Recent Grants Approved by the Somerset Elementary School Foundation

Updated: October 6, 2019

• 5/28/19: $10,000 for food, clothes, and other essentials for children in need at Somerset Elementary.
• 3/26/19: $1072 for Ms Flores and Ms Reed to attend Common Ground Conference in Maryland.
• 3/26/19: $5648 for 8 New Computers to replace current, out of date Dell laptops
• 2/15/19: $665 for a one-year subscription to Raz Plus, a computer platform that helps teachers work with English language learners.  Over 17% of SES students are ESOL.
• 2/15/19: $1,061 for coding computers and software to be used at the February 20 STEM night and beyond.
• 1/22/19: Request for $933 from SES 5th grade teachers for Junior Scholastic subscriptions for all 5th grade students. Requester: Melissa Hopkins.
• 1/22/19: $3,750 to fund six SES staff members to lead after-school Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) with other SES staff in the areas of STEM, reading, and student/community engagement.  The PLCs also coordinate and organize the STEM Night and Family Reading Night at SES.  Requester: Maureen Turner.=
• 11/27/18: $2,000 to fund a Wings Mentorship for four elementary school students with learning disabilities — two from SES and two from other MCPS elementary schools.  The program pays mentors (former teachers) $500 each to work closely with the students and help them design and research a project, culminating in a presentation that showcases their skills and strengths.
• 11/27/18: $2,218 to fund a program at Whetstone Elementary School (not Title I but 60% FARMS and 42% ESOL) to purchase various items (earbuds, bracelets, t-shirts, etc.) as incentives to students who read 25 books (outside of those assigned for class) during the school year.
• 9/27/18: $12,370 to fund the After School Clubs that provide remedial assistance to Somerset students in need of math, reading, and writing assistance.
• 9/27/18: $2,395 to fund a subscription to BrainPOP, an interactive educational website focusing on STEM education and used by all grades at Somerset Elementary School.
• 9/27/18: $198 to fund spelling reference books for all 3^rd grade students at SES to enhance writing skills.
• 9/27/18: $2,016 to fund purchase of 8 new chromebooks for 3^rd grade SES team.
• 9/27/18: $2,114 to fund the purchase of six 2-way radios to enhance school safety and security for Sequoyah Elementary School, a Montgomery County school that, while not a Title I designee, has a 61% FARMS eligibility rate (for free and reduced priced meals).
• 8/28/18: $1,075 to fund SES kindergarten structured writing curriculum.
• July 2018: $375 for attendance incentives for summer reading/math/science program at Title 1 Bel-Pre elementary school where Ms. Turner taught over the summer
• May 2018: $11,000 to provide groceries for families within the Somerset school community needing support over the summer ($9,000 of this is newly approved funding; $2,000 is redirected from surplus funds remaining from a Somerset Pantry grant approved at our March 2018 meeting)
• May 2018: $1,400 for Title I school, Watkins Mill Elementary, to fund two cultural arts assemblies during the 2018-19 school year
• May 2018: Disbursement of up to $3,324 for Title I elementary school, Georgian Forest, to conduct a literacy intervention program for 40 students reading at least one year below MCPS benchmarks. Somerset Foundation paid $1649 and Bradley Hills Foundation paid $1675.
• May 2018: $1,829 for new Somerset Elementary classroom tables in the fourth grade to promote collaborative learning in mathematics.
• May 2018 — $1,020 for SES kindergarten teachers to run a summer reading intervention group for rising 1^st graders who ended school year below recommended reading level.
• May 2018 — $923 for Rolling Terrace Elementary School, a Takoma Park 72% FARMS and 59% Hispanic school, to help pay for a Spanish-English language summer immersion curriculum.
• April 2018 – $1,113 to pay for Tracy Jeffcott and Brooke Flores to attend Common Ground conference focused on digital learning.
• March 2018 – Up to $2,000 for the Somerset Elementary School pantry, which provides food and essentials to Somerset families in need.
• March 2018 – Up to $4,000 in grants to Title I elementary schools within Montgomery County.
• January 2018 – $1,000 to help fund educational field trips for students at Daly Elementary School, a Title I school in Montgomery County, and to help replenish the school’s “Neediest Kids Fund” which enables students from low-income families to attend field trips with the rest of their class.
• January 2018 – $3,750 to pay Somerset Elementary School staff members who lead after-school professional training groups at the school, including funds to help support Somerset’s popular STEM Night and Reading Night. This proposal has been funded in previous years as well.

2017

• September 2017 — $11,240 to fund the After School Clubs that provide remedial assistance to Somerset students in need of math, reading, and writing assistance. This proposal has been funded in previous years as well.
• September 2017 — $2,395 to fund a subscription to BrainPOP, an interactive educational website focusing on STEM education and used by all grades at Somerset Elementary School. This proposal has been funded in previous years as well.
• September 2017 — $933 to fund a subscription to Junior Scholastic magazine for the fifth grade students at Somerset. This proposal has been funded in previous years as well.
• May 2017 — $2,089 for Rolling Terrace Elementary School, a Title I school in Montgomery County, to purchase Chromebook computers, software, and a laptop cart.
• January 2017 — $856 to fund travel for Kelly Morris and Maureen Turner to attend the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development national conference in California, which included topics such as the whole child, transformational leadership, global engagement, and poverty and equity issues.

2016

• November 2016 — $590 to fund the purchase of headphones for Sequoyah Elementary School, a Montgomery County school that, while not a Title I designee, has a 61% FARMS eligibility rate (for free and reduced priced meals).
• May 2016 — $1,000 to help fund the cost of an educational field trip taken by fourth grade students at Viers Mill Elementary School, another Montgomery County school that, while not a Title I designee, is a high-FARMS school. This proposal has been funded in previous years as well.
• April 2016 — $2,165 to fund a Social Thinking training conference for Somerset’s two full-time special education teachers and the school counselor to attend.
  

2015

• November 2015 – $2,200 to approve the purchase of an Apple MacBook Pro computer and software for the Somerset instrumental music teacher to train students and staff on creating and sharing interactive music videos.