Hornet Homeroom
Hornet Homeroom is designed to supplement school-based virtual learning, with no teachers or lessons provided onsite. Hornet Homeroom is designed to provide a safe and socially distanced setting for students in grades K-5 to access their online instruction while parents are at work. Homeroom staff will oversee the learning environment and ensure students are engaged in their online lessons
Leveraging Literature to Build Inclusive Classrooms
The goal of Leveraging Literature to Build Inclusive Classrooms and Empower Students is to infuse classroom communities with more diverse, equitable, and inclusive texts. The focus learning communities for this grant will be 8th-12th grade students, 9th-12th English Language learners, the 6th-26 Life Skills/Young Adult students, and the ECSE participants. The facilitators of these learning communities will have the opportunity to select texts that celebrate and honor diverse perspectives in which students can see themselves and others in a positive light, that act as springboards for deeper dialogue around social justice, and/or are conduits for access to topics, ideas, and understandings that may be otherwise unavailable.
Freedom Riders Exhibit
We are looking to bring in an exhibit from the Gilder Lehrman Institute. The exhibit is a 12 panel display that chronicles the journey of the Freedom Riders during the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. It will be displayed in the large Hornet Hub and open to the entire district to view. We are even planning on opening it up on some nights to the community to come view. Here is a link to a more in depth description of the exhibit. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/programs-and-events/traveling-exhibitions/freedom-riders
Saline Live
Saline Live is a group of volunteers outside the school system that have the technical expertise and training to best assist with these types of decisions. Saline Live will work with the student’s family to identify the familial situation and the need. Saline Live will then assess the options available to that family to provide access as well as the resources available to help reduce the financial burden if needed. Saline Live volunteers will then work with the service providers (ISP), financial providers, and the family to install and turn on the access for that family. Once access is provided, Saline Live will continue its relationship with the family to provide technical assistance and support when challenges arise.
Flexible Outdoor Seating
Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, our instructional staff has been seeking ways to conduct class outdoors when feasible. Therefore, we are looking for funding in the amount of $5000 for 400 FSAS branded beach towels and 100 FSAS branded camping chairs. The intention is for classroom use during the day, small group meetings, and outside organizational groups.
GEM Consulting Supporting Equity in SAS
GEM Consulting will help us conduct an Equity Audit. By conducting a comprehensive Equity Audit, SAS will be able to set a baseline as to how we are doing in the area of supporting diversity, equity and inclusion for our District. From this information, we can set measurable target areas and develop the actions steps around these areas. Further, GEM can help provide support with student and parent groups throughout the Saline Area Schools. In addition, GEM can support the development of a more diverse curriculum within SAS.
Implementing the SAS Learner Profile
Saline Area Schools is contracting with Battelle for Kids (Ed Leader 21) to form a partnership to lead 21st century learning.
Battelle will help the District develop a “SAS Learning Framework” that will be used throughout the District to help guide teaching and learning into the future. Here is a link that shows the DRAFT Learning Framework that is being designed with Battelle’s support:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10QEv9VNNxJiC0×9tE_wCncqGceZ5KplE9qKns_giEQg/edit
(This will also be included in the Additional Supports Google Doc)
Battelle will help lead professional development to integrate student attributes in our Compass into the instructional model at Saline High School. Our end goal is to move our instructional model to include performance assessments. Performance assessments will require our students to demonstrate their academic and student attribute knowledge throughout their courses on a regular basis.
Liberty Pickleball Courts
The scope of the project is to resurface the Liberty Tennis Courts to fix cracks and lay a top surface of paint and lines to incorporate Pickleball. Currently the 3 tennis courts behind Liberty building are seldom used and sit vacant most days. Repurposing these courts would allow us the opportunity to turn 3 tennis courts into 8-12 pickleball courts.
Pickleball is enjoyed by multigenerational groups in and around the community and shows no signs of slowing down. At the Senior Level in the community, Pickleball is played 3 days a week all year long, they would also benefit from being able to play outdoors at times.
This project would be a partnership project with Community Education, Saline Area Senior Center, and SAS Bond. We are seeking half of the funding for the project from this Foundation Grant. More info and project details will be provided upon request.
Pickleball is currently the fastest growing sport in the world. More information about the sport can be found at the USPBA website https://www.usapa.org/
Playground Communication Signs
A large poster sign of communication symbols familiar to our students that could be installed on each elementary playground and the middle school playground. The outdoor signs, made of durable aluminum and vinyl, would withstand repeated use and the weather and would allow staff and peers to point to symbols to help students understand directions and model how to use language on the playground. The signs would allow these students to have a voice on the playground and to have symbols and words right in the moment to communicate wants and needs.
