Local teachers to split $184G in grants

LYNN – Some will spend the money on computer-aided lesson plans, others on summer school programs – all told, 31 local teachers will split up $184,000 in grant money to be spent on classroom projects.The Essex County Community Foundation awarded teachers who applied for the grants up to $5,000 for projects aimed at enhancing the use of technology in classes, encouraging experimental learning programs and strengthening connections between parents and teachers.The so-called Hardscrabble grants were also awarded to teachers in surrounding communities.The grants represent the second major money award to the public schools in as many weeks.Lynn educators learned last Friday they would receive $3.7 million in early childhood money to be split with local organizations.The federal money will be spent in part on creating eight centers where an estimated 300 pre-school children will master basic learning skills they will need in kindergarten. The initiative’s goal is to double the number of academically at-risk children currently served by public school pre-school programs.Three quarters of the Lynn schools pre-kindergarten to fifth-grade students do not speak English as their primary language or have very limited English proficiency and 16 percent of students receive special education services.The funding will also allow three local institutions – Operation Bootstrap, North Shore Community College and the Lynn Public Library – to offer services to educate families and encourage support for children’s literacy development.University of Massachusetts-Boston will also collaborate with Early Childhood Associates, which is a New England-based national training and research small business owned by women, to implement the early literacy training Steps to Success to six early literacy coaches who will provide ongoing classroom-based coaching to teachers.