The Network for Social Justice’s Schools & Youth Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of their 2019-2020 micro-grant awards. The Committee is grateful to Winchester Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Elineema for her guidance and consultation. The Committee awarded $2,005 to five applicants, resulting in one full and four partial awards. Congratulations to the following awardees!
- Ariel DiOrio of Lynch was awarded $150 for diverse books for elementary art:
“My goal is to expose students to representations of different identities through books about diverse artists and artwork. Not only do I want them to be able to see themselves represented, but I also want them to see images of many different identities in order to better understand and relate to others. This incorporates several of Teaching Tolerance’s Social Justice Standards.”
- Julie McElaney-Gorman was awarded $500 for STEM books depicting women in mathematical fields:
“This grant is for the purchase of 15 pictures books for each of the Winchester elementary schools. These books feature females engaged in mathematical pursuits. Some of the books are fiction and the female main character(s) use math to solve both problems occurring in the story’s plot as well as actual math problems that arise in the narrative. Other books are picture biographies of famous female thought leaders in the world of mathematics. In addition to the purchase of these books, I will invite Winchester High School students to elementary classrooms to read the books to students. This participation on the high school students’ part will provide them with an opportunity to connect as leaders and will also add a greater level of interest and excitement about the books on the younger students’ part.”
- Tracie S. Evrigenis of the Winchester High School English Language Arts Department was awarded $500 for the purchase of books depicting the disgruntled white underclass
“I feel that in order to learn about culture [in my Modern Culture and Media class], creating a safe environment is important; students must have time to develop bonds with each other so that they feel
comfortable expressing their ideas, responding to each other with sensitivity. For this reason, I begin the course locally, with aspects of their inherited history (Boston) before I venture further into ‘otherness’ and marginalized peoples.”
- Tara Donner, Allyson Hayden, Kris Rivais, Sara Stenson, Melissa Zampitella, Meghan Callaghan and Carolyn Plosky of the McCall Middle School English Language Arts Department were awarded $650 for the purchase of I Am Malala books for 7th graders
“Our goal is to add more diversity to our classrooms, creating more opportunities for mirrors & windows for our students. This text choice also creates a connection to our grade seven students’ study of geography.”
“Adding more diversity to our canon advances equity and inclusion in Winchester Public Schools (WPS) and the greater Winchester community by exposing our students to more cultures and perspectives through reading. This text choice specifically adds a young female Pakistani Muslim perspective, which is new, to our canon.”
- Pamela Guilmain of Muraco Elementary was awarded $205 for books and translation app geared toward newcomers.
“Books— To start cooperative group activities with a real aloud book based on inclusivity and multicultural topics and to provide age appropriate text for older newcomer students. Translations— To translate documents more efficiently in order to include my newcomers in classroom activities.”
“Students (who work together in small cooperative groups and students who need access to age appropriate materials in their native language) Newcomer students and families who need translations of classroom materials and letters from teachers.”