For
Immediate Release
News from the Dobbs Ferry Schools
Foundation
New Grants Approved and Scholarships
Awarded
The Dobbs Ferry Schools Foundation (DFSF) recently
approved over $63,000 in
new grants supporting the district's programs and
facilities. The grants bring
this year's contributions to the schools to over $110,000.
"We are making an effort to reach as many students as
possible while working
in sync with district goals," said Foundation President
Robin Jacobs.
In addition to the grants, the Foundation continued to
offer on-going support
to technology education assisting with the leasing of
computers, printers and
associated technology at Springhurst Elementary School. It
also completed its
two-year commitment to partially fund the salary of the
Assistant
Superintendent for Instruction and Personnel.
Furthermore, the DFSF continued its tradition of awarding
scholarships to
outstanding students. This year, it granted stipends
totaling $11,000 to nine
meritorious members of the graduating senior class.
The Foundation also appointed new officers at its most
recent meeting. The
new co-Presidents are Abby Connett and Larry Simmons,
vice-president
Karen Orloff, and treasurer Danny Madden.
A summary of the new grants follows.
Middle School Technology Education Program
(Grant Amount: $20,500)
Funding will supplement and expand the current offerings
in the NYS-mandated
technology course for middle school students. The grant
will be used to
purchase six additional technology modules. The school
currently has six modules
in use. The District will continue to pay for all site
licenses, consumable
materials and salary/benefits for the technology teacher
as well as construction
of a new technology classroom (in the existing band room)
and six additional
computers for use in the 2003-2004 school year.
MS/HS Auditorium Restoration Project (Grant Amount:
$7,300)
A Committee has been formed to identify and seek resources
to enable
restoration of the DFHS Auditorium and to replace
malfunctioning equipment. Funding
will cover professional fees associated with space
evaluation/needs assessment.
The funding will be used as follows:
Initial evaluation fees: $4,800
Second opinion evaluation: $2,500
Springhurst Sound Systems (Grant Amount: $14,321)
Springhurst has requested funds to refurbish the existing
sound system in the
cafeteria and to purchase a state-of-the-art sound system
for the new gym.
The current sound system is ten years old and unreliable.
Due to budget
constraints, the sound system was not included in the
design of the new gym. The
cost for refurbishing the existing system will be $1,294
and for the new system
$13,027. Funding both systems will facilitate increased
flexibility for
assemblies and other programs, some of which are more
suited to a small space and
others to the larger gym. Installation will take place
this summer.
Springhurst Primary Grades Playground (Grant Amount:
$10,133)
Funding is requested to establish a primary playground for
kindergarten,
first and second grades. The K-2 population will be 340
in the 2003-2004 school
year, 120 kindergarten and 220 in first and second
grades. Total cost for the
playground is estimated at $45,133. Currently, there is
$35,000 available in
the district's Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment (FFE)
construction account for
this project. The District has pledged an additional
$10,000 for the purchase
of swings.
Springhurst Leveled Books (Grant Amount: $11,200)
Funding was granted to purchase leveled books for in-class
libraries at
Springhurst. The DFSF appealed to Springhurst parents for
contributions and
raised $5,600. This amount was matched dollar for dollar
by the DFSF for a total of
$11,200 toward the program. Capitalizing on Scholastic
book fairs run by the
PTSA, the District's literacy coordinator, Lynn Holcomb,
purchased $4,860
worth of books at fairs at Springhurst and the Middle
School for which the DFSF
reimbursed the PTSA $2,480. The remaining $8,720 will be
used by the District
to purchase additional books.
For further information, please contact DFSF Co-Presidents
Abby Connett, tel:
(914) 693-9127 or Larry Simmons, tel: (914) 693-1879 or
visit the Foundation