Each year, the Foundation presents the three West Hartford Teacher of the Year Finalists with a $500 award. The 2022 finalists included Alanna Goldberg, a speech-language pathologist at Charter Oak International Academy; Michele Haggerty, a first grade teacher at Smith STEM School; and Troy Jones, a health and physical education teacher at Bristow Middle School. Congratulations again to Alanna, Michele and Troy!

Alanna Goldberg used her award money for "Preschool Fun and Games" and explained “With students coming to us from Birth to Three and with undiagnosed disabilities, I need more hands-on items for the younger students. The space in my office was created for use with older children and needs items to make it more user friendly for preschool aged children.” 

This grant provided funding for students at Aiken Elementary School to participate in a school-wide book club. All students, families and staff members read the same book, Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott, at the same time. This program helped to promote literacy collaboration between the school and current families while helping to address the Common Core Reading standards throughout the K-5 curriculum. The culminating event took place this month in conjunction with Read Across America. Grant recipient, Jessica Tamaccio shared “As always, this was an amazing program that helped bring the community together and foster a love of reading! Thank you for making this experience possible for our students.”

The grants we award fund opportunities above and beyond what the school budget allows. This is why your support is so important to the work we do. Please support our Foundation Fun Day now and help us continue to create excellence beyond the school budget limits!

Visit our website for more information about our organization and sponsorship opportunities.