Recently Funded Innovation Grants
BWEF provides support and recognition of innovative teaching programs, ideas, and methodologies that support the foundation’s goals of increasing student scores on tests, delivering improved student outcomes, preparing students for post-high school employment, or furthering the students’ ability to apply classroom learning to real world situations. We invite proposals that support this mission and enhance student learning in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District. This program provides funding not readily available through state, federal, or district resources. The Foundation has provided nearly $50,000 in value to the District through innovation grants since 2018.
2024 Seed Innovation Grants
As a result of the 2023 mini golf outing and through the generosity of our community partners HHSDR Architects & Engineers, Novum Designs, GBU Life, and the Pennsylvania Public Education Foundation, BWEF will fund five innovation seed grants for a total value of $8,500 in 2024. We will post updates online as these projects come to life. |
- Zen Den at Baldwin Middle School. Dedicated sensory space inside the middle school will offer a therapeutic environment where students can seek respite and decrease anxiety through meditative music, calming essentials oils, mini sand gardens, soft seating, and a multitude of tools that support self-regulation and student's mental health. Faculty sponsor: Karen Casper.
- Freshman Frenzy at Baldwin High School. Staff will deliver a re-imagined engagement experience for ninth-grade students entering high school, complete with an all-day orientation, a family tailgate, and additional social activities that will translate to better attendance, a higher level of participation in activities inside and outside of school hours, and increased academic success. Faculty sponsors: Denise Wells, Julie Sumper, Brandon Whitfield.
- Sensory Garden at Whitehall Elementary School. This hands-on gardening environment will be designed with the goal of stimulating the five senses to encourage educational exploration in a non-traditional education setting. Through an environment like a sensory garden, students will learn how to regulate their emotions and develop healthy coping skills. Faculty sponsor: Sarah Wray.
- Learning Garden at Harrison Education Center. This grant will build upon the success of last year's curriculum-based garden activities and expand the hands-on opportunities across curriculum at HEC and through partnerships around Pittsburgh. Faculty sponsors: Allison Shreve, Emily Palma, Amber Snyder.
- Purple Pantry at Baldwin High School. The Purple Pantry will resurrect the Highlander Pantry project that was paused during the pandemic and provide clean clothing, personal hygiene supplies, and basic toiletries to students in a private setting so that the District's most at-risk students will be put in position to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. Faculty sponsors: Elizabeth Allemang, Francesca Cappetta, Rebecca Mackin, Kathryn Streets
Supporting the District's esports Initiative
BWEF has awarded a $10,000 innovation grant to support the District's nascent esports initiative. The funds will be used to create new and expanded opportunities for student participation, provide additional tools that improve players' digital citizenship, purchase additional hardware in the esports gaming arena located at Baldwin High School, position the team to host public competitions, and more. Congratulations to Dr. Janeen Peretin, the District's director of communication, innovation, and advancement, and esports Coach Nathan Elias on receiving this grant. |
2023 Seed Innovation Grants
As a result of the 2022 mini golf outing and through the generosity of our community partners HHSDR Architects & Engineers, UPMC, and GBU Financial Life, BWEF funded three seed innovation grants (instead of the originally planned three) for a total value of nearly $5,000. We will update this area as each project progresses.
As a result of the 2022 mini golf outing and through the generosity of our community partners HHSDR Architects & Engineers, UPMC, and GBU Financial Life, BWEF funded three seed innovation grants (instead of the originally planned three) for a total value of nearly $5,000. We will update this area as each project progresses.
- Project 1: Bits and Pieces, the mobile supply store. The student entrepreneurs of Whitehall Elementary School submitted supply, equipment, and inventory orders within 72 hours of learning the good news: that their pitch for a student-managed school supply store was approved for funding. "They wasted no time," said Kristy Frohliger, the District's STEAM/Media specialist and faculty sponsor of the initiative. "They had the cart built and the store functional within two weeks and even produced their first sale before winter recess in December." The mobile store serves multiple functions: (i) it's a resource for teachers and students in need of classroom supplies like pencils, erasers, bookmarks, etc., and (ii) as a vehicle to give students daily hands-on opportunities to learn business skills like inventory and cash management, cost analysis, marketing, customer service, and problem solving. "The store will impact the whole teaching and learning community at Whitehall," Frohliger said. "Students will be communicating with teachers often to determine what items to carry and how they can serve the entire school better," she said. Frohliger hopes that Bits and Pieces will be a model for the rest of the District, as the concept is something that can be replicated at every school. Sales will support the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support program.
