Jeanie Ritchie grants spark innovation in Menlo schools Jeanie Ritchie grants spark innovation in Menlo schools (May 23, 2001)

By Marjorie Mader

Almanac Staff Writer

Eighteen Jeanie Ritchie grants _ ranging from $550 to $3,200 each _ are sparking creativity in classrooms at Oak Knoll, Laurel, Encinal and Hillview schools in the Menlo Park elementary school district.

The teachers who developed the grants were honored May 18 by the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation during an annual awards ceremony, sponsored by the Menlo Park PTAs and the education foundation. The event was held in Jennings Pavilion at Holbrook-Palmer Park in Atherton.

Winners of the grants, totaling $27,496, are using the funds to create new areas of study or to enrich existing programs.

The grant program began in 1984 to honor Jeanie Ritchie, a founder of the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation.

"If I could embody Jeanieźs dreams in a few words," said Barbara Miller, then president of the school board, "they would be: Reward innovators who take chances, encourage people who want to try. And remember, that the bottom line is the kids, whether they be gifted or struggling."

Here's a brief summary of the winning grants:

Dancing Through the Decades : Teachers Lesley Martin and Daria Finstad with Mark Shack, Susie Jayasanker, Carolyn Malquist, Margaret Appenheimer introduce 200 Hillview eighth-graders to dance styles from the past as part of the American history curriculum's "Decades Project." Funding provides dance instruction leading to performances during "History Day" and open house.

Kidding Around in San Francisco : Teachers Karen M. Clancy and Renee Lavezzo help 40 first-graders at Oak Knoll get to know San Francisco. Funding provides books, videos and a five-hour trip to the city in a cable car trolley.

African Masks : Teacher Sharron Thompson with Lexy Keller, Holly Clark, Michael Kaelin, Terry McMahon and William Haug introduce 185 seventh-graders at Hillview to an artistic and creative mask project, as part of their study of Africa. Funding purchases additional hours of a part-time art teacher, as well as supplies for the masks.

Religious Structures Across the Centuries : Teacher Sharron Thompson and Michael Kaelin work with 92 seventh-graders at Hillview to make 50 scale models, representing religious structures, throughout the world. This hands-on project helps students expand their understanding of world religious ideals, beliefs and practices.

Science Garden : Teachers Anna Krumholz, Hardiman Cureton and Susan Arrington help 270 sixth-graders at Hillview learn more about science through planning, planting and analyzing the success of their garden plots. Students in the woodshop class will build the planter boxes.

Responsabilita (Strega Nona ) : Working together, teachers Priscilla Seely, Rebecca Garcia, Jeriann Hirsch, Cathleen Kerr, Steffany Cressey, Jennifer Powers and Jennifer McDowell add a live performance for second-graders at Laurel School's as part of their reading course on responsibility. Related class activities provide a connection to the concept of responsibility as demonstrated in the "Strega Nona" stories.

Black & White : Teacher William Haug's grant is establishing an elective program in photography that encourages seventh- and eighth-graders at Hillview to combine artistic, technical and mathematical principles learned in their other more traditional curricula. This project creates a platform for "kinesthetic learners who often find themselves bogged down in the linguistic and logical mathematical curriculum that predominates in school curricula," said Mr. Haug.

Native American Days in Kindergarten : Teacher Trish Stella with Carole Towle, Juli van Telligan, Christine Aronson and their kindergartners at Oak Knoll will explore the life and culture of Native Americans through language, arts and crafts and mathematics, culminating in a "Native American Day." Funding buys teepees, art and craft supplies, and authentic literature.

Legos as Simple Machines II : Teacher Tom Lyons with Millie Niemeyer, Mike Bratt and Anna Krumholz will introduce more Hillview seventh-graders to simple machines and their practical applications. More kits were needed to expand the program to other science classrooms.

Enlarged Learning : Teacher Jeriann Hirsch developed this grant for some 40 second-graders at Laurel, who can observe more readily a small object as a focus of learning. Funding provides a Video Flex camera that projects onto a TV screen an enlarged view of small objects difficult to show to a whole class _ such as the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly.

Reading Bolts : Teacher Jeriann Hirsch with Judy Fairbrother use these grant funds to support a before-school reading program for 45 second-graders at Laurel. Besides giving students a boost in reading, it also helps parents to support children's at-home reading. Funds supply bookbags, backpack and books.

California Poets in the Classroom : Teachers Kay Hatfield and Susan Preston with Lynne Bollen, Lisa Zollinger, Ruth Peterson and Raymond Chrisman use this grant to bring California poets to fourth grade and a fourth-fifth grade combo classrooms. Language, art and technology combine to help students learn, create and share poetry through the Web and the Poetry Festival.

Interplanetary Jammin' : Teachers Charleen Mattos with Sharon M. Cottle, Sheila Warren, Marie Clemo, Dana Russell, Lisa Spinas and Karen Strohmaier developed this grant to deliver astronomy information to third-graders through performance of a published musical about space. Besides enhancing the science curriculum, it gives students a chance to practice public speaking skills.

Visiting Authors and Illustrators : Librarians Lezlie Glare and Gail Bradley reformatted the original district-wide "Authors Come to Menlo Park" grant for two schools, Laurel and Encinal. Funding essentially pays for school visits by authors and illustrators and serves 300 students in grades K-5 grades.

Connecting the Past and the Present : Teacher Holly Clark and her 45 Hillview seventh-graders strive to answer the question: "How does a countryźs history affect its present day culture and state of affairs?" Their study culminates in a multimedia presentation to a summit of other nations, modeled after the United Nations. Students will create a class book integrating the various hypotheses.

Build It Festival : Teacher Steffany Cressey with Jeriann Hirsch, Rebecca Garcia, Jennifer Powers, Priscilla Seely, Cathleen Kerr and Jennifer McDowell works with Laurel second-graders on geometry-related activities, based on the Lawrence Hall of Science "Gems" Build It! Festival.

Writing with Writers : This grant, supported for the past three years by the Ritchie Committee, again gives seventh- and eighth-grade students the opportunity to work with established writers to hone their expository and creative writing skills. Hillview librarian Sue Krumbein with teachers Lesley Martin and Sharron Thompson developed the proposal.

Keep Dancin' : Teachers Harry Bell, Phil Eaton, Ernie Imura and Mike Bratt are building dance into the physical education curriculum for Hillview's 600 students. Professional dance instructors not only will teach students a collection of dance styles, but, this year, will teach the teachers. Funds pay for visiting instructors.

Information for this report on the 2000-2001 Jeanie Ritchie Grants was submitted by Pam Gullard of the foundation's grant committee.