INDIAN CREEK GRANTS — Indian Creek Local School District teachers were recognized during the regular board session on Nov. 21 for receiving three Jefferson County Educational Service Center’s Best Practice Grants. Among those taking part in the presentation were, from left, Alyssa Lollini; Hills Elementary Principal Erin Alloggia, representing Ashley Turnbull; and JCESC Gifted Coordinator Linda Lenzi. Robyn Scott also received a grant. -- Contributed

MINGO JUNCTION — The Jefferson County Educational Service Center awarded three Indian Creek Local School District educators with funding to aid students through social emotional learning, reading and math programs.

Best Practice Grants totaling $2,100 were presented to to Alyssa Lollini, Ashley Turnbull and Robyn Scott by Linda Lenzi, JCESC gifted coordinator, during the Nov. 21 Indian Creek Board of Education session at Indian Creek Middle School.

Lollini, an intervention specialist at Hills Elementary, will focus on intervention and social emotional learning for more than 20 students through her project, “It’s OK to Feel All the Feels.” Through the project, she provides SEL support for a growing group of students each day, and the funding will purchase items to aid students in the resource room and their general education classrooms. Research highlights the importance of SEL, showing it improves academic performance, prosocial behavior and reduces stress among students.

“I have been very fortunate during my time at Hills Elementary to devote a time slot in my schedule daily in order to see a small group of students for social emotional learning support and, sadly, that group of students continues to expand. The goal of my grant application and project is to purchase items to continue to support my students in the resource room and in their general education classrooms,” Lollini said. “Research shows that SEL not only improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points, but it also increases prosocial behaviors (such as kindness, sharing, and empathy), improves student attitudes toward school, and reduces depression and stress among students. Overall, my hope is to teach my students that feeling different emotions at any point in their day is absolutely okay, give them the tools they need to understand their emotions and know how to handle their big emotions in their little bodies.”

Students will cover five areas through their social emotional groups, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making. The groups are decided upon based on teacher recommendations as well as a discussion with the PBIS Tier II team. Promoting social and emotional development for all students in classrooms involves teaching and modeling social and emotional skills, providing opportunities for students to practice and hone those skills, and giving students an opportunity to apply these skills in various situations.

“One of the ways of achieving this is delivering explicit lessons within SEL, practicing the skills in small groups and then finding opportunities for students to reinforce their new skills throughout the day. One of the best feelings as a teacher is always seeing academic growth in your students, but it is a completely different sense of proudness when you start to see your students using skills covered in social emotional learning groups, outside of the resource room.

She added that she has received to grant awards and she was beyond thankful to the JCESC for the opportunity to support her students’ needs.

Ashley Turnbull, a preschool intervention specialist at Hills, will use her allocation to help about 66 students and promote writing skills through the “Preschool Sensory Corner.”

In the preschool program, pre-writing skills and handwriting readiness are a key focus, supported by the Step Up to Quality Program. Turnbull aims to enhance students’ fine motor development to better prepare them for kindergarten. A variety of items, including finger popper fidgets, hand grip strengtheners and triangular writing tools, help students develop finger strength, hand-eye coordination and proper grip for writing. These tools, along with creative resources like sand writing trays and tracing boards, offer engaging ways for students to progress from fine motor exercises to early writing skills.

“The grant was written for pre-writing and fine motor activities and will allow us to strengthen our students in this area to have them prepared better for kindergarten,” Turnbull said. “It incorporates plenty of hands on, fun, learning activities for the students to engage in. Some of our favorite items are the sand trays to practice writing, our finger strengthening activities and our ‘rock’ crayons.”

She is a prior grant recipient and said she was grateful for the funding, which will help engage students in fun ways to practice their pre-writing skills.

Scott, a second-grade teacher at Cross Creek Elementary, is utilizing her grant for “Building Math Thinkers” to aid about 65 pupils.

Building Math Thinkers helps students explore math concepts in a hands-on, engaging way without fear of failure. Scott said this approach allows learners to interact with math physically, fostering a growth mindset by encouraging them to experiment and problem-solve. It will be utilized during whole-class instruction, small-group sessions and independent learning, helping students of all levels, including those with learning gaps or who need an extra challenge. Differentiation will be key in reaching diverse learners, allowing them to build confidence and a deeper understanding of math

“The prorgam uses a tool called math stackers to encourage learners to take risks and explore math concepts without fear of failure. Math Stackers puts the power of math in students’ hands and gives them a new way to think about and interact with math,” she commented. “Building Math Thinkers will be used during whole-class instruction, small-group instruction and independent exploration.”

Scott is another previous grant recipient and said she was excited to earn the funding.

JCESC Superintendent Chuck Kokiko lauded the educators for thinking outside the box when it comes to assisting their students.

“The JCESC has supported efforts of our classroom teachers to bring forth insightful, innovative projects to fuel the students’ minds and improve upon their education, and the Best Practice Grants enable them to put those ideas into practice,” Kokiko added. “Every year, our district teachers continue to find unique methods for their classroom. We appreciate their hard work and are pleased to provide these opportunities and promote such creativity.”

Indian Creek Local Schools have received a total of 51 Best Practice Grants during the past 16 years to support educational opportunities and others included the Buckeye Local, Edison Local, Harrison Hills City, Southern Local, Toronto City and Steubenville City school districts as well as the Utica Shale Academy.