- Project 2: BHS Preschool STEM Night. How do you spin a penny inside a balloon? Can you make electricity with Play-Doh? What happens to water during a tornado? These were just a few of the questions posed to preschool students at Baldwin-Whitehall's preschool STEM Night, an idea brought to life by Virginia Pfatteicher and Michelle Malone, teachers at Baldwin High School. Hosted at BHS, Preschool STEM Night brought together nearly 50 BW preschool students and their families for an evening of learning through experimentation with gravity, velocity, light, heat, buoyancy, magnetism, and electricity. Through a series of custom-designed activities, all created by high school students, learners got to see, hear, touch, and create. Pfatteicher said that the activities combined learning opportunities for the District’s youngest students with learning opportunities for high school student teachers as well. “This project provided many layers of learning,” she said. “Our preschool students and their families had a wonderful evening of hands-on learning, and our high school students, who served as teachers during this event, planned and helped to deliver the entire program.” You can read more about this successful initiative on our Headlines page.
- Project 3: Sixth Grade Curriculum-based Projects. Students in the sixth grade, co-taught English Language Arts class at J.E. Harrison Education Center enjoyed two experiential learning opportunities. First, they conceptualized and designed their own pairs of shoes; and then seeded and harvested their own culinary creations at the learning garden just outside of the school. Allison Shreve, teacher at Harrison Education Center, authored guest blogs describing the assignments and how they inspired very creative problem solving. Shreve, Amber Snyder, and Denise Wells received a seed innovation grant that also saw tremendous student engagement with the District's Mobile Fab Lab. You can read Shreve's guest blog on our Headlines page.
Surprise Funding: 11 Grants Awarded During Teaching Appreciation Week
On May 3, 2022, BWEF surprised several faculty by fully funding 11 projects listed on DonorsChoose.com. Our support, matched at 50% by Sonic Drive-In, created nearly $3,500 in innovation grants value for eight different faculty at three different schools:
On May 3, 2022, BWEF surprised several faculty by fully funding 11 projects listed on DonorsChoose.com. Our support, matched at 50% by Sonic Drive-In, created nearly $3,500 in innovation grants value for eight different faculty at three different schools:
- Building a Love of Reading : Maeve Hendricks, Whitehall Elementary School
- Cozy Calm Down Corner: Alexandra Hasis, Whitehall Elementary School
- Get Hooked on a Book: Caitlin Haniotakis, Whitehall Elementary School
- Loving Life in Biology, Environment and Scientific Inquiry: Tina Gaser, Baldwin High School
- Novel Studies Rock: Angela Siler, Whitehall Elementary School
- Putting Skills to Work with Ukeleles: Megan Kraus, Whitehall Elementary School
- Success with STEAM Supplies : Kristen Knorr, J.E. Harrison Education Center
- Wild Reading Adventure with Wild Robot Escapes, Many Faces of Magna Tiles, Full STEAM Ahead: Natalie Rusnica, Whitehall Elementary School
The Inchy Bookworm Book Vending Machine
Kristy Frohliger, STEAM/Media specialist for the district, received a faculty innovations grant in fall 2021 to support the installation of a book vending machine at Whitehall Elementary School. BWEF contributed nearly $2,000 to the project, was matched in full by the Dollar General Literacy Fund, and was joined by nearly $1,700 in individual donations from DonorsChoose.com. The machine was introduced during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 20, 2022, and will incentivize students to make kind, positive choices in order to receive a gold coin that can be redeemed for a book. "I was really excited and proud to be the first one to pick out a book," said Summer W., a second-grade student at Whitehall. Summer holds the distinction of being the first-ever student to earn a book from the vending machine. Kyla, a fifth-grade student who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, indicated that the machine was already serving its intended purpose. "I was excited to be one of the first to try out the new book vending machine," Kyla said, "and I picked a Babysitters Club book. I hope I can earn more rewards for another book before the end of the school year." |
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District Guest: Charles (Tre) Tipton, CEO of L.O.V.E.
