GRANT TITLE
Salk Sensory/Calming Area for Students

GRANT AUTHOR, SCHOOL, IMPACT & FUNDING
Alison Petralia, Jonas E. Salk Elementary, 709 K-4 students, $500

GRANT PERIOD
Round 28 for Fall, 2015; implemented in Spring, 2016

GRANT APPLICATION
This project creates a place where students with a wide range of sensory, self-calming, and stimulation needs can self-advocate and regulate emotions without leaving the instructional environment.  Students will have the opportunity to use items provided in the sensory areas to calm down, self soothe, release anger, and work through frustration in a positive, nonjudgmental climate.  These potentially decrease the amount of special education referrals, decrease referrals leading to out-of-classroom suspensions, decrease classroom disruption while fostering independence, increasing student instruction and learning time, and facilitate an environment that is safe and comfortable for all students.

GRANT OUTCOMES
Jonas E. Salk Elementary School was awarded two grants, one from the Merrillville Education Foundation and another from NIPSCO, to purchase items to meet the sensory needs of students.  With the money granted, we were able to purchase various items such as kinetic sand, foot rollers, chair bands, jelly beads, various fidget toys, in addition to several other sensory items.  All teachers, K-4, have access to the items and are encouraged to utilize them in their classrooms to meet the many needs of their students.  We have noticed a significant drop in the number of students needing time away to regroup and time off task since the items have been introduced.  The teachers and students at Jonas E. Salk sincerely thank the Merrillville Education Foundation and NIPSCO for their generosity!

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GRANT TITLE
Current Events in the Classroom

GRANT AUTHOR, SCHOOL, IMPACT & FUNDING
Heather Barshich, Miller, 90 4th grade students, $500

GRANT PERIOD
Round 28 for Fall, 2015; implemented in Spring, 2016

GRANT APPLICATION
The fourth grade teachers at Miller requested funds to purchase materials to supplement English and Language Arts curriculum through educational, nonfiction magazines.  Scholastic News is a nonfiction magazine designed to enhance language arts skills through current events.  These magazines engage student learning through maps and charts, photographs, and fascinating captions with close reading questions and text marking activities.

GRANT OUTCOMES
As a fourth-grade team, we use the Scholastic News as a part of our reading curriculum.  Students and teachers can discuss current events, as well as practice reading strategies.  Scholastic News provides online activities and additional materials, such as graphic organizers and paired texts with questions for extra reading practice.  The students are excited when the new magazine arrives and enjoy the articles.