Grant Awards

Grant Awards

• District:
  • APS applied for federal stimulus funds and will receive $21 million over two years. Fourteen million dollars will be spent on teaching positions to improve literacy, and $84,000 in stimulus funds is earmarked for school kitchen equipment.
  • APS was awarded a $612,419 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 grant through the Summit County Department of Job and Family Services. The grant will provide paid work readiness training and work experience, mentoring, and work site supervision for at-risk students.
  • An $18,000 Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Refugee Children School Impact Program grant was approved for the 2009-10 school year. The funds will provide supplemental educational services to refugee students as well as for a refugee liaison to support staff, students and refugee families to improve academic language acquisition.
  • APS received a $50,000 Burton Morgan Foundation grant for the development and delivery of six workshops on incorporating an entrepreneurial mindset into NIHF ... STEM School curriculum and school culture.
  • Four 21st Century Learning Center grants totaling $800,000 were awarded to APS by the Ohio Department of Education. The funds will provide extended-day and extended-year programs in 11 elementary and one middle school. Approximately 100 students will be served at each site, including tutoring services and recreation and enrichment activities from various community organizations.
  • APS will receive a $70,000 grant from the State Action for Education Leadership Project. This funding allows the "Big 8" Ohio school systems to continue working with the Wallace Foundation and the Ohio Department of Education in developing district- and building-level school improvement teams and practices.
  • The City of Akron is providing $185,000 in APS after-school program funds at 16 elementary schools. The programs include tutoring followed by recreation and enrichment activities.
  • APS received $76,134.72 to support the School Psychology Intern Training Program. Three school psychology interns will complete their nine-month residence training in Akron schools.
  • The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded APS a $211,000 planning grant to develop a community engagement process. The process, titled "Partnerships for a Learning Community," will plan and prepare for full implementation of community dialogues in targeted CLC neighborhoods in order to develop CLCs into neighborhood activity hubs.
  • A $6,000 eLearning Module Professional Development grant was awarded to APS by the Ohio Department of Education. The eLearning program will train staff through The University of Akron.
  • APS received an $18,000 sub-grant from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Refugee Children School Impact Program. The grant provides supplemental educational services to refugee students and will fund a week-long English immersion summer program focusing on listening, speaking and reading skills.
  • APS received a $35,000 Educational Foundation of America grant to support after-school summer camps in the arts and sciences. The camps will serve approximately 100 students.
  • APS received a $170,778.79 21st Century Learning Center Grant from the Ohio Department of Education to provide extended-day and extended-year programs in 27 elementary and one middle school to benefit approximately 100 students per site. Summer programs will combine academic and enrichment activities. APS provides tutoring, and community organizations provide recreation and enrichment activities. Parent activities are included.
  • APS was awarded a $95,600 grant to fund the purchase and installation of Engineer Control Systems Diesel Oxidation Catalysts on 49 buses. The grant is funded through a federal grant awarded to the Ohio EPA by the U.S. EPA under the Diesel Emission Reduction Act State Clean Diesel Program in 2009.

• Programs:
  • Project GRAD Akron received a $15,000 grant for its mathematics program from the Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation.
  • 91.3 The Summit (WAPS-FM) received an $18,100 Digital II Radio Conversion Fund Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
  • The Ohio Department of Education authorized $148,000 for the APS early childhood education program, to be used to provide a developmentally-appropriate preschool experience for 48 children.
  • The Akron Young Scholars Program received an $800 grant from The Ohio State University's Office of Minority Affairs. The program has 52 students enrolled in APS middle and high schools. These African-American, Hispanic, Appalachian, Native American and other under-represented-minority students are given year-round educational opportunities and personal support beginning in the spring of their sixth-grade year through the completion of the 12th grade, when they will receive a guarantee of admission to The Ohio State University with appropriate need-based financial aid.
  • A $600 OASIS Intergenerational Tutoring Program grant will provide funds for training and tutor materials.
  • East marketing/DECA students received an H&R Block grant for a Virtual Business Personal Finance Simulation Competition. The students are working through the lessons and will compete with students from around the country.
  • Career education received a $1,000 Career Tech Prep grant for the Buchtel, Ellet, Firestone, Garfield and Kenmore programs from The University of Akron's Tech Prep Consortium.
  • Career education received a $2,500 Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation grant for Firestone. The funds will update Project Lead the Way equipment.

