Students across the Port Washington School District will now have the opportunity to learn coding, practice taekwondo and even program on radio and TV stations, among other programs, due to grants awarded by the Ed Foundation.
The Ed Foundation of Port Washington honored its 2019 grant recipients in a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17, with over 85 grants funded, totaling over $200,000, to provide curricular and extracurricular programs to the district’s seven schools.
Foundation president Mara Silverstein welcomed the dozens gathered, and thanked the recipients for their applications and ideas.
“This event is a culmination of the work that we do all year,” Silverstein said. “While we work to raise funds and develop partnerships, you all work to create ideas and implement them in your classrooms. We are so grateful for your dedication to all of our students and for all your creativity and thoughtfulness.”
The foundation then gave the floor to one of the year’s grant recipients, NextGen Manufacturing and Design at Carrie Palmer Webber Middle School. Faculty member Tom Stepanek explained to the audience that their program would allow Weber students to code some of their in-house robots, and supply material for the vinyl cutter, which students produce designs.
Vice president for grants Michelle Duran then honored the over 100 faculty members whose grants were funded, awarding each a certificate and thanking them for their ingenuity and creativity.
Seven STEM programs, four taekwondo programs and three dance programs were awarded grants through the foundation. Radio and TV stations at Schrieber were also honored.
Michael Hynes, superintendent of schools for the district, thanked the foundation for being “an asset” to the district’s teachers and students, and congratulated it on its 18th year of operation.
“Having an education foundation is not only a blessing, it’s remarkable,” Hynes said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in its commitment to our students and teachers, and my hope is that over the next 18 years, I will be a part of that in making sure we move forward together.”
