Ledyard High School held an open house on Sept. 17 for parents and community members to catch up with the school on some of this year’s changes. On display and of particular interest to many were the newly renovated or refurbished chemistry and physics labs that were made possible in part by the Ledyard Education Advancement Foundation (LEAF).
Dedicated to “promoting excellence and enhancing student achievement,” LEAF works closely with the Ledyard Public Schools Board of Education and the town council to pinpoint specific enhancement projects within the school district to fund. Awarding one large capital grant and various teacher mini grants per year, LEAF has made a significant impact on the education of all of Ledyard’s students. LEAF trustee and Board of Education member, Julia Cronin, explained how the 2007-08 capital grant was used.
“In talking with the Board of Education and the assistant superintendent, Cathy Patterson, we decided last year that renovating the chemistry labs would be the best use for our grant,” Cronin said. “We really helped facilitate communication between the Board of Ed and the town council, and we all came together to make the project happen.
“It was originally earmarked as an $80,000 project [to renovate], but everyone did a great job and it ended up coming in under budget at about $50,000,” she continued. “LEAF was then able to use the capital grant to purchase $30,000 of state-of-the-art equipment…including 50 laptops for the students to use and 10 laptops for the faculty.”
Another capital grant that has made a remarkable impact on the schools came in June 2007 when LEAF purchased mathematics software called Success Maker Pro for all of the third-grade classrooms in the district. With what can only be assumed as a direct result, Ledyard third-graders currently rank first on the CMT scores for their District Reference Group.
Currently LEAF is weighing its options for the 2008-09 grants, but as Cronin explained, a decision seems imminent.
“We are in the process right now of finalizing the capital grant for the 2008-2009 school year, and it looks like this year’s grant will probably go to the world language department,” Cronin said. “We believe very strongly that we can’t come in and just throw money at the district and expect to see significant changes. Working with the assistant superintendent and the instructional council we focus on one project that we feel will best assist in helping students excel,” Cronin said.
“But we couldn’t do any of this without our donors. The donations we receive from individuals and from local organizations is what allows all of this to happen,” she noted.
The Ledyard Education Advancement Foundation can be reached at P.O. Box 324, Ledyard, CT 06339. For more information, send e-mail to info@leafct.org.