By KATELYNN WINEBRENNER
PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Galbraith
Eight local schools have received a combined $36,800 in grants from the City of College Park this year to fund educational projects of their choice.
The grant money will go toward an outdoor classroom, experiential learning opportunities and a pitch competition for aspiring student entrepreneurs, among other additions to the schools’ offerings.
“We are grateful for cities like College Park,” Cherokee Lane Elementary Principal Brian Galbraith said. “They give schools these opportunities to think outside the box.”
Eligibility for the College Park Public School Education Grant is determined by the number of College Park residents enrolled in the school.
Public schools with the most College Park students — called Tier 1 schools — that received funding are Hollywood Elementary, Paint Branch Elementary and Parkdale High. Each received $8,000. High Point High School was an eligible Tier 1 school but did not apply.
The Tier 2 schools enroll 14 or more College Park students. These include Berwyn Heights Elementary, Cherokee Lane Elementary, University Park Elementary and Buck Lodge Middle School. Each received up to $2,750 except for University Park Elementary, which received $2,834. Greenbelt Middle School was eligible but did not apply.
Because it is a charter school, College Park Academy does not fall within either category, but is still eligible for $2,250, which it applied for and received.
Cherokee Lane used its grant money to purchase portable picnic tables and canopies to furnish an outdoor classroom. The school already owns raised flower beds that it will place in the space.
“The outdoor classroom will allow our children to explore and discover the world around them in ways that a traditional classroom simply cannot,” Cherokee Lane Elementary Assistant Principal Kayla Newsome said.
“Utilizing any extra space that we can, truly has been very, very beneficial,” Galbraith said. “Next year, we are projected to have 824 students, so we are definitely packed to capacity,”
If Cherokee Lane continues to receive grants like this, Galbraith said, the school might add a greenhouse to grow vegetables to hand out to students and their families.
Other schools, like College Park Academy, used the funds to support experiential learning opportunities.
The charter school offers students a chance to participate in their choice of six signature programs, with academic tracks similar to a college major.
Bernitta Johnson, the former coordinator of the signature programs and adviser of the business program, used the funds to pay for the costs of partnering with WETATi Academy, a leadership organization located on the University of Maryland campus that mentors low- and moderate-income students.
Based in the Nyumburu Cultural Center on the University of Maryland campus, WETATi Academy helped prepare students for its Dureke iDEA Pitch Competition, similar to Shark Tank, for students to create and present their business plans to win scholarships or grant money.
In the future, College Park Academy advisers hope to find other community partners like WETATi to offer programs with the same experiential learning opportunities, Johnson said.
University Park Elementary is using its grant to help with changes in student behavior since the pandemic.
The money has funded extra professional development for teachers and staff as well as new tools and toys like earmuffs or weighted teddy bears for its calming room, where teachers send children to regulate their emotions.
Parkdale High School plans to use its $8,000 to fund a STEM field trip to Six Flags, where students will get to see real-world applications of engineering and physics through roller coasters and other park rides.
Paint Branch Elementary is also planning to use its funding for field trips, perhaps to the Maryland State House and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Buck Lodge Middle School used the money to fund positive behavior reinforcements. According to its application, students who display good attitudes and academic achievement can earn points to exchange for T-shirts, passes to school dances, field trips or lunch with the principal.
While some schools used the funding for unconventional programs, others, like Hollywood Elementary, focused on traditional goals like parent engagement. The school purchased language translation devices for parent-teacher meetings and information nights.
At Berwyn Heights Elementary, staff plans to focus on student well-being with new uniforms, coats and hygiene products.
The city has funded projects like these through the grant program since 2008, but this year it received the highest number of applications in five years, Kiaisha L. Barber, the city’s director of Youth, Family and Senior Services, said.
