Grants in Action

We enjoy sharing the achievements of our students and teachers who have benefited from BEF grants. If you’re a teacher who has a success story to tell, please contact us.

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BHS students sharing their creative writing with audience members.

Student Author Book Publishing and BHS Library Contribution Grant

(Read the program recap here!)

2019 is the first year Bloomfield High School offered Creative Writing as an elective, and over 100 students signed up.  It is the hope that through this grant, more students will become interested in writing both in and out of school and that students’ interest in learning about the craft will grow.

Students in the new Creative Writing classes are writing, editing and will publish their own books of poetry and prose.  Grant dollars provide for each student to have a copy of their own book, and a copy will be made for the school library.  This will be the start of the “Bloomfield High School Author Library” section.  This is not only new to BHS, but also to school districts in the area.  The creation of a published student author library will give every student at BHS a chance to read their peers’ works, encouraging students of all ages to pursue writing whether in or out of school.  The project will also help new writers feel welcomed, celebrated, and respected while helping readers find connections to their peers that they might not have discovered without these books.

Students also visited the Poets House in New York City, to spark their creativity and to allow them to collaborate with other writers.

“Just a quick note of thanks for freshmen study hall this past fall. Final marking period one grades were outstanding.  Grade break down was 101 A’s, 70 B’s, 34 C’s, 8 D’s, and 6 F’s.  Much needed structure and time management skills are a huge reason for this success. Thanks again for working with us.”
– Mike Carter, Head Football Coach

Freshman Football After School Tutoring/Study Hall Program

Since 2014, the after-school study hall has helped freshman football players get off to a good start at BHS with a focus on organizational skills, study
habits, and how to conduct themselves as gentlemen.
Meeting Mon.-Thurs., the program has shown gratifying results. During the Fall 2019 semester, 17 of 32 players who finished the season made the honor roll.

Dance Program

The BEF provided a generous grant to bring a professional dance company, Adera De, to Brookdale and Watsessing Schools last year.  Adera De’s owner, Adesina Sampson, is a Fairview School parent who brought three other dancers with him to teach the students a diverse group of genres.  The students learned ballet, West Indies, modern, and hip-hop style dances.  Students were given a real-life clinic experience, where they learned blocks of choreography with and without music, then performed them for the group.  The teachers at Watsessing School took the clinics and performed the dances with the students.  It was a wonderful opportunity to have the students exposed to not only dance but to share a memory and build community.

I have always had students approach me at various ages to bring dance into the schools.  I’m hoping we can recreate this opportunity for the students in the future.

Jennifer Koury,
Fine & Performing Arts Supervisor
Bloomfield Public Schools

The Fairview Players

“I can’t thank the BEF enough for providing me with this opportunity to give the students of Fairview Elementary an experience they will never forget. Without the BEF‘s support, all 40+ kids involved wouldn’t have had an amazing day on March 29, 2018!”

-Sara Munson
Fairview Elementary Vocal/General Music

Early Language Initiative

With the BEF funding of the Early Language Initiative grant for The Early Childhood Center at Forest Glen, students benefitted by having speech therapy sessions tailored to their specific areas of need.  A wide array of therapeutic materials allowed the therapists to individualize activities, depending on the child’s level of functioning.  This fulfilled the District’s mission of “Providing an equal opportunity for all learners.”

According to the report issued upon the completion of the program, the participants were a group of 100 preschool students with disabilities and children with Autism (ages 3-5).  Each individual preschool student showed growth in their overall communication skills, upon review of the Annual Review Meetings, Receptive/Expressive Language Screeners and progress reports.  The materials helped students increase their spontaneous language as well as their social skills in the areas of turn-taking, asking questions, commenting and engaging in back-and-forth play routines.