Friends of SW Charter is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Teacher Mini-Grants. They are: Amanda Mitchell, Lisa Colombo, and Nesa Levy.

Beginning last school year, the Friends of SW Charter has devoted the money it raises from restaurant nights, the plant sale, Chinook Books, etc. to fund student scholarships and teacher mini-grants.

These $500 grants help teachers by funding classroom supplies and materials that allow creative use of the curriculum, classroom enhancements that support learning, or support the overall mission of SW Charter School.

Each applicant filled out a grant proposal indicating the name of her project, a partnering agency (if applicable), a description of the project, how the project will be celebrated or shared with the community, and an itemized materials list.

Amanda’s project is called the “Archaeology Roadshow”. Students will build an exhibit titled “Natural Resources of Northwest Culture Regions”. After studying archaeology through the lens of shelter, her class became particularly interested in human interaction with the land and its resources and how that dictated the types of shelter Native Americans built. They will be comparing the types of shelters Northwest Coastal tribes used to other culture regions, by building an interactive shelter-building exhibit. The project will conclude with a presentation at the Archaeology Roadshow at Portland State on Saturday, June 4th.

Lisa’s grant will focus on exploring chemistry and the states of matter with her students. This will give her class the opportunity to do hands-on chemistry experiments instead of watching demos or videos. The project will conclude with a student science fair.

Nesa’s grant will go toward purchasing the DRA K-3 reading assessment which allows teachers to gauge student reading achievement through an all-encompassing approach — reading comprehension, phonetic awareness, fluency, etc. This new kit will be a huge upgrade to the current photocopied sets we have now.

Thank you to the teachers for finding creative ways to bring the curriculum alive and to our community for supporting the Friends of SW Charter’s fundraising efforts! You make these grants possible!