Needham Education Foundation Issues Grants for Innovative Teacher Training
and Arts Curriculum Projects

NEEDHAM, Mass., January 24, 2007 - The Needham Education Foundation (NEF) today announced two Large Grants of $15,000 each to Hillside Elementary School and Needham High School to help fund innovative education programs at the two schools.

The grant to Hillside Elementary School, proposed by Principal Michael Kascak, will enable it to begin a partnership with Lesley University to create an internship program bringing five graduate students who are enrolled in Lesley’s Accelerated Teacher Certification Program into the Hillside School for the 2007-2008 school year.

Hillside will become Lesley’s first suburban public site for a program that is already in place at several other schools, including Buckingham Brown & Nichols, The Shady Hill School, and the Brookline Public Schools. This internship program has the added potential of bringing a diverse group of teachers into the Hillside school. Additionally, Hillside teachers will have a unique opportunity for professional development through teaching and mentoring these interns.

The grant for Needham High School will fund the expansion of its art curriculum by adding a new program in public art. This grant, proposed by Karen Price and NHS art teacher Linda Burke, continues the multi-year initiative to support the newly selected artist-in-residence, Joy Wulke, working on the public art installation in the lobby of the new high school building. The new Public Art course is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2007. The school’s public art program has been supported in the recent past by NEF (through a $3,500 grant in the Fall of 2005), and separate grants from the Needham High School PTC and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The Needham Education Foundation is an independent, community-based, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to stimulate innovation and excellence by supporting educational programs that are outside normal public funding. Since its founding in 1991, NEF has raised over $1 million and awarded more than 200 grants totaling nearly $925,000. For more information, visit www.nefneedham.org.

For information on these grants, or for more information about Needham Education Foundation, contact:
Susan Neckes, Co-President (781)444-2519 or
Carla Small, Co-President (781) 449-7007