Masonic Village Presents $15,000 to Elizabethtown Area Education Foundation

The Elizabethtown Area Education Foundation recently received a check for $15,000 from the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown. The funds will be used to support foundation initiatives including its educational classroom grant program. Masonic Village residents Betty LeRoy, president of the Village Green Residents Council, and Wils Kile, president of the Retirement Living Residents Association, along with Joseph E. Murphy, chief executive officer for the Masonic Villages, presented the check to the foundation. Receiving the check were Dr. Michael Worman, foundation president; Dr. Amy Slamp, superintendent of the Elizabethtown Area School {Check Presentation} District; and students in Amanda Hann’s second grade classroom at East High Street Elementary School. Hann was a recipient of a foundation grant to implement the iRead. iWrite. iLearn initiative in her classroom.

“We are extremely appreciative of the Masonic Villages for this sizable donation that will allow us to sustain our highly successful teacher grant program,” said Dr. Worman. “The foundation is building a legacy of enriching the educational experience for Elizabethtown Area School District students. Our success would not be possible without the continued support of community partners like the Masonic Village.”

This is the second year in a row the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown has gifted the foundation $15,000. “The Masonic Village is pleased to present this donation on behalf of our employees and residents to support the local education foundation,” Murphy said. “The innovative programming they are implementing through the grant program will enhance the hands-on learning experiences the school district can provide to its students.”

The foundation’s educational classroom grant program supports creative and innovative programs in the areas of academics, the arts, and extra-curricular activities by offering grants to district teachers. Twice a year the foundation approves grants. Since the program’s inception in February 2009, the foundation has awarded twelve grants totaling nearly $19,000 to school district teachers. The funds from the Masonic Village will be used to underwrite the next round of grants to be awarded in May 2010. Grants awarded during the fall of 2009 are as follows:

• Fairview Elementary School - Bounce Back Into Focus – Expansion of an existing program that incorporates movement into the school day to refocus,de-stress, and re-energize students for learning ($727.38).
• Rheems Elementary School - Using Technology for Real World Communications - Purchased digital recorders to be used by students to create movies and pod casts that will demonstrate a student's understanding of a specific content area while also developing literacy and technology skills ($1,000.00).
• East High Street Elementary School - iRead. iWrite. iLearn - Purchased iPod Touches and various accessories to be used to support instruction by offering an alternative means of practice, enrichment, and review of various curriculum concepts ($1,581.75).
• Elizabethtown Area High School - Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Stream Study - purchase of stereomicroscopes to support students current studies of stream life through a hands-on approach ($1,955.00).