led to significant disruptions from school. Karen Peters with community partner, Sara Coblyn, will help students build new habits and healthy coping strategies with therapeutic horticulture, yoga and mindfulness. These activities will deepen the impact for BRYT students and increase their access to opportunities for therapeutic skill building which will positively impact their academic, social and emotional goals and development.

Combating Sexual Harrasment
Lead Grantee: Celia Maysles
Grant Amount: $4,450
Schools: ARMS
Description: Celia Maysles and Kerrita Mayfield will be working to educate Middle School students, families and staff about sexual harassment. Specifically, the project will focus on how to prevent it, how to report it, and how students and staff can intervene when they witness instances of sexual harassment. Data will also be gathered on the amount of sexual harassment Middle School students experience while in school, and track the effectiveness of intervention.

Fort River Table & Project-Based Development Initiative
Lead Grantee: Zac Early
Grant Amount: $7,034
Schools: Fort River
Description: Zac Early will be obtaining a stream table and providing professional development in order to design project-based and phenomena-based learning opportunities for topics related to streams, erosion, and other water-land-related science matter. Teachers at Fort River in grade levels 1-5 will create, adapt, and enhance instructional materials that utilize their time with the stream table and provide hands-on learning opportunities for all students. The topics will range from weathering and erosion to the effects of human behavior on natural habitats to engineering projects that deal with water flow disrupting environments or human-built structures.

Protect The Investment
Lead Grantee: Lincoln Smith
Grant Amount: $14,156
School: Crocker Farm, Fort River, Pelham Elementary and Wildwood
Description: Lincoln Smith, Heather Samson, and Ariel Templeton will work on instrument repairs, replacements and professional development for teachers to revitalize Amherst's elementary instrumental education. For more than forty years, ARPS has offered the opportunity to learn band and orchestral instruments through the use of free or low-cost instruments in our elementary schools. The music program is unique to Amherst as the only district wide, elementary program of its kind in Western Massachusetts. Protecting The Investment will target 4th through 6th grade students in Fort River, Crocker Farm, Wildwood and Pelham schools. The repairs, replacement, and better storage of instruments will increase student participation and retention in instrumental programs by ensuring that all students receive instruments in proper working order.