This spring SEPTA (the Mamaroneck-Larchmont Special Education Parent Teacher Association) awarded 12 grants totaling over $4,000 for the 2009-2010 school year. SEPTA’s main fundraising efforts include membership dues, donations, and the sale of the school district mini-calendars. All the grants will support literacy through different means, and most will benefit special education as well as regular education students. On May 28, SEPTA held its last program of the year, and announced the grant recipients. SEPTA is grateful to have a strong partnership with teaching staff and is pleased to support their efforts and dedication to benefit students with different needs. Here is a summary of the innovative and exciting grants that were awarded:
o Purchase of materials to provide a multi-sensory approach for bridging phonemic awareness, phonics and literacy
o Funding for equipment to learn with audio-books
o Purchase of classroom jeopardy
o Funding for therapy materials for children with apraxia and unintelligible speech
o Purchase of materials to help build fine motor skills
o Subscription to a multi-reading level electronic news magazine
o Purchase of materials to increase social workers’ educational programs
o Funding of parenting video lessons to help children with special needs
o Purchase of materials to support fine motor skills and concentration, such as pencil grips, air cushions, and privacy shields
o Funding for multiple copies of trade books for multi-level reading groups
o Transportation funding for community based vocational training
o Purchase of high school audio books
Thank you to the teachers for submitting grant proposals and to the SEPTA Grants Chairs (Lori Stevenson and George Hebron) for all their help with this process.