********************************************************************************************

The Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence (CFEE) is a non-profit community based philanthropic foundation. Its mission is to partner with the teaching community in an effort to promote innovative academic programs and add to the vitality of the Cranford Public Schools by generating additional resources for our schools through community involvement. 

The CFEE awards grants in support of a variety of projects proposed by the school community. These grants are typically in the areas of literature, social studies, history, writing, reading, world language and math and they are made possible through the generous contributions by the Cranford community. 

In September 2006, the CFEE awarded over $10,000 in grants in support of innovative projects in every school in the Cranford Public School District:

At Cranford High School, students and their parents will benefit from the “Counselors Office” software applied for by the CHS Guidance Department.  This software will improve the efficiency and quality of students’ college application submissions and provide a 24/7, 365 days a year college search engine which will be accessible from their home computers. 

A second grant for CHS, for a project proposed by Ms. Podbelski, was approved to enhance the Criminal Justice course by purchasing authentic crime kits which will allow students the opportunity to use actual equipment that police departments use to investigate crimes.

A grant in support of the Readers Digest Reluctant Reader Program, proposed by Ms. Burd and Ms. Fazio, provides reading material that supplements literature units for reluctant readers at CHS, improving both reading skills and knowledge of current events.

Lastly, a grant was approved for a World History Literature Circle, proposed by Ms. Savino on behalf of the CHS Social Studies Department. This project will provide an infusion of historical fiction and non-fiction literature into the honors level world history curricula, allowing teachers to create units that highlight the historical aspect of the literature and how it relates to the history being taught in the classroom.

Hillside Avenue School students in grade K-6 will receive support from a published author to improve their writing skills through a grant for the Author in Residence/Writing Coach project requested by Dr. Curt Fogas, HAS principal. 

Middle school special education students at Orange Avenue School will have a Listening Library and books on tape which will increase students reading skills and motivation to read thanks to a grant application made by their teachers, Ms. Madden, Ms. Robinson and Ms. Herman.

A second grant for OAS was for a project entitled Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling Training, requested by Ms. Zuniga. Partial support for conference attendance was provide to enable this educator to increase proficiency in the TPRS method, thereby fostering greater world language competency in students in the Cranford Public Schools.

Bloomingdale Avenue School 2^nd grade students will use “Digi-Blocks” with their mathematics lessons.  Digi-Blocks are manipulative materials which demystify mathematics and promote a more conceptual understanding of numbers rather than rote memorization, making math instruction discovery based with an emphasis on hands-on activities.  This grant was requested by Ms. LoGiudice and Ms. Cruz, and is a continuation grant which follows a grant approved last year for the purchase of Digi-Blocks for use by first graders at the school.

Thanks to a grant for Puppetry and Literature, requested by Ms. McCloskey, funding is also being provided for the purchase of Folkmanis puppets to be used at the Bloomingdale Avenue and Brookside Place school libraries.  These puppets will be used to help children in grades K-5 develop their communication skills. 

A grant for Literature Circles – Differentiated Instruction was approved for Ms. Ventura.  This grant will provide students at Brookside Place School with several pieces of literature as well as high and low technology tools to spark student’s interest in reading.

Fourth and Fifth graders at Livingston Avenue School will be using Select Units kits purchased to support and augment their social studies curriculum.  The fourth graders' kit will be used to study Colonial America, and the fifth graders will use their kit to study the Civil War.  This educational program will allow students to make real-life connections to otherwise difficult to relate to material. The 4^th and 5^th grade teaching teams requested this grant.

Finally the grants approved for the Walnut Avenue School which center on fine motor development will benefit some of the districts youngest students.  SNAPPY and READY students will be using a mobile Fine Motor Developmental Center to supplement the current preschool curriculum relating to fine motor skills development by using specialized manipulatives, toys and structured activities. This grant was requested by Ms. Bither and Ms. Stewart.  Kindergarten students at Walnut Avenue School will be provided with a Fine Motor Learning Center with tools to improve their grip of writing implements which is key to the development of handwriting skills. This grant was requested by Ms. Stewart and Ms. Pollock.

The Board of Directors of the Fund would like to thank Stephen Izzo, Instructional Support Specialist for the Cranford Board of Education, for his valuable assistance to the CFEE in the grant application process. 

Anyone interested in making a tax deductible donation to the Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence for our next round of grants can do so by mailing a check to the Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence, P.O. Box 1627, Cranford, NJ  07016.