The Junior League of the Women's Club of Farmingdale recently awarded eight teachers within the Farmingdale School District with a grant of $250. The Junior League invited all district educators who teach grades kindergarten through eighth, as well as teachers at both the Bethpage and Farmingdale campus of LaSalle Regional School, to apply for this grant.

Each teacher was required to submit a short proposal as to how they would use the grant money if it was awarded to them. The proposals were judged by members of the Junior League, and winners were announced in early January.

All eight winning teachers received a check from members of the Junior League along with a Certificate of Achievement. Certificates of participation were also presented to all teachers who submitted a proposal.

The eight teachers who were chosen to receive grants this year were:

LaSalle Regional School art teacher Ms. Sue Stengren, who wanted to use the grant to purchase video tapes of great artists and their works to enhance appreciation from her students; LaSalle Regional School kindergarten teacher Ms. Patricia Crafa, who wanted to purchase multicultural family puppets and a puppet theater to educate her students; Mrs. Annette LoVerde, kindergarten teacher from LaSalle, who wanted the grant to purchase various supplies to enrich kindergarten learning through cooking and hands-on science; Ms. Elizabeth Jedzinak, also from LaSalle, wanted to enhance her kindergarten classes learning centers to stimulate learning through active exploration and interaction; Northside Elementary School kindergarten teacher Mrs. Vivian Knudsen, who wanted to purchase various Ellison dyes to be used in kindergarten as math manipulatives; Ms. Sheryl Heit of Woodward Parkway, who wanted to support her fifth and sixth grade mentoring program to children in lower grades; Ms. Margherita Wischerth of Albany Avenue, who wanted software to integrate art history into her existing art classes curriculum; and Saltzman East Memorial's Ms. Judy Adelman, who wanted corrective reading books and a rack for them.

The Junior League acquires the money to give to the teachers through various fundraisers held throughout the year. According to member Ellen Hribok, three of the best money makers for the league are the Chinese Auction which is generally held in November, the Carnation Ball in March and the Spring Dinner held in May. The league finds that participants range from 100 up to 300 girls, and much of the money collected from these events goes toward the grants.

Despite the fact that teachers need only submit a short proposal as to what they would intend to use the grant for, members of the league find that not many teachers from the district make a submission.

"Any teacher from the district can participate, from kindergarten to eighth grade, but so few teachers actually do. We only had 12 last year, and this year we had 16," said Hribok.

In an effort to attract teachers, members of the league make up flyers with a description of what the teachers need to do in order to qualify for the grant and place them in the teacher's mailboxes. In addition, the league submits a blurb describing the opportunity in the teacher's newsletter and local newspapers. Despite their great effort, the league still finds that not many teachers seem eager to participate.

"It's free money," said Hribok, "and I'm sure all teachers could find something they need." Hribok and her fellow league members hope more teachers will be eager to participate next year, the third consecutive year the league will be offering grants to local teachers.

The number of teachers the grants are awarded to each year depends on how much the league makes at each of their fundraisers. Prior to looking over teachers' submissions, the league selects judges from the Village of Farmingdale to decide on which teachers will receive the grants. The judges are not generally members of the league and are usually local residents who do not have children, in an effort to keep the judging impartial and fair to all contestants.

Hribok explained that before handing the judges the submissions from the teachers, each teacher's name, grade level, and school they teach at is blacked out with a marker so the judge has no idea who handed in the submission. She went on to explain that it really depends on the judge as far as the qualifications necessary to be given the grant.

"I think one of the strongest issues is 'how is this really going to help the students,'" she said, "and how will it benefit the children."

In May, the Junior League will invite all eight winning teachers to their annual awards ceremony so they can be publicly recognized for their accomplishments.

The league would like to thank the following teachers for their participation: Frank Murdock from Howitt Middle School; Michael Ruckdaschel from LaSalle Regional School; David Driscoll from Howitt; Geraldine Willmott from LaSalle; Lynn Costello from Northside; Jennifer Carney from LaSalle; Melissa Fraser from Northside; and Romaine Snowden from LaSalle.

This event is organized by The Junior League of the Women's Club of Farmingdale members Nancy Brackman, chairperson, along with Monica Kuchinskas, Ellen Hribok and Barbara Carpenter.