WOODLANDHEIGHTSELEMENTARY SCHOOL
225 Winter Street
Laconia, New Hampshire03246
(603) 524-8733
Fax (603) 528-8688
Educate, Enrich and Empower
children to learn, dream and live as responsible world citizens
Lisa Green-BarberRyan Marsh
PrincipalAssistant Principal
To Whom It May Concern:
We are very excited to have the opportunity to apply for the Title IID Technology Grant. Our school is the largest of three elementary schools (412 students) in the City of Laconia; Pre-K through Grade 5. We are a Title I School-Wide School with more than 62% of our students eligible for free and reduced lunch. Seventeen percent of our students are identified with Special Needs. We have 29 students whose primary language is one other than English. Our school was originally built in 1975 as an “open concept” school. We now have separate classes. The configuration of our classrooms, laid out in “Pods” by grade, offers teachers a constant opportunity for sharing and observing of each others’ teaching.
At WoodlandHeights we are fortunate that we have a staff of many different talents. Some have been teaching for many years, and several are quite new to the field of teaching. When we learned that our school had been selected in our District as the one to make application for this grant, there was a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement from our entire faculty. We know that in order for our students to be successful in the world beyond our school, we must infuse our curriculum with 21st century learning skills.
Last week, I spent three days at the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development conference: “Leading and Learning in the 21st Century”. The sessions that I attended gave me a very clear sense of the need for integration of 21st century skills into classrooms. The ultimate responsibility for the success of this project lies with me, and I am committed to supporting the members of the Team to make sure that they have all of the equipment and the professional development needed for them to be confident in their use of technology in their classrooms. At the same time, I will hold our teachers accountable to carrying out our plan as it is outlined in our grant. My own professional development for this school year, and next is to enhance my own learning about the use of technology and integration of technology in teaching and learning.
Thank you for the opportunity to apply for this grant. We are absolutely committed to this project.
Respectfully,
Lisa Green-Barber
Principal of WoodlandHeightsElementary School
November 2, 2009
To Whom It May Concern:
I am excited to have this opportunity to change the way I teach. Building my classroom around the concept of the 21st Century model of learning is a challenging, rewarding and important decision. I know that I would be open to change and able to use technology to further my students’ engagement. I think that they would be better equipped to learn in the means of what comes natural to them, and therefore be able to reach their highest potential in the classroom setting as well as beyond our walls.
I would be committed to seeing how I would have to change as a teacher for the benefit of my students. I think that my ability to be open to new ideas and willing to try new things would shine through with the ability to have technology resources at my fingertips. As a teacher who is learning and growing everyday as an educator, I would envelop this new change with open arms. I would also know, that like everything else, it would constantly be a work in progress. I have a permanent desire to do a better job at everything, especially centered on being an effective teacher. I would use this desire to improve upon what I already do, with resources and tools children are thrilled to use.
I would use this once in a lifetime chance to scaffold my own enthusiasm for the art of teaching into trying new ideas. I take this career seriously. In my mind, it is simply part of who I am. With the love I have for educating, it seems logical to use more real world tools to get the students where they need to be. Anytime I can hold my students’ attention and build their spark for learning, I feel successful. I know with the use of an interactive board, a laptop cart and a document camera for example, I could catch their attention. The important part is that I do something with it. I would use their focus to teach them the academics, real world applications and life skills for their future. I would do everything to make them as successful as possible for what lies ahead in their schooling or work.
Something about teaching and helping comes natural to me. I think in many ways, I am an effective teacher. However, what I can improve are some of the tools and resources I use in my students’ daily lives. I can teach them using technology that is up-to-date and meaningful to what they would need in the future. I would have the technology available for any moment the need arose, as well as the daily moments I have planned for. I would use this chance to catch the classroom up to the present.
Sincerely,
Jessica Ortolf
November 2009
To Whom It May Concern
I am excited to be writing this letter in support of the Title IID ARRA grant application Woodland Heights Elementary School (WHS) is submitting for consideration. WoodlandHeightsElementary School would be a wonderful candidate for piloting the creation of 21st century classrooms. Our school has worked very hard to infuse technology into the curriculum and this project will allow us to take even bigger step in that direction. Through this project we will be able to create exciting and innovative learning environments that will allow students to “experience” curriculum.
