Sixth Graders Will Get High-Tech Lessons Next Year

Sixth grade students can expect some high-tech lessons next school year.

The Educational Enrichment Foundation has awarded grants to two local teachers who have developed technology-based lesson plans for their classrooms.

Carolyn Guarino, a sixth grade teacher at Terrill Middle School, was given approximately $350 to fund her "Penny Pinching Problem Solving" lesson, which is intended to teach students more about money. Guarino will purchase a software package that will show children how to save money and create a budget.

Brian Rawlins, a sixth grade teacher at Park Middle School, was given a $1,449 grant to implement a podcast initiative in his classroom. Students will help put their lessons on podcasts so that they can share them among their peers at Park and other schools.

"I'm excited about this opportunity and continue to look forward to doing it," Rawlins said. "There are certain goals put into place, and I'm excited to see if I can reach those goals, and if not see what we need to do to meet them."

The amounts given to each teacher were based on their own requests.

During the Board of Education meeting last week, board members thanked the Educational Enrichment Foundation for their continued support and commended the teachers for proposing such innovative programs.

"A budget for 11 and 12 year olds as they begin to hopefully learn the value of money is an invaluable skill," Board President Trip Whitehouse said. "And as we teach podcasts and get into more technology, begin able to share that with other districts and build an infrastructure to share, that will be invaluable, too."

The Educational Enrichment Foundation says that it depends on community donations to make such awards possible. Those interested in donating to the foundation can mail a check to the Educational Enrichment Foundation, P.O. Box 621, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076, or e-mail eef.spf@gmail.com.