Foundation awards $11,000 in grants to schools

The Pleasant Valley Education Foundation prides itself on enhancing arts and technology education.

When teachers from Camarillo public schools asked for help, the education foundation stepped up to the plate.

The foundation recently awarded about $11,000 in grants to teachers at La Mariposa Elementary School, Camarillo Heights Elementary, Las Posas Elementary and the Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education (CAPE) Charter School.

Las Posas teachers Brian Roberts and Lisa Sage earned a $2,343 grant for their "A Link to Student Minds with a Click of a Button" proposal, which will provide 32 Senteo hand-held devices for students in third, fourth and fifth grades. Each student would have a Senteo device and would click a button in response to a teacher's question. The answers would pop up on a smart board.

"A teacher can see his or her effectiveness immediately," said Sharon Taylor, executive director of the Pleasant Valley foundation. "That one is really cool."

Jamie Alvarez and Julie Hughes of La Mariposa collected $2,500, the most the foundation can hand out per grant, for "Blast Off into Math Groups." The teachers requested two document cameras to bring technology into the classroom and aid math instruction.

Christine Elliott, also of La Mariposa, was given a $2,360 grant for five sets of Kapla planks, which are precision building blocks, and for 50 laminated idea cards. The materials will be used in five classrooms and can be used to teach a variety of subjects, even the basics of physics and gravity. Elliott's proposal was called "Building to Learn."

Camarillo Heights teacher Leslie Comstock will receive a video camera to record short movies, a still camera to create photojournals, a printer, and other electronic accessories. Comstock wants her students to develop scripts and produce and act in movies that will teach appropriate group play. Students will use the still camera to create photos for reports. The grant was for $1,628.

Camille Kavon of CAPE asked the foundation to fund Webbased resources "Rand McNally Classroom" and "WeeBee Tunes Travel Adventures." The programs will be used to help students decipher maps and geography while enhancing their global awareness. Kavon's proposal is "Welcome to the Global Community." The grant was for $2,216.

Taylor thinks that an emphasis on art and technology in the classroom is vital.

"They are unique subjects that can broaden students' experiences of other subjects," she said.