• Schools:
  • JPMorgan Chase Foundation provided East with a $12,000 grant for its ACT Prep and Administration Program.
  • A $2,000 grant from OMNOVA Solutions Foundation will fund a "Let Me Learn" Program at Lawndale. The grant provides training for third- and fourth-grade students/teachers to  help raise students' test scores on the Ohio Achievement Test.
  • Career education is the recipient of a $5,000 High School of Business (HSB) Implementation Grant for Ellet.
  • Galen and Ruth Roush (GAR) Foundation grants totaling $77,936.38 were awarded to the following schools: Bettes ("The World Cafe: Connecting Children, Content, Computers and Cultures," $15,000); Firestone ("Firestone Freshmen Soar," $5,000); Garfield ("RAP – Reaching Academic Potential," $10,000); Leggett (Traveling Thematic Trunks: The Art of Writing," $15,000); Litchfield ("Enhancing Math Achievement Through Technology and Curriculum," $6,700); Portage Path ("A, B, C, D – Good Books, Good Choices For Me," $15,000); and Seiberling ("Focusing on Math Through Art and Music," $11,236.38). The grants will support the goal of increasing student performance in the core content areas
  • The Ohio STEM Learning Network awarded up to $160,000, for three years, to the National Inventors Hall of Fame® School ... Center for STEM Learning. The grant will support the hiring of two staff members, a hub-embedded staff member and a school-embedded staff member to gather information about partnership and school practice. This support is funded by the Gates Foundation and the Battelle Memorial Institute to launch and connect five Ohio STEM schools.
  • Jennings CLC received a two-year $53,000 Enhancing Education Through Technology grant. The funds will be used to improve student academic achievement through technology use (technology literacy by the end of the eighth grade) and integrate technology with teacher training and curriculum development.
  • McEbright received a $138,000 grant from the eTech Ohio Commission and the Ohio Department of Education. The grant's goal is to improve student academic achievement through technology by the end of the eighth grade.
  • Lockheed Martin provided $15,000 to the National Inventors Hall of Fame® School ... Center for STEM Learning. The funds will be used for student programming, transportation, field trips, registration fees, equipment, materials, food and supplies.
  • Resnik CLC received a $4,900 grant from the City of Akron Neighborhood Partnership Program. The grant is in support of a collaboration between APS, NASA, Resnik CLC and local community members to strengthen and encourage elementary students' interest and skills in math and science. Students and parents will learn about "Living in Space" and the benefits of space exploration. This evening program allows students and parents to work through guided math and science activities developed by NASA, including a family packet for extended learning at home once the program has been completed.
  • Rankin received $4,000 from OMNOVA for the school's Reading Alive program. Each month, Leo's Ark provides interesting guest speakers and hands-on learning about animals, their habitats and the food chain that affects them. Students will be writing monthly about these visits.
  • The Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators provided $5,000 to support the Governor's Summit for the Ready Schools Initiative at Leggett. The grant will cover the costs of identifying and coordinating professional development materials, registration, conference hotel expenses, substitute costs and teacher stipends for the year-long initiative. A Ready School team will be selected to serve in advisory meetings, aggregate data and report to ODE.
  • APS received a $10,964 Service Learning Resource and Development Unit grant from Cleveland State University for the Akron Early College High School. The grant will support the Students Paying It Forward Program, which gives students the opportunity to give back to the community while developing work skills and networking. AECHS students will provide elementary and middle school tutoring.
  • Forest Hill CLC's PTA received a National PTA grant for its participation in Take Your Family to School Week. Forest Hill CLC is among 32 PTA schools from 23 states to receive this special recognition. The grant was awarded by the National PTA's CEO Byron Garrett.
  • APS received a $6,000 Ohio Department of Education grant from its Office for Safety, Health and Nutrition for Forest Hill CLC, Rankin and Resnik CLC ($2,000 per school). The funds will provide a Parent Academy to address the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables in students' daily diets, decreasing portion sizes, finding hidden fat and sugar in foods, and increasing daily physical activity.
  • Ritzman CLC received a $600 Master Gardeners of Summit County grant to create a butterfly garden in front of the school. The garden will be prepared by third-graders, designed by fifth-graders, planted by fourth-graders and populated with butterflies by second-graders. The grant was obtained by Katherine Devus.

• Teachers:
  • The following APS teachers earned $500 grants from the Akron Council of Engineering and Scientific Societies: ACESS/OMNOVA grants – Carolyn Hofer and Stephen D'Attoma, East ("Animal Ecosystem Exploration"); and Edwin Cauffield, Firestone ("Competitive Rocketry With Mr. Newton"); and ACESS/ExxonMobil grants – Elizabeth Terrill, Buchtel ("Hang on Sloopy: A Natural Balance in the Buckeye State I"); Joshua Oldham, East ("Using Forensic Science Problems as Teaching Tools"); Steven Remenaric, Ellet ("Pinewood Derby Cars in the Science Classroom"); and Penny Pletikapich, Litchfield ("Personal Care Chemistry").
  • Portage Path fifth-grade teacher Karen Grindall received a $2,968.45 Martha Holden Jennings Foundation grant. The grant will provide data collection integration into math, social studies and science.
  • Ritzman CLC third-grade teacher Kathy Devus received a $640 Akron Community Foundation Millennium fund grant. The grant will fund field trips to Akron's historical sites.