The Port Washington Education Foundation (PWEF), which has made a significant impact in only two years of operation, announced the grant awards for the academic year 2003-4 at a ceremony held in the Port Washington Library. In addition to members of the foundation and grant awardees, attending the ceremony were Superintendent of Schools Dr. Geoffrey Gordon, Assistant Superintendent Emma Fraser Pendleton (the liaison to the foundation), other representatives from the district and the schools, three members of the board of education (Mogul, Cowles and Nelson), past award recipients, and other community residents.

Amy Bass, president and founder of the foundation, said that PWEF started about two years ago by a diverse group of parents and other community residents who saw the need for a private, nonprofit organization that could acquire funds to support educational initiatives that fall beyond the scope of the district's budget. She said, "We believe that the success of Port Washington is directly related to the success of our schools." Bass thanked all of those who have supported the PWEF, specifically mentioning the Port Washington Rotary Club, the Manhasset-Port Washington Real Estate Board, and State Bank of Long Island's Port Washington branch, which provides meeting space and other support. She added that they got ideas and encouragement from other local foundations, in particular the Tower Foundation in Manhasset.

In introducing Robin Seligman, PWEF's Project Chair, Bass said, "She has brilliantly orchestrated the process and procedures of determining and implementing the grant awards." Seligman said that these are the second round of grant awards. "Last year," she said, "we spent about $14,000 on 17 projects for students of every age. This year we were looking for larger projects; for example, multi-grade or multi-year." They succeeded; this year there were 13 grants for over $20,000. Seligman said that the grant applications are reviewed by an evaluation committee of five board members. They are also sent to the school district for input. The committee, whose membership rotates, makes recommendations to the board of directors as a whole, who make the final decision. The criteria used this year were size, likelihood of achieving academic success, and parent involvement. Most of the grants were awarded to the school district, but a few two went to nonprofit educational organizations and one to an individual. Of the awards, 6 were high-school level, 6 middle school and elementary, and one pre-kindergarten. The grantees and projects are listed below.

Parent Resource Center - Scholarship program for at-risk families (Pre-K)

Julie Harnick, Executive Director

Port Washington Children's Center - Creative writing for KidsPort (Grades 4-6)

Marlene Selig, Executive Director

Schreiber High School - Oral history project for ELL students

Kate Herz, Library Media Specialist

Manorhaven Elementary School - Hands-on visit to an 18th century Long Island farm (Grades 4-5)

Joan Brinkhuis, Barbara Bongiorno, Jim O'Brien, Joel Belser, Lourdes Mergler, Tessa Jordan, Fourth and Fifth Grade Teachers

Math Resource Teachers - Mathematics literacy workshops for parents (four elementary schools)

Heather O'Shea and Chris Natale, Math Resource Teachers

Weber Home & Careers and ELL teachers - Promoting links between school and home (6th Grade)

Liza Nettleton and Kim Rosenbaum, 6th Grade teachers

Manorhaven Elementary School - Theater workshops for students and teachers (Grades 3-4)

Dr. Linda Welles, Principal

Schreiber High School - Cardio kickboxing program

Robin Cooper, Physical Education Teacher

Ronni Aronow, Yoga Instructor - Yoga classes at Daly and Sousa elementary schools

Schreiber High School - Discussion with young adult author Mel Glenn

Mary Seligman, Library Media Staff

Schreiber High School - Developing a budget and working model for a Writing Center

Evelina Zarch, English Teacher

Schreiber High School - Improving time management and study skills classes by Dr. B. Loerinc Helft

Site Compact Committee

Schreiber High School - Assistance to parents of at-risk students to promote academic success

Dr. Frank G. Banta, Principal

Two of the grantees described their projects in some detail. "Building Mathematical Literacy," was represented by Heather O'Shea and Chris Natale. They said, "Our ultimate purpose is for all children to enjoy, understand and value math." Believing that parent involvement is crucial to this process, they designed a series of workshops for parents of children in kindergarten through fifth grade to build math literacy and to help them help their children. Kate Herz represented the oral history project entitled "Linking our Past to our Present," which will involve 12 Schreiber ELL students, 30 family members, and five community volunteers. "This process helps them to understand Port Washington, their own history, and their own country. We usually read history, but we never write it." The interviews will be transcribed (which in some cases involves translation), and will be put on a web site accessible through PortNet (http://www.portnet.k12.ny.us). Herz acknowledged Elly Shodell, head of the Port Washington Library's Local History Center, for her general support and specifically for teaching the participants basic oral history skills.

Erlyn Madonia represented one of last year's grantees "Every Classroom a Stage," the goal of which was to "keep the technological momentum going at Weber." She demonstrated the use and benefits of one of the projectors purchased under the grant. "One projector," she said, "can turn any classroom into a multimedia event." Other previous projects included (partial list) a pre-school lending library, a math game, music-writing software, and a civil war tapestry. He pointed out that the teachers prepare the grant applications and carry out the projects without additional compensation (none of the grant money to the school district goes toward salaries).

Bass introduced Dr. Geoffrey Gordon, the superintendent of schools, as "The man with a vision." Bass and other board members commented on the close working relationships that the Foundation has with the schools. Bass also thanked the previous superintendent, Dr. Albert Inserra, for his encouragement and his donations. She said, "He was our biggest donor, contributing all the money for what otherwise would have been his retirement gifts to the foundation."

Dr. Gordon acknowledged the many contributions of the foundation, saying, "We know that there are many hurdles for an organization like PWEF. We will do everything we can to support their wonderful work." He added, "Amy Bass deserves special recognition. She started with just a small steering committee." Dr. Gordon also acknowledged Dr. Inserra's contributions to the PWEF.

In conclusion, Amy Bass recognized the members of the original steering committee and founding board members, some of whom are now on the board of directors or the advisory board. One - Julie Harnick - is a current grantee. Two others, Laura Mogul and Dr. Roy Nelson, are members of the Port Washington Board of Education. (Mogul is board president.) Bass also thanked all the members of the board of directors and the advisory board, and specifically Margaret DeSiervo and the committee that organized the grant award ceremony.

In a subsequent interview, Bass said that in the future, the Port Washington Education Foundation anticipates being able to fund larger projects. "Perhaps one day we will have a very large project," she said, adding, "But we will always have the smaller ones." They are especially interested in projects in the technology field.

One of the projects that the PWEF is working on is the formation of a Schreiber High School Alumni Association. For more information about the alumni association or about the foundation generally, contact board treasurer Robert Kleinman at kleinmanrj@aol.com or visit PWEF's web site at www.pwef.org. And, look for an upcoming community-wide newsletter and announcement about the next "dessert gala," the foundation's major fund-raiser.