WCAEF Mini-Grant Report
2024-25 School Year Mini-Grant Results
Enhancements for Bellingham
East Goshen Elementary received a mini-grant of $244 to support community service projects that helped students build meaningful connections with those around them.
The funds were used to purchase supplies for students to create heartfelt cards for residents at Bellingham Retirement Community and yarn for 5th graders to craft baby hats for the maternity ward at Chester County Hospital. These hands-on activities gave students a thoughtful way to give back and strengthen their sense of community!
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized By: Tracy McCloskey, EGE
- Student Impact: 500 East Goshen Elementary Students, Bellingham Residents, and Chester County Hospital
- Overall Success: Project was completed and all goals and objectives were met. The students used the stickers and other materials to create cards for the residents at Bellingham and 5th grade students were able to turn the yarn into baby hats for the hospital.
- Considered Improvements: Have students personally deliver the cards and baby hats.
Little Free Library
The grant funded materials and supplies for the library, as well as student-led efforts like a book drive and promotional campaign!
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized By: Katie Carlin, EXE
- Student Impact: All of EXE and local community
- Overall Success: The project has successfully wrapped up with the installation and official opening of the Little Free Library. EXE celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, student speeches, and book stocking!
- Considered Improvements: One area of improvement for this project could be establishing a long-term plan for maintaining and restocking the Little Free Library.
Artist in Residence Mural
Exton Elementary received a $2,500 mini-grant to support a mural project through an artist-in-residence program. The initiative provided students with real-world experiences in art, collaboration, and creative thinking while also emphasizing the business side of being a professional artist.
Students engaged in all stages of the artistic process - making meaningful connections within their school community and helping to beautify the walls with a lasting symbol of equity, kindness, and personal excellence.
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized By: Geena Teodecki, EXE
- Student Impact: All of EXE
- Overall Success: Goals were successfully achieved, with survey results showing that most students felt inspired, accomplished, and considered a future or career in the arts.
- Considered Improvements: Streamline wrap up of the project into a smoother instructional timeline.
Designing Minds: Expanding Creative Thinking from Lab to Classroom
Fern Hill Elementary received $2,376 to expand design thinking beyond the Design Lab and into core classrooms. The grant supported student-centered projects that connected academic content to real-world issues, such as designing community improvements and exploring digital wellness.
Through these hands-on, collaborative activities, students developed critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills across disciplines.
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized By: Katelyn Zarr, Stephanie Cullen, and Jessica McCullough, FHE
- Student Impact: 75 fifth graders
- Overall Success: Fully met, and in many ways exceeded program goal of incorporating at least one interdisciplinary project that utilized design thinking and sense-making tasks.
- Considered Improvements: Build in more time for student reflection and iteration.
Artwork Creation for Unity, Kindness, and Respect
Glen Acres Elementary received a mini-grant of $312 to support a school-wide art project focused on the theme of Unity, Kindness, and Respect. Students in grades 3–5 worked in small groups to create original artwork, and staff voted on their favorite designs. The selected pieces were then replicated onto three large canvases, with every student in the school contributing to the painting.
The project fostered creativity, collaboration, and a shared sense of community!
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized By: Jessica Tigue-Lefler, GAE
- Student Impact: All of Glen Acres Elementary
- Overall Success: Project met all goals
- Considered Improvements: No areas of improvement needed.
Fine Motor Development to Benefit STEAM Thinking
Starkweather Elementary received a mini-grant of $500 to enhance fine motor development in Kindergarten classrooms. The funds were used to purchase fine motor toys and tools that support key skills needed for academic tasks and STEAM learning.
Through a mix of free play and guided activities, students built coordination, problem-solving, and endurance. These tools are now used across subjects to boost engagement and support overall development!
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized By: Betsy Lane, Jen DiAntonio, Kristen Brown, Michel Comstock, and Kate Saracini, SWE
- Student Impact: 100 students
- Overall Success: This project met the goals of 80% of students developing the stamina to focus on a fine motor task for 15 minutes.
- Considered Improvements: In coming years, the focus will be to build the stamina of students to engage with an assigned fine motor task and design tasks that are relevant to what we are learning in our regular curriculum to create cross-curricular opportunities.
Expanding the CoDrone
Peirce Middle School received a mini-grant of $2,258 to expand the drone coding program started with last year’s $2,500 grant!
Building on their initial work using CoDrone Classroom Kits to code basic drone tasks and navigate obstacle courses, students this year focused on coding drones to fly through hoops using distance and height measurements. Over two days, they tested and refined their flight paths, exploring the relationship between drone speed and distance. This expansion allowed more students to develop their coding, problem-solving, and teamwork skills through hands-on learning.
