The St. Croix Foundation is pleased to announce over $28,000.00 in Educational Grants awarded to public schools on the island of St. Croix.
As an extension of the Foundation’s Model Schools Initiative, the Sprint To Excellence (STE) Grant alone awarded $23,000 in 2014. Launched in the fall of 2011, STE offers grants to public schools for projects in the following priority areas: 1) Innovative Instruction and Professional Development; 2) Literacy Enrichment and Assessment; 3) Classroom Management & Discipline and; 4) Mentoring and Personal Development.
After a comprehensive review and selection process, the Foundation’s Grant Review Committee awarded grants to four(4)programs based in local public schools for the implementation of high-impact, academic-based initiatives that support the whole child. Grants under the Sprint to Excellence title were awarded to the following schools:
Ricardo Richards Elementary School – $15,000.00 for their Berry Core Ready Project
VI Department of Education – $5,040.00 for the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) Program
Arthur Richards Junior High School – $1,000.00 for a Classroom Management Initiative
V.I. Ja Goju Jitsu-Ryu Federation St. Thomas Parental Committee, Inc. – $2,500.00 for a Charles H. Emmanuel Afterschool Education Connections Program
The Foundation also awarded $1,777.00 in Teacher Grants to public elementary school teachers for projects that enliven students’ creativity and provide students with a broad, interactive learning experience that incorporates the world around them. Grants were awarded as follows:
Ricardo Richards Elementary School- $299.99 for their Foreign Language Club
Alexander Henderson School -$500.00 for a Kindergarten Authors Project
Eulalie R. Rivera School – $489.99 for an Interactive Reading Project
Alexander Henderson School – $488.84 for an Arts and Craft Studio Project
The St. Croix Foundation’s Grant Review Committee has established strict grant reporting measures and phased disbursements, seeking to ensure that schools stay focused on meeting self-identified programmatic goals and timelines. In demonstration of their commitment to each school’s success, the Foundation is providing ongoing support and guidance throughout the duration of the project with the hope that successful initiatives will serve as models for other schools in the future.
In addition to the Sprint to Excellence and Teacher Grant awards, the Foundation also awarded Dove Memorial Art Scholarships totaling $3,000.00 to four students. Scholarships were awarded to the following students for enrichment opportunities ranging from music and dance to the culinary arts:
Tariq Lionel, University of the Virgin Islands Music Summer Enrichment Program
Keyshawn Hardy, Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan
Kaylisha Ann Jerris, Skills USA Conference in Kentucky for the culinary arts
AnutMeri Kahina Christopher, Dance Theatre at Harlem School
According to St. Croix Foundation’s Chief Operations Officer, Deanna James, “The Foundation is firmly committed to supporting our students and teachers through innovative and targeted grants and scholarships. In these challenging economic times, our organization is acutely sensitive to how critical the funds provided through our grants are for students and schools.”
For more information on the Foundation’s educational grant programs or to donate to a scholarship fund, please call the St. Croix Foundation at 773-9898.
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