Baldwin-Whitehall School District hosted motivational speaker Charles (Tre) Tipton in a guest presentation about overcoming mental health issues and the importance of positive thoughts in April 2022. Mr. Tipton, CEO of Living Out Victoriously Everday (L.O.V.E.), recipient of the 2021 Disney Spirit Award, University of Pittsburgh alumnus, and champion for mental health, spoke to middle and high school students about his own struggles with mental health issues and offered inspiring ways to find the courage to overcome those challenges. Anthony Barbano, teacher at Baldwin High School, coordinated Mr. Tipton's arrangements and the foundation sponsored and funded the visit. "I know this made a great impact in the lives of our students," Barbano said. "An event like this was much needed in our schools. Without BWEF's support, this would not have been possible."
Baldwin-Whitehall School District hosted motivational speaker Charles (Tre) Tipton in a guest presentation about overcoming mental health issues and the importance of positive thoughts in April 2022. Mr. Tipton, CEO of Living Out Victoriously Everday (L.O.V.E.), recipient of the 2021 Disney Spirit Award, University of Pittsburgh alumnus, and champion for mental health, spoke to middle and high school students about his own struggles with mental health issues and offered inspiring ways to find the courage to overcome those challenges. Anthony Barbano, teacher at Baldwin High School, coordinated Mr. Tipton's arrangements and the foundation sponsored and funded the visit. "I know this made a great impact in the lives of our students," Barbano said. "An event like this was much needed in our schools. Without BWEF's support, this would not have been possible."
Sphero Bolt Coding Robots
Jessica Seidl, STEAM/Media Specialist in the district, received a grant of nearly $2,000 to introduce Sphero Bolt Coding Robots to the classroom. The robots will provide experiential coding opportunities for students and increase group assignments and collaboration. "This grant will help prepare students for skills they will need after high school," Seidl said. "By learning basic programming skills, they can first become interested in STEM-related positions, and take more challenging courses as they get older--thus preparing them for employment in the future."
Breakout EDU
Krystal Schulte, English teacher at Baldwin High School, received a $2,000 grant in 2020 for the implementation of Breakout EDU, a learning management software based on the escape room concept. "Lessons using the escape room structure assist with formative assessment in that they create challenges in which the students must collaborate and be flexible to peers’ suggestions while working to critically solve a task based on the classroom content," Schulte said. "This assessment engages a growth-mindset, which is positively correlated with achievement in student learning outcomes."
Krystal Schulte, English teacher at Baldwin High School, received a $2,000 grant in 2020 for the implementation of Breakout EDU, a learning management software based on the escape room concept. "Lessons using the escape room structure assist with formative assessment in that they create challenges in which the students must collaborate and be flexible to peers’ suggestions while working to critically solve a task based on the classroom content," Schulte said. "This assessment engages a growth-mindset, which is positively correlated with achievement in student learning outcomes."
BW Basics and the Highlander Pantry
The foundation provided $2,000 to the Baldwin-Whitehall School District in 2019 to create BW Basics and the Highlander Pantry. Located at Baldwin High School and J.E. Harrison Middle School, respectively, these locations provide clothing and personal hygiene supplies to students and families in a private setting. The goal of this initiative is to supply clean clothing and toiletries so that the district's most at-risk students will be put in position to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally.
Dash and Dot Robots Tamara Rellick, first grade teacher at Paynter Elementary School, received a grant for $1,000 in 2018 to introduce coding to her classroom with the Dot and Dash Robot Wonder Pack. The tool provided students with an innovative way to explore problem solving and critical thinking through computer programming. "The robots would show our students an innovative technology as well as broaden our scope of STEM education in the classroom," Rellick said. "First graders will write code in an innovative way while exploring mathematical processes." You can see the robots in action on Mrs. Rellick's Twitter page. |
Baldwin Bean Baldwin Bean, the new student-managed coffee shop at Baldwin High School, received a $2,000 grant in 2018 for the installation of electronics such as digital signage, charging stations, and an online ordering system. The coffee shop gave students hands-on experience with money and inventory management, customer service, and accounting. "This will provide an opportunity to take what students are learning in the classroom and put it into action in a real-world environment," said Eric Jankoski, transition coordinator at Baldwin High School and manager of the Baldwin Bean project. You can follow the shop's activities on the Baldwin Bean Twitter page. |
Mobile Fab Lab BWEF and Day Automotive Group combined to make a $20,000 contribution in 2018 to the installation of technologies inside the district's Mobile Fab Lab. The grant equipped the maker space with 3D printers, laser engravers, and vinyl cutting technologies. Students throughout the district have the opportunity to interact with the lab technologies for class projects and special assignments. You can follow the lab's activities on the Mobile Fab Lab Twitter page. |
Learn more about the process on our grant application page.