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized by: Kelsey Morrow, PMS
- Student Impact: 100 Peirce Middle School students
- Overall Success: Project was completed as intended
- Considered Improvements: Students create obstacle courses for each other next year
Preserving the Future: The Role of Freeze Drying in STEM Innovations
Peirce Middle School received a mini-grant of $2,500 to purchase a freeze dryer, enhancing cross-curricular learning between Technology Education and Family and Consumer Science. The freeze dryer allows students to preserve herbs and vegetables grown in Tech Ed, ensuring they can be used later in FCS.
This project supports real-world applications of STEM by exploring sustainable agriculture, food preservation technology, and culinary arts!
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized by: Michael Dumas and Heather Santry, PMS
- Student Impact: 354 Students
- Overall Success: All goals and objectives were met and or exceeded expectations
- Considered Improvements: No considered improvements
Outdoor Classroom Revitalization
Peirce Middle School received a $1,330 mini-grant to revitalize their outdoor classroom! The project involved replacing a broken pond liner with a new garden bed and refreshing existing beds with native, low-maintenance plants.
Students collaborated to research local landscape companies and helped coordinate plant orders, while volunteers from helped move soil and plant the garden. This hands-on project not only improved the outdoor space but also supported students’ development of real-world problem-solving and executive functioning skills.
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized by: Matt Dummeldinger, Ashley Rathman, Peter Fosco and Gabrielle Kummerer
- Student Impact: Entire School
- Overall Success: The project was a great success and it also provided great experience to everyone in the environmental club.
- Considered Improvements: Weather was the only major obstacle.
Digging Local Clay
East High School received an $1,800 mini-grant to once again bring local artists Drew Arata and Bob Deane to work with sculpture students, building on the success of previous years' experience. Students gathered clay from a nearby creek and transformed it into usable material, which they used to create collaborative and individual sculptures, wheel-thrown pottery, and glazed pieces.
Inspired by the natural variations in the local clay, students embraced the creative process and explored the material in new and meaningful ways!
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized by: Christy Maurer, EHS
- Student Impact: Grades 9-12 Sculpture students
- Overall Success: It was a great success, including sculpture students from all levels this year in such a hands on activity.
- Considered Improvements: Next year, reach some consensus with the students to address some reluctance to go outside.
Enhancing E-Sports Program
Henderson High School received an $838 mini-grant to diversify its esports program by purchasing two Nintendo Switch consoles and competitive games.
This expansion supports the creation of a unified division, promoting inclusion by allowing Life Skills students to join the team and participate in the growing esports community!
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized by: Jamie Wagner and Dan Coley, HHS
- Student Impact: About 50 HHS students
- Overall Success: Equipment has not come in yet, but anticipating great success.
- Considered Improvements: Will report back once equipment has been used.
Building Thinking Classrooms
Henderson High School received an $880 mini-grant to purchase 8 vertical whiteboards to implement Peter Liljedahl’s "Building Thinking Classrooms" (BTC) protocol in 10 social studies classes.
BTC promotes student-centered learning by encouraging collaboration, critical thinking, and active problem solving through randomized student groupings and visible thinking strategies. This approach fosters engagement, helps students develop historical thinking skills, and strengthens communication and teamwork, preparing them for success beyond the classroom.
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized by: Laura Fredd-Maxwell and Steve Kernaghan, HHS
- Student Impact: 206 students
- Overall Success: Based on teacher-collected survey data, 95.5% of students agreed or strongly agreed that using BTC as a strategy in class led to them feeling exciting about learning new things 88.9% of students agreed or strongly agreed that they could participate and share their ideas as a result of using BTC strategies.
- Considered Improvements: No considered improvements
Writing Formal Gratitude Cards
Henderson High School received a $90 mini-grant to fund high-quality thank you cards and supplies for a formal letter-writing project.
During this project, sophomore students practiced the full writing process, culminating in handwritten thank you cards on professional cardstock sealed with foil stickers purchased through the grant. The grant not only covered this year’s expenses but also provided extra materials that will be used to support the project next year.
Mini-Grant Key Details:
- Submitted and Organized by: Meghan Crisafulli, HHS
- Student Impact: 104 students
- Overall Success: The project met its goals, with over 40 teachers receiving cards. Students were engaged in choosing who to write to and selecting their stationery.
- Considered Improvements: Increasing student participation by making the project required, while offering the option to remain anonymous when sending cards to teachers.
