Retired Teachers present Teacher Support Grants

On Tuesday, January 9, at the FPUD Community Meeting Room the Fallbrook Chapter of the California Retired Teachers Association (CRTA) presented grants to local educators.

The Teacher Support Grants are awarded to teachers in the Fallbrook and Vallecitos Elementary School Districts to enhance and enrich classroom learning experiences. The Fallbrook Chapter of CRTA received donations from their general membership, the Fallbrook Vintage Car Club and Carroll and Cecilia Njust, members of the Fallbrook Vintage Car Club.

“CRTA would like more than anything to expand their efforts to increase the number of grants given to our deserving teachers,” said Sally Whitlock of CRTA.

Grants of $200 were presented to the following seven teachers.

Jodi Dufour, who teaches grades six through the eighth at San Onofre School, is using her grant funds to implement a walking and nutrition program to help promote physical fitness among her students. Dufour explains that the program will “allow children to see and feel the benefits and joy of proper exercise and proper diet.” In addition, she would like to have the resources to explain the many different sports she teaches in physical education so students are able to understand the games.

Carol Watson, who teaches the fourth grade at Vallecitos School, is using her grant to provide material to enhance the California history curriculum. She will purchase Huell Howser’s tapes that not only link to the state standards but also cover a wide variety of topics in the required curriculum. “I see the need to help my students to be able to visualize the beautiful land and culture of California,” she said.

Candelaria Angeles teaches the fourth grade at Live Oak Elementary School and is using the grant to purchase support material for language arts and science curriculums, saying, “The goal is to produce two to three plays a year.” The funds will be used to purchase scripts for musicals as well as for CDs of rehearsal music. “Pirates from Grammar Island,” “Geology Rocks” and/or “It’s Electrifying!” will be purchased from Bad Wolf Press.

Brad Fox, a seventh grade teacher at Potter Junior High School, is using his grant to provide a learning resource kit for English language learners to help them with schoolwork that is done at home. He will purchase approximately sixteen sets of student dictionaries, desk supplies, portable filing cases and other materials to create a “support material learning environment at home.” The students will be given the opportunity to win the material through an essay contest. “My goal is to instill a sense of pride and personal resourcefulness among the students,” he said.

Heather Odom teaches first grade at Mary Fay Pendleton School and is using her funds to purchase books that will challenge her top students. Books by authors such as Beverly Cleary and Mary Pope Osborne, creator of the popular Magic Tree House series, will be purchased. “Each year I am getting more and more students who are fluent readers,” said Odom. “I am not allowed to use higher grade level books, so I need different literature books to challenge my top students.”

Katy Tobler, an eighth grade teacher at Potter Junior High, is using her funds to purchase Adobe Photoshop elements (media and licenses). “We would love to have this program to improve our ability to edit images for use in our technology courses, including television broadcasting, video conferencing, ELD tech and tech mentor crew,” she said.

Carmen Donez teaches kindergarten through second grade at Fallbrook Street School and will use her funds to purchase materials in order to implement a class newspaper. “Children’s listening, speaking and writing skills will be enhanced and enriched as they interview family members, ‘make headlines’ and investigate ‘newspapers,’” she said. “The students will learn about the different parts of the newspaper, types of information in a newspaper and how writing is developed for a newspaper.” Resources needed are: digital camera, Print Shop Premier, journals and other material relating to newspaper production.

Any organization and/or individual interested in participating in this project may contact Fallbrook CRTA President Lucile Reeder at (760) 728-3879.