Health & Fitness
Ladue Foundation Grant Will Introduce Robotics to All Sixth Graders
Ladue Education Awards 2011 Grants to Foster Innovation in District. All sixth graders at Ladue Middle School will be exposed to robotics as part of this year's grants.
American education must evolve to meet the new needs of a global world. Several years ago I was asked to join the board of a new organization, the Ladue Education Foundation which raises funds to support extraordinary opportunities in the school district. Unknown to most, the district covers part or all of 10 municipalities, and is not just for children who live in the city of Ladue. In fact, according to the district—which partly covers Richmond Heights—10 percent of students quality for free or reduced lunch.
For the past several years, I have had the opportunity to lead a group of dedicated volunteers in reviewing grant applications from faculty. Our group looks carefully at opportunity to help foster innovation, create meaningful change and prepare our students for a global world.
In its fourth year of awarding grants, our committee screened a number of submissions and narrowed down to the following five projects, recently awarding $30,000 in 2011 grants and bringing the four-year grand total to approximately $80,000. The grants include:
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Robotics Curriculum. All Ladue Middle School sixth graders will be exposed to robotics as part of their exploratory curriculum beginning this fall.
Narrowing the Achievement Gap with iPads. A pilot program at Spoede Elementary to provide a select group of students without computer access in their homes access to an iPad, giving them the ability to complete and submit homework, do Internet research, check teachers' websites for assignments and much more from home.
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Link Crew Basic Training. Link is the high school’s successful freshman orientation and mentoring program. A grant will provide funds to expand this effort by providing resources to train two additional faculty members. This will help strengthen the advisory efforts of this program.
Moving and Learning Lab. Old Bonhomme Elementary has been awarded a grant to create a mobile Moving and Learning Lab, providing valuable opportunities for students to combine getting their bodies physically active while keeping their minds academically active.Helping all of our students prepare for a global world is our goal with the Ladue Education Foundation. Critical thinking, exposure to technology and strong support efforts characterize this year's grants. We are proud to help assist our students and faculty as we strive to be the best we can be.
In addition to faculty grants, LEF also has developed a Speaker's Series and two community partnership programs with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Monsanto. We look to build on our efforts and community partnerships. For more information, please visit: (www.laduefoundation.org) or contact me: ahawkcollinger@yahoo.com to get involved. Follow Ladue Foundation on Twitter @LadueFoundation.