2013-14 CEF Activities to date including Innovation and Professional Development Grant Award Recipients, funded in part by the Davida Fox-Melanson Fund:

Carlisle Public Schools Network Analysis
CEF approved a grant of up to $5,000 to fund hiring a one-time evaluator/consultant who will help administration determine the roles of the existing (and future) staff to support our network, as well as meet DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) guidelines for technology use and programs in public schools. This evaluator/consultant would also help administration determine if the current network is well structured and set up to be most efficient for the devices and technology uses within CPS. He/she would also be asked to identify current and future needs regarding technology initiatives and equipment. The objective of this grant is to help administration assess CPS’s current technology staffing and network capacity and structure.

International Reading Association Conference
CEF approved a grant of $4,851 the reading specialist and two teachers to attend the International Reading Association Conference in May. This is a premier event for literacy professionals and teachers worldwide and offers over 300 sessions, many of which focus on the Common Core State Standards and are extremely relevant to the work being done in Carlisle Public Schools.

Cambiata Institute of America for Early Adolescent Vocal Music
CEF approved a grant of $455 for Tara Callahan to attend the Cambiata Institute of America for Early Adolescent Vocal Music in May, 2014.

iPad Keyboards
CEF has approved a grant of $1,560 to facilitate the use of iPads for writing and researching by adding a classroom set of 26 connected keyboards. IPads are an excellent tool for notetaking, reading and annotating documents on PDFs, making diagrams and drawings, and overall integration of materials. However, their on-screen keyboards are not efficient or ergonomic in the task of typing longer assignments. The writing process will be faster for all students, but also less difficult for students with deficits in fine motor skills.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Convention
CEF has approved a grant of $5,787 for 5 members of the Middle School Math Department to attend the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Convention in New Orleans from April 9-12, 2014 (pending acceptance by the Carlisle School Committee). Goals for the conference include: identify current best practices for teaching mathematics in the middle school, fully understand the Common Core State Standards and their impact on our middle school math curriculum, meet with publishers and other districts to discuss and evaluate new math programs for the middle school that align with the Common Core, to evaluate new math applications for the ipad and to attend workshops with nationally recognized experts in the field of mathematics.

Engineering Aide
Funded half salary ($9,250) for a part-time engineering aide to help assess the teachers professional development needs and provide guidance within the discipline of engineering. Consultant will also review and provide recommendations for equipment purchases for the engineering room and organize STEM program.

Teacher’s College Coaching Institute
Sue Bober and Dennet Siddell were awarded $4,700 to attend The Teacher’s College Coaching Institute in October 2013. Their goal in attending was to learn effective techniques to coach teachers to help accelerate their students’ reading development and to teach them to use performance assessments to lift the level of comprehension and rigor in reading workshop. This will help us to more fully achieve the expectations of the new Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.

The Center for Teaching and Learning
Sixth Grade Language Arts teacher Liz Gray was awarded $1545 to attend an internship course at The Center for Teaching and Learning from October 21-24, 2013. Objectives for this internship were to acquire new insights into helping students become strong readers and writers. These insights might include ideas for curriculum, management of lessons, materials, techniques for student feedback, student expectations, and struggling readers and writers.