The Lincoln-Eliot PTO board needs a volunteer for a new position: liaison to the Newton Schools Foundation.  The time commitment is minimal but the impact can be significant.  Click here for a more detailed description of the liaison role:  NSF Liaison Description

NSF funds grants in the Newton Public Schools that support professional development for educators, new approaches in the classroom, and programs that address both racial and income inequities and enable all students to achieve their full potential.  Their mission is to advance excellence and equity in the Newton Public Schools.

You may have heard of them through NSF fundraising programs like Newton Inspires and Honor Thy Teacher.  NSF-funded initiatives that have impacted elementary school students in particular include:  Instrumental Music Programs, a program for students piloted at Lincoln Eliot where professional instrumentalists support ensemble music programs and give individualized instruction to students who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity for private lessons; and district-wide initiatives such as AuthorFest, a one-day event bringing authors and illustrators to all middle schools to engage students in the writing and illustrating process; Integrated Arts Curriculum; Positivity Training; Therapies for Severe Speech Sound Disorders; and Families Organizing for Racial Justice.  NSF has more recently funded programs that address our unique times with the purchase last spring of Chromebooks for distribution district-wide to those in need of a device for remote learning, and this past summer’s National Educator Anti-Racist Conference.

The NSF Board would like to collaborate with PTOs to strengthen the relationship between the schools and the NSF donors who fund these programs.  With a better understanding of NSF’s mission and available funds, PTOs will be able to encourage principals and teachers to apply for NSF grants that will enhance educational opportunities in our school, and advise NSF of supplemental programs our school is exploring that might be grant-eligible.

For more information about NSF and the programs it supports across the Newton Public Schools, you can visit the NSF website.  If you have any questions or need more information about NSF, please don’t hesitate to contact us.