Exposing students to new technologies is so exciting for me. Students instinctively open themselves to these new experiences and thrive. Through my experiences, in the computer lab, over the years I have seen how technology “levels the playing field”. Students who struggle in the classroom find success in the computer lab, students who have behavioral issue flourish when given a creative outlet and students who are often seen as quite take on leadership roles. Technology closes many academic, social and socio-economic gaps.
Over the years, in my role as Technology Assistant, I have offered staff a multitude of workshops ranging from the general operation of equipment to numerous applications used in the classroom. If awarded this grant I will eagerly support our staff through this innovative endeavor. This grant will allow us to immerse staff in a comprehensive professional development plan that will allow them to transform current teaching practices. I look forward to serving as an integration coach throughout this project. Together we will create engaging and rigorous learning environments that will positively impact student achievement.
Having a chance to participate in a project of this magnitude is indescribable. I hope you will agree with us that this is the right project at the right time for WoodlandHeightsElementary School. We are ready to take our place as technology mentors in the development of 21st century classrooms.
Sincerely,
MichelleL.Plourde
WoodlandHeights Technology Assistant
November 5, 2009
To Whom It May Concern,
I would be an excellent candidate to receive this technology grant because of my eagerness to incorporate technology throughout the curriculum as well as my belief that technology should be a fundamental part of education. As a young, recent college graduate of a university fully equipped with 21st century technology, I am familiar with a variety of software programs and have a deep understanding of how to use a wide range of technical equipment. This allows me to support my colleagues and aid them in the implementation of technology in their own classrooms and gives me a huge advantage being able to quickly learn new technology related skills. As a collaborative teacher, I work well with the other educators and constantly share ideas. While attending the professional development opportunities that come along with this grant, I would provide my colleagues with the knowledge I obtain and become a technological resource to them. I am extremely dedicated, spending an immense amount of time outside of school developing lessons that engage students with the limited amount of technical resources I have available to use.
Unfortunately the students in our school district are already at a disadvantage due to the poverty level we are faced with. Giving any child this opportunity would be a life changing experience that could open an endless amount of doors for students. Everyday I see the faces of eager students ready to find their niche in life, but few chances to explore their talents due to the lack of technology available. As I look to the future and see the use of technology exponentially growing, I often fear that I am doing my students a disservice by not familiarizing them with the technology that exists. Currently, my team of third grade teachers share an Infocus machine. I make certain to use this technology to instruct at least thirty minutes out of each day to expose the children to it. Although we manage to share and incorporate the technology in the classrooms, it does not provide any time for students to investigate the technology aside from observing my instruction. With the lack of equipment available to use, it creates a large barrier as I am unable to provide that core guided discovery with students using the technology themselves.
I will continue to strive to incorporate technology at any chance possible to maximize the engagement level in my classroom. Having the opportunity to remodel my classroom to resemble a 21st century learning environment would be an incredible opportunity. I firmly believe that the way we teach our children at school currently is not up to par with the level of engagement they receive from outside sources of technology. I strongly feel that allowing students to learn through technology is crucial to not only their learning, but their intrinsic motivation to learn as well. Having the chance to receive this grant and be able to have equipment accessible for students to use in a hands-on exploratory way would provide students with the most engaging learning environment possible.
Sincerely,
Theresa McDonnell
Third Grade Teacher
November 4, 2009
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing this letter to share with you how thrilled I am to be a part of this technology team. I am hopeful that my team will be awarded this technology grant and I look forward to the changes that it will bring to my classroom. I have already begun thinking about how my teaching will change and the great impact that this grant will have on my student’s education.
I have been teaching second grade for two years and since day one I have been looking for new ways to integrate technology into everyday learning. I have attended numerous trainings on different software and hardware and have tried my best to expose my students to these tools and programs. The eagerness to learn and the level of engagement that I see when we are using technology as a class has led me to want to continue to learn more and provide more opportunities for my students to tap into the technology we have available at our fingertips. I have also tried my best to share what I know with my colleagues and get them excited about using technology.
If I am given the tools and resources to become a 21st century classroom teacher I know that everyone, including myself, will be better because of it. My students will be more engaged and involved in their learning; and I will be challenged to create powerful lessons and learning projects.
Sincerely,
Mary Ann Myers
2nd Grade teacher
WoodlandHeightsElementary School