Amherst Education Foundation Announces 2010 Funding

The Amherst Education Foundation (AEF) announces its 2010 grants, providing $40,000 to fund two exciting educational initiatives that together will benefit all students at every grade level in the district. These grants cap off a year-long strategic planning process and 5 months of conversations with key local school personnel. This funding decision, made at AEF's recent board meeting, will enhance and expand work already begun by the Amherst Regional Public School (ARPS) district that targets 2 areas of need: differentiated instruction and vertical curriculum alignment. "AEF's Strategic Plan resulted in a clear set of guiding principles by which to compare potential funding targets," Katie Allan Zobel, AEF president, explained. "We had an abundance of good educational initiatives from which to choose, but these two most closely met our primary funding criteria: they are projects that are district-wide, emphasize the district's core educational mission, have the potential for long-term impact and/or replication, are sustainable and foster teacher innovation."

AEF is two-thirds of the way to its $40,000 goal, and anonymous donors have stepped forward with a two-to-one matching challenge grant of $5,000 to raise the remaining $15,000 needed to complete the funding. “We feel certain our community will support these initiatives,” Zobel noted, “since they support some of the critical needs facing our schools in concrete ways."

The first initiative, focusing on differentiated instruction, was identified as the most pressing need during months of surveys and conversations with area teachers and administrators conducted by AEF's Allocations Committee. Differentiated instruction is the practice by which teachers can adjust how and what they are teaching and what work their students will produce according to that student's readiness, interests and learning style. The ARPS district will have four events for this school year related to differentiated instruction, including workshops with two national experts in this field. One of these events, a lecture by Dr. Carol Ann Tomlinson on March 31, will be sponsored by Amherst College. AEF will provide funding to expand on these workshops in two phases. From April through June, the Foundation will underwrite the creation of "Professional Learning Communities", or PLCs, at each of the Amherst and Pelham elementary schools, ARMS and ARHS. "These PLCs will allow a small group of teachers at each school to meet after school hours to develop expertise in differentiation, create related resources, and then mentor other teachers on site," explained Alison Curphey, AEF Allocations committee co-chair.

Phase two of AEF's collaboration with the district on differentiated instruction will occur this August at the Summer Institute. The Institute will allow classroom, Special Education, and English Language Education (ELE) teachers to work together in August so that differentiated instruction planning can begin before the first day of school. "The Summer Institute is particularly timely in this year of elementary school transition," said Allocations co-chair Erika Zekos. "It will provide an opportunity for teachers to build grade level relationships and collaborations - a chance to get to know one another before the school year begins." The Allocations Committee has begun conversations with a UMass School of Education professor to develop a plan to follow participants and help evaluate the efficacy of the program starting this spring and continuing into the fall semester.

The second initiative promotes vertical curriculum alignment and is designed to connect teachers from grades 6 through 12 in order to provide smoother transitions and more consistent instruction from grade to grade in specific subject areas. The subject areas identified by the Assistant Superintendent and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction as top priorities for alignment are math, science and English Language Arts. Department heads, curriculum leaders and teachers will work together over the summer under the guidance of the Director of Curriculum and Instruction. "Curriculum alignment is particularly important as students are graduating from grade six to seven and then from eight to nine. In addition, our research shows a direct beneficial link between curriculum alignment and differentiated instruction in every grade," Zekos said. "Having a well developed and aligned curriculum is at the core of teachers' abilities to differentiate well."

Farshid Hajir, chair of the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee, received the news enthusiastically. “As one member of the Regional School Committee, and as a parent, I highly value the Foundation’s partnership. AEF's dollars are being spent on critical needs and not only have broad impact on the schools, but help us maintain a more global view at a time when, all too often, fiscal crises put budgetary pressure on addressing immediate financial needs at the expense of implementing long-term strategies.”

Hundreds of community members support AEF each year in order to help fund projects that strengthen the Amherst regional school district, supporting the mutual goal of excellence and equity for all students. Tax-deductible gifts to AEF in support of these initiatives received on or before March 15 will be matched by the 2-1 challenge grant (up to $10,000). To make an online contribution, visit www.amhersteducationfoundation.org or send a check to PO Box 2237, Amherst, MA 01004.