Archive: Around Town

As the 2012-13 Ithaca City School District (ICSD) year came to a close, the Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) announced its most recent grants and the annual grand totals for all grant programs. IPEI is a non-for-profit organization committed to making community connections that encourage innovative teaching and enhance the educational experiences for all ICSD students.

Since last September, IPEI made 106 grants totaling $81,867 including 30 Teacher Grants ($39,838), 73 Red and Gold Grants ($32,129), two Community Collaboration Grants ($4900), and one grant for an emerging opportunity ($5000). In addition, the Fine Arts Booster Group (FABG), an IPEI affiliate, awarded 18 grants totaling $9515; and IPEI allocated $60,218 for the Kids Discover the Trail! program.

IPEI’s grant funds originate as donations from generous individuals, businesses, organizations, and foundations.  In addition to Annual Fund gifts, IPEI has received financial support for its recently-completed capital campaign, “Our Children * Our Schools * Our Future”. “Expanding Grants and Programs for Emerging Opportunities” is one of the special effort’s priorities. From these funds IPEI granted $5000 to the ICSD to support teacher participation in summer professional development institutes ICSD is holding this summer.

The most recent IPEI Community Collaboration Grant, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Urban Outreach Extended Learning Summer Program, is also occurring this summer.  Approximately 45 4-H youth from the SIFE (students with interrupted formal education, mostly Burmese refugees) and West Village after school programs will come together for a daily five-week summer enrichment program. Each day following summer school, they will participate in activities to strengthen their reading and language abilities, and social and life skills while preparing for school next fall.  The students are from Kindergarten through 5th grade and attend Belle Sherman Elementary and Cayuga Heights Elementary Schools.

IPEI’s fourth round of Red and Gold Grants funded seven projects including one involving all Kindergarten classes across the district, two secondary school projects, and four other elementary schools.  Project reports of the 106 grants that occurred this past year are submitted by the recipients.  In addition to being used to evaluate the impact of IPEI grants on student engagement, many stories are provided that are relayed to donors and to the public through communication channels such as the IPEI website, area media outlets, and social media.

Reading with Danny
Stephanie Nisbet/Cayuga Heights

Enriching Understanding through Texts
Tanya Kszystyniak/Fall Creek

Tree Travels
Allison Trdan/all Kindergartens

Learning Never Stops
Judith Blood/Enfield

Exploring Ithaca’s Water Resources
Yvette de Boer/DeWitt

Increased Literacy through Digital Technology
Georgette Alfred-Graham/Enfield

DeWitt 7/8 Choir Music in the Parks Festival
Jennifer Anissi Kivisild/DeWitt

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