NEF Announces Grant from BJ's Education Foundation

The Norwalk Education Foundation (NEF) recently received a $5,000 grant from the BJ’s Charitable Giving Foundation. NEF will use the grant to support professional development for teachers in Norwalk Public Schools as they transition onto the Common Core State Standards Go Math  curriculum.

The GO MATH curriculum was implemented in all 12 elementary schools in the last two years. The rollout will be completed in all four middle schools grades this year. Norwalk is ahead of the curve in adopting this new curriculum (many districts have just made the switch). According to Norwalk Public School’s Math Specialist, Craig Creller in a release, “This year, with NEF support, we piloted a GO Math Liaison program modeled after the Tech Liaison program.  These five teachers have been able to facilitate implementation of our new  math program (GO Math) that we now use at all 12 of our schools.  Unfortunately, these teachers work full-time teaching all day and use prep periods and before and after school time to assist their peers.  While this has been a huge help with the logistics of the new program, these teachers are not able to “coach” actual lessons during the day; and coaching is the current and future need as we move forward with the Common Core State Standards in Norwalk.”  

The Norwalk Education Foundation (NEF) believes that Teacher Effectiveness is the critical factor in improving student performance. “Effective teachers have a lasting impact on students’ lives, and students who are struggling to catch up academically need consistently great teachers,” says Gloria Tenofsky, NEF Executive Director.

The Norwalk Education Foundation is grateful for the funding from BJ’s Charitable Giving Foundation as well as the Edward Moore Foundation for supporting this initiative. NEF has reached out to several other funders to help make one on one professional development possible for more teachers. Anyone interested in supporting this initiative can contact Gloria Tenofsky at 203-854-4068.

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