Our grant recipients are our best spokespersons. They see first-hand how the students of Laingsburg Community Schools benefit from LEAF-funded programs. Here are a few of their comments.
| Without the generous assistance from LEAF, many of the teaching supplements in the first grade would not have been possible. Each teacher has a very limited budget for supplies only, which provides each student with the basics such as paper, pencils, crayons, glue sticks, scissors and workbooks. Although we feel fortunate to provide these items for free, all our monies are then spent and there isn't anything left for additional items. That's where LEAF has been tremendous with its financial support. Over the years various literacy games, rhyming beach ball word families, social studies videos, floor puzzles, and "Big Books" featuring writers/illustrators like Eric Carle that are used in March for Reading Month, have been purchased with LEAF funds. We are very grateful for the people who contribute to LEAF, many of them teachers through payroll deductions, and those who serve on the board who make the decisions to fund the grant requests. We thank you for your help to make Laingsburg schools even better!
Lisa Jelenek, Laingsburg Elementary School
First Grade Teacher
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I began writing grant applications to LEAF three years ago. Initially I asked LEAF for a Rhymes 'N' Times kit to teach multiplication facts to my resource students. I piloted the program on two groups of students - one at the fifth grade level, and one at the eighth grade level. The Rhymes 'N' Times kit came with a money-back guarantee if my students did not achieve a GROUP average of 90% or higher accuracy after using the program. Imagine my delight when BOTH groups of students came out in the 90th percentile for accuracy after using Rhymes 'N' Times! Last year I wrote a grant for three more of the kits to be shared among staff at the elementary school. Several teachers are either in the process of using the kits right now, or have plans to before the end of this school year. I am so anxious to see the results they are able to achieve, and even more excited at the prospects of sending students to the middle school having mastered their multiplication facts. This year LEAF has generously granted a purchase of the Clockwise Fraction System from the same company. This program teaches students to understand fractions and their equivalency, using a normal analog clock face. I am looking forward to exploring this program with my students, and to passing along the information to my peers. Thank you, LEAF, for giving me access to teaching materials I would never be able to try through the general budget funds!
Kathy Gregory, Laingsburg Community Schools
Resource Room Teacher
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