Grants to support projects and program enhancements

The Williamsport Area School District recently received a total of $74,290 in a combination of grants from both the Williamsport Area School District Education Foundation (WASDEF) and the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania (FCFP). Four grants from WASDEF’s Annual and Teacher Mini-Grant funds were awarded to support the following programs and projects across the district:
• $10,883 to Heather Way, the district’s mental health and trauma coordinator for grades 7-12, to create and furnish a “Focus Zone” room at Williamsport Area Middle School (WAMS). The room will serve as a space for students to self-regulate using calming visual, auditory and tactile methods for students to de-stress.
• $1,300 to the WAMS’s special and health and physical education departments to create the district’s first-ever unified athletic bocce ball team comprised of both special and regular education students.
• $1,500 to Williamsport Area High School (WAHS) and Curtin Intermediate School art teachers Dr. Andrea McDonough and Esther Brennan, respectively. Funds from the grant will support a partnered effort to create a permanent, large-scale art installation that will be used as an emotional regulation resource after an initial yoga immersion experience primarily intended for autistic support students at Curtin.
• $650 to Lycoming Valley Intermediate School Assistant Principal Dr. Ryan Carper to support the purchase of a gaming console for the building’s School-wide Positive Program as well as its STEM Lab for video game coding.
Additionally, WAHS drama teacher Marie Fox was awarded $59,956 to support the reconstruction of the high school’s TV Productions course. Funds will be used to purchase updated, state-of-the-art equipment for the high school’s studio space to mirror industry standards to best prepare students leaning toward a career in broadcast communication/journalism or a related field. Grant dollars for the studio space were awarded from both the education foundation’s Annual Fund ($7,735) and from FCFP through Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) donations ($52,221) received from C&N, First National Bank of PA, M&T Bank, and Woodlands Bank.