2016 Grant Recipients

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 GRANT

 STAFF MEMBER(S)

Deerfield High School
Literacy Support & Enrichment through News Magazine Library
To fund the purchase of a subscription to the NY Times Upfront Magazine for students in the World History and Freshman English Survey classes, which will enable them to expand their confidence as consumers of common non-fiction sources and more history-related reading skills, such as maps, charts, visuals, primary sources and current events news stories.		 Nikoletta Antonakos & Christine Saxman
Materials World Modules                                           
To enable the science department to pilot the use of some of Northwestern University’s Materials Modules related to nanotechnology and materials in the chemistry classroom to find out if they will provide effective instruction to be used on a broader scale in the future.		 Lisa Backus
Measuring Cardiac Health                                                              
To fund the purchase of an electrocardiograph (EKG) machine to support the Anatomy & Physiology curriculum, with the goal of enabling students to gain an understanding of the cardiac cycle, their heart rate, and reading EKG strips. This will help students get a more complete picture of their cardiac health.		 Kristen Piggott
Mosaic
The goal of this program (formerly the Diversity Leadership Program) is to reduce the predictability and disproportionality of students who are in the highest and lowest achieving groups. Participants will include students of color, students from diverse ethnic groups, students whose first languages are not English, and first generation students. By the time a participant graduates, he or she will have visited four colleges, participated in four cultural field trips, developed leadership skills, and gained academic skills to succeed in a rigorous curriculum. This year’s experiences include seminars, college visits, and other cultural field trips. This grant is funded by a generous contribution from First Bank of Highland Park.		 Amy Bricker, Soo Lee, Marcellous Moore, Melissa Romero Williams & Elizabeth Robertson
Seeing Our World in Infrared
Students in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Anatomy, Physiology and Criminalistics classes will benefit from the purchase of the FLIR infrared camera. They will be able to view the world around them through a different lens, both literally and figuratively.		 William Stafford
Traffic Engineering
To fund the purchase of equipment that will allow for the collection of data or serve as exemplars for Freshman Physics students solving the problem of traffic flow and safety on campus and support the work of the security team in keeping the parking lots safe during drop off and pick up times. Students will benefit from learning about the real-life application of linear motion to traffic engineering as a way to improve traffic flow and safety on campus.		 George Grubb & Judi Leupke

Highland Park High School
De Padre a Estudiante – Social-Emotional Series
The goal of the De Padre a Estudiante program at HPHS is to provide a social-emotional program for Latino parents. Throughout the school year, 12-15 workshops are offered on a variety of topics such as navigating the American educational system, navigating the college process, and providing social-emotional support to students and parents. With this grant, De Padre a Estudiante will bring bilingual and cultural therapist Gabriela Levya to the last four sessions of the school year to discuss social-emotional topics. This grant is funded by a generous contribution from First Bank of Highland Park.		 Charo Mendoza
Game Based Learning
The strategic game of Weiqi/Go will be utilized in Chinese I classes to help teach Chinese characters, word roots, reading and cultural elements cultivating the abilities of concentration, visual thinking, problem solving and decision making. This game has recently been introduced successfully in numerous local programs including New Trier, Glenbrook, Walter Payton and Lane Tech.		 Weifang Wang
Genetics Enrichment and Innovation
The funds from this grant will be used to purchase equipment that will enable students to perform a variety of experiments in the field of genetics and biotechnology. Exposing advanced placement biology students to hands on experimentation in genetic engineering and recombinant DNA techniques will help prepare them for academic and industrial research.		 Roxanne Jamroz & Kate Silber
HP3 – Rising Up
This grant will allow HP3 to continue to further its goals of striving towards the creation of a more inclusive and equitable school environment and community, improving cross-cultural competence, and having courageous conversations about race and equity. This will help develop Racial Equity Leaders who can further the District 113 commitment to racial equity and excellence. Funds will support facilitators and workshops to help students improve not only their own racial consciousness, but by extension what they learn will extend to the larger school community.		 Mary Pike & Sandra Wichner
Mitochondrial DNA
The goal of this project is to use student-derived mitochondrial DNA to teach Honors Biology students about historical human migration patterns and how mitochondrial DNA can be used to understand variation in human DNA. This activity will also expose students to the contemporary world of genome analysis.		 Jonathan Weiland
R.A.D. Self-Defense  
To fund the purchase of equipment for a new self-defense program in freshmen Physical Education curriculum.  The program includes education for safety, examining decision making, development of dependency on self and development of physical abilities.		 Lydia Gonzalez & Sarah Palmberg
The Bank
To create an active learner environment within 5 World History classes through the use of stock cards and portfolios earned through student skill development and content mastery. This program creates a system that allows students to physically conceptualize the investment in their education, based on The Bank fantasy stock portfolio game. Funds will allow for the printing of stock cards and a portfolio case to increase student engagement and independent exploration. In addition to serving as a prototype to increase student engagement, it will give insight into the academic decision making of the students.		 Mirah Anti
Innovative Teaching with the TI-Nspire Calculator
To provide intensive professional training in the use of the TI-Nspire calculator to Highland Park & Deerfield High School math faculty that will directly impact student understanding and learning of mathematics. This technology training will unlock a math teacher’s ability with exposure to how this calculator can successfully be used to teach at higher levels of thinking and beyond the basic implementation currently utilized in the classroom.		 Mathematics Department
Vernier Data Probes
To purchase Vernier Data Probes for Pre-Calculus classes, which will enable them to evaluate how data points from experiments can be modeled. Students will be able to hypothesize and reflect on the different results that the probe will measure, making the content more concrete.

Adam Washburn