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In all grade levels and in all areas of educational endeavor – academic, artistic, athletic, extracurricular, civic and character development.

Ladue Education Foundation Awards Nearly $30,000 in Grants in 2011

The Ladue Education Foundation (LEF) is proud to help foster innovation, create meaningful change and prepare our students for a global world through our LEF Annual Teacher Grant Program.

In its fourth year of awarding grants, a committee of educators and volunteers screened a number of grant submissions and narrowed down the list to five projects, awarding $30,000 in 2011. This year, teacher grant requests exceeded our ability to fund these programs. This is why we look to our community and alumni to donate to the Foundation.  This brings our four-year grand total to nearly $90,000. The grants include:

Robotics Curriculum. All Ladue Middle School sixth graders are being offered robotics as part of their exploratory curriculum. This is an extension of an original pilot robotics grant that began at the grade-school level, which now impacts over 1,000 students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.  Thanks to the Foundation’s seed funding and the dedication of teachers and administrators, Robotics is now offered at the grade school and middle school levels, and a Robotics Team at the high school level has been sponosred.

Narrowing the Achievement Gap with iPads.  A pilot program at Spoede Elementary provides a select group of students, without computer access in their homes, access to an iPad, giving them the ability to complete and submit homework, do Internet research, check teachers' websites for assignments and much more from home. The hope is to expand the educational opportunities of students and families who don’t have access to technology at home.

STRIDE (Students Taking Rigorous Instruction Developing Exceptionally).  Headed by Rob Good, this pilot program will provide academic, social and college exploration support to African-American sophomores at Ladue Horton Watkins High School.
 
Link Crew Basic Training.  Link is the high school’s successful freshman orientation and mentoring program.  This grant provides funds to expand this effort by providing resources to train two additional faculty members. This will help strengthen the advisory efforts of this program.  This added commitment from the foundation has helped to elevate this program, and this fall, a regional training program for LINK was held at the Ladue High School.

Moving and Learning Lab.  Old Bonhomme Elementary has received a grant to create a mobile Moving and Learning Lab, providing valuable opportunities for students to combine getting their bodies physically active while keeping their minds academically active.
  
 “I am simply thrilled our grant application was approved,” states Kathleen Gardner, teacher at Ladue Middle School who piloted the original robotics course. “Robotics provides open-ended challenges, requiring students to combine building, programming and troubleshooting skills. It’s a valuable and engaging hands-on experience from which all of our students can benefit.”

“Helping all of our students prepare for a global world is our goal with the Ladue Education Foundation. Critical thinking, exposure to technology and strong support efforts characterize this year’s grants. We are proud to help assist our students and faculty as we strive to be the best we can be,” added Allison Collinger, chair of the allocations committee for LEF.

In addition to faculty grants, LEF also has developed a Speaker’s Series, and two community partnership programs with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and Monsanto. For more information, please contact Allison Collinger at ahawkcollinger@yahoo.com.

Robotics Program Gains Popularity and Support Thanks to the LEF Grants and Seed Funding

A model of Saturn made during the childhood of any current adult would likely have included a paper-mâché sphere, or possibly a rubber ball from a dime store, at its center. In Mrs. Engelkenjohn’s Idea Lab class at Reed Elementary School, a model of Saturn is robotic, powered by a motor, and doesn’t look a bit like Saturn until it starts spinning and the blur of the LEGO® structure takes on a round shape with multi-color rings.

Reed School teacher Karen Engelkenjohn, along with her teaching partner and fellow gifted specialist Pat Whittaker, has been at the heart of the Ladue School District’s foray into the exciting new learning possibilities of robotics. She is a member of the St. Louis FIRST LEGO League Planning Committee, as well as Co-Chairperson of the Junior FIRST LEGO League Committee in St. Louis. As such, she helps other organizations, such as home school groups, parent groups, and girl scouts, get started with the program.

Mrs. Engelkenjohn describes the experience of participating in FIRST LEGO League as having four major components: research, model building, talking with experts and public presentation. She is particularly excited about the experience students have exploring their subject through local experts. For example, Reed Elementary School recently hosted a “Body Forward Expo” attended by 15 teams from around the St. Louis area. To participate, teams created and displayed models relating to biomedical research. As a result, Ladue Schools’ students interviewed surgeons, cardiologists, and experts in bone replacement and subcutaneous ports.

“The beauty of the program is its ability to engage students in a hands-on activity they enjoy, while requiring them to think through complex math, engineering and science concepts,” explains Mrs. Engelkenjohn. “They are having so much fun, they have no idea how much they are learning until they have a chance to look back on it.”

Recently, Ladue School District students participated in the FIRST Robotics World Festival, an international event held this year at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. Reed Elementary’s Junior FIRST LEGO League (ages 6-9) and FIRST LEGO League (ages 9-14) participated. Mrs. Whittaker and Mrs. Engelkenjohn have coached FIRST LEGO League Robotics teams for the past five years.

“The plan is for the program to migrate across the district to all levels, including the high school,” states Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Donna Jahnke. Reed Elementary School began piloting the program several years ago. This school year, a robotics program was instituted at all elementary schools. Now, all sixth-grade classes will participate in a robotics program, thanks to a grant being provided by the Ladue Education Foundation.

 “This is where we need to be going in education,” explains Dr. Jahnke. “Programs such as this combine science, engineering, technology and math in a hands-on, team environment. These are extremely important disciplines in which our students should have experience and success.”

Ladue Education Foundation
314-983-5334, lef@ladueschools.net