An Update from Maple Elementary - February 2008
We reported a while back (see original story below) about Boeing's John D. Warner Academic Achievement Award of $25,000 which went to Maple Elementary for impressive academic advances at that school. Armed with a long wish list from teachers and staff, Principal Pat Hunter recently shared with us that the award has been used for a variety of things that are enhancing the education experience for students at Maple, including:
• Ten additional laptops, completing a set of laptops for shared use in Grades 4 & 5, as well as an additional laptop to be checked out for staff use.
• Ten microphones to be used by students and staff for creating Photo Stories on computers. One Photo Story will profile how Every Day Math, the school district's new math curriculum, is being implemented at Maple.
• A home center for the kindergarten class, bringing comfort and familiarity to students adjusting to school, which Maple parents are volunteering to set up.
• New gym mats, jump ropes, balls, hula hoops, and other equipment, with the PTSA sharing the cost.
• Funds to contribute to a new greenhouse (the old one had doors and parts falling off) which will be constructed in the spring.
The use for remaining funds is not yet determined, but possibilities include a new music curriculum, digital cameras, or support for students who are learning the English language while also trying to learn all subject requirements.
The needs are vast, but this award is going a long way toward creating the school Pat Hunter envisions: a school strong on technology that has a well supported staff, students who are challenged to experience the excitement of learning, and an engaged community.
Maple’s academic success was recently profiled by NCLB as a school to watch. You can view the segment at http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/2008/maple.html
For more information about the school, visit the Maple Web site or call 206-252-8310.
Maple Makes Most of John Warner Award - November 2007
In the spring of 2007, students filed into the gymnasium at Maple Elementary to attend an all-school assembly celebrating "Principal Appreciation Day." What they didn't know, and neither did the principal, was that unknown guests were also attending, ready to present the principal, Patricia Hunter, with a check for $25,000 to be used at her discretion for school purposes. Principal Hunter recently checked in with the Alliance about how Maple is using the award.
Maple Elementary School Principal Pat Hunter learns from Boeing Vice President Bob Watt that Maple has won the John D. Warner Award.
Earlier this spring, we shared this story in which Maple Elementary was the recipient of the John D. Warner award, an annual gift from The Boeing Company through the Alliance for Education. John Warner, who serves on the board of the Alliance, retired as the Chief Administrative Officer at The Boeing Company, after 34 years and 16 positions within the company. Because of his lifelong commitment to education, he was given an exceptional gift from Boeing upon his retirement: an annual gift to a greater Seattle area school based on advances made in that school. We wanted to share the update on that gift.
Principal Hunter was thrilled (and surprised) by the award and immediately began looking for the best uses for the funds. Ms. Hunter started by asking teachers to express their wishes for the use of the gift. The list is long, much longer than what can reasonably be addressed, and includes items such as curriculum software, wooden blocks, music programs, books, a digital camera, equipment to transfer books on tapes onto CDs, printers, puzzles, locks, PE equipment, laptops, funds to hire buses for field trips, and a door for the greenhouse, which blew off in the last big windstorm.
Approximately half of the gift will be directed toward two basketball hoops for the kindergarten playground, and ten new laptops, contributing additional equipment to a strong technology focus within the school. Regarding the rest of the funds, Ms. Hunter will make decisions based on “whatever will benefit the greatest number of students over the longest period of time.” She weighs current need with possibilities of future donations and district funding, to determine what the most effective uses of money are in a sea of need.
Today schools depend upon parents and communities to augment financial support for education. Across town that support varies considerably. In some areas of Seattle, it is not unusual for parents to contribute upwards of $50,000 each year, providing everything from staffing to enrichment programs to playground equipment. Maple’s goal is to raise $5,000 by the end of December 2007, and if successful will receive a matching $5,000 from an anonymous donor, an almost unheard of amount for this school.
Despite the disproportionality, teachers and staff at Maple have done an impressive job of creating an environment for student success. With a 93 percent passage rate on the reading portion of the WASL, Maple has defied the demographic odds. Maple Elementary is situated in south Seattle, with almost 60 percent of its students eligible for free and reduced price meals, and 35 percent categorized as transitional bilingual, or transitioning to learn subjects in English from the native language spoken in the home.
In addition to the John D. Warner award, Maple was recognized in the spring of 2007 as one of nine Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.
As Ms. Hunter determines how to spend the rest of the funds, she continues to serve as a strong model within the school. This year as part of a Veterans Day project, students are sending care packages to soldiers stationed in Ramadi, Iraq. A corporal in the unit has been corresponding and communicating by phone with 5th grade students at Maple. The school is asking parents and the greater community to contribute items listed, ranging from toothpaste to softball gloves, to be included in the project, or provide funds to mail the packages, estimated at about $1000. If you are interested in contributing, please call, the school directly at 206-252-8310.
Alliance for Education is an independent nonprofit
organization that advocates for policies and mobilizes resources that advance
academic achievement for all students in Seattle Public Schools.
To schedule a press interview or more information e-mail kerry@alliance4ed.org or call (206) 205-0338.
