Chatham Education Foundation Hosts Evening of Recognition and Grant Showcase

Contributed by Chatham Education Foundation

The Chatham Education Foundation (CEF) hosted approximately 100 attendees at its inaugural Evening of Recognition and Grant Showcase on Thurs., Feb. 27, at Chatham High School. The evening celebrated academic excellence while recognizing CEF's donors and grant recipients. Chatham High School’s boys and girls a cappella groups and orchestra, led by teachers James Lawrence and Ken Bryson, entertained guests during the reception catered by Devour Creative Catering. Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa greeted guests with an opening address reiterating the mission statement of the School District of the Chathams, “to discover and grow the gifts within each child.”

Guests had the opportunity to See the World with Virtual Reality, funded by a grant requested by Tamar Spitzer and Ines Wishart. Donors peered into virtual reality goggles, wandering about the streets of France and scaling the Great Wall of China. Donors experienced firsthand the remarkable opportunity the goggles afford students to engage in authentic conversations in their language of study.

Ray Beegle, Chatham Education Foundation donor, experimenting with the virtual reality goggles

Photo by Aaron Berger

Ms. McCabe’s Reimagined Classroom, also funded by CEF, taps into the diversity of the students, who do not all learn the same way. She has created a kinetic classroom, where students are given different options of where to sit and how to learn. Ms. McCabe also discussed her passion project, the TED talk class which she conducts at CHS. This class and the TED style talks give students the tools to change the world and help make it a better place. Her students recently participated in a TEDed convention in New York, which addressed the climate crisis.

Jessica Liatys’s middle school robotics team assisted her in presenting Winston and Wanda, the humanoid robots funded by the Chatham Education Foundation and the Chatham Middle School PTO. The Robotics team shared with donors how they used programming languages to design a formal road diet to alleviate traffic congestion on Main Street. Danielle Dagounis presented district wide STEM focused grants such as MAKER Idea Boards, Large Format Printers, and Aero Robotics.

Donors were treated to a tour of the dynamic production studio otherwise known as Connor Henderson’s classroom. The lighting equipment and high-quality pulse lenses funded by the CEF’s grant have afforded all students in the class the opportunity to use specialized equipment in the production of their weekly news and live interview format shows.

Stacy Winters and Mallory Lynn shared with donors how The Thinking Classroom continues to positively impact the way teachers and students approach mathematics. Students solve mathematical problems on vertical spaces including writable walls and standing desks, enabling continuous collaboration, increased problemsolving skills, and enhanced math confidence.

In the Digital Pen Tablets for Graphic Design and Visual Arts showcase, Eric Hreha and Keira Spadaro invited donors to use the digital pen tablets themselves, to create bright mandalas or infuse digitized landscapes with color and hue. Students worked alongside the donors, invoking pop art greatness with a tremendous schematic of every superhero known to mankind.

Karen Chase spoke about the TED experience she shared with other educators from SDOC who took the TED Masterclass to enhance their public speaking, connectivity, and presentation skills. This class has changed the way district educators interact with their students and approach the student learning experience.

Laura Bojanowski (event co-chair), Bethany Gianusso (event co-chair), Chatham Education Foundation President Sally Allen and SDOC Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa with CHS volunteers from National Honor Society and Key Club

Photo by Aaron Berger

Andrea Murphy and Lisa Lattarulo’s Rest and Relaxation Room offered donors the chance to sit still in meditative darkness surrounded by music, aromatherapy and stress manipulatives. This room encourages community connectedness and presents students with opportunities for activities such as meditation and yoga.

The evening showcased the vision of the educators and administrators who have helped forge an innovative path for the School District of the Chathams. One donor said, "Tonight was an eye opener for me. I was so impressed by all the grants on the tour.” According to CEF President, Sally Allen, “The generosity of CEF’s donors and ingenuity of our district leaders and teachers continue to positively impact students’ learning environment. These innovative grants take on even greater significance as the school community transitions from classroom to cloud in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.” CEF extends its deepest gratitude to the donors and school community as well as local business partners STH Printing, 908 Media, and Devour Creative Catering for making this evening so special.

Chatham Education Foundation is a leading provider of private funding to the School District of the Chathams, supporting innovative and creative educational programs and special projects that are designed to enrich the mind and body. Through fundraising efforts, CEF was able to award over $104,000 in grants to teachers, supervisors and school in 2018-19, raising total awards to the district to over $1.4 million since 1997.