Lawndale Elementary School District Educational Foundation

RAZ Kids

"Thank you SO much for providing our Third Graders with RAZ Kids this year.  It has made such a difference in their reading.  The results by December were so incredible that our staff voted to buy RAZ kids for the rest of our school.  Kids are truly hooked on reading.  They have started helping the children log on every day in RAP.  Our students have it book marked on the computer at the local library!  Several come before school to read books on the computers.  The amazing part is how much their reading has improved.  The children are truly motivated to read.  The entire family is beginning to have conversations about books they have read, quizzes they have taken, and what they have learned.  We, as teachers are able to track their progress, communicate with students, and plan our Readers’ Workshop lessons based on errors we see.  Our school is in its second year of Program Improvement.  We are confident that using this program all year will help us make the gains we need to make in reading comprehension.  Thank you SO much for making this possible!!"

"You impacted our entire grade level!!  Thank you SO much for the amazing work you do!!"

Carol Wright
3rd Grade Teacher
Roosevelt School 

Mark Twain Elementary Run Club

"Students from Mark Twain Elementary School Run Club developed the discipline to practice, improve their performance and reach goals they set.  They attended weekly practices that included:  distance running, interval training, and conditioning, that culminated in their participation in the Hermosa Beach 5000, 5K Race.  The students learned the value of working as a team and being good sports.   Cheers were equally boisterous for early finishers and those who finished later.  All seventeen of Mark Twain’s participants completed the race, which was well attended by runners, staff, and families."

Tina Zecca
Mark Twain Elementary School

Mark Twain’s Photography/Yearbook Club

"This year, Mark Twain started a photography/yearbook club with 4^th and 5^th grade students.  There were 13 students who joined this club and Mrs. Cabezas and Mrs. Low were the advisers.  With the grant money from the Lawndale Education Foundation, we were able to purchase four digital cameras and four memory cards.  Students in the club were able to check the cameras out to take pictures of various special events throughout the school year.  The club started by learning how to get the best pictures, whether posed or candid.  Students also learned how to use a critical eye to pick out the best pictures to represent each event.  Finally, the club used a special online program to put together the school’s yearbook, using the pictures they had taken throughout the year.  The club was a huge success and the students look forward to seeing the results of their hard work when this year’s Mark Twain yearbook arrives."



Abigail Low
Mark Twain Elementary School

Carson Second Graders Dig Into Nonfiction

"Second graders in Ms. Clemens’ and Ms. Bolton’s classes at Kit Carson Elementary School have become experts on different topics thanks to the generous grant from the Lawndale Education Foundation.

The $1000 grant provided the two teachers with the resources to fill their classroom libraries with topics ranging from plants and animals, to people and places. All the topics students have become experts on are based on second grade standards.

If you step into Room 12 or Room 16 at Carson School, you will see students actively engaged in reading. If you speak with the students you will be inundated by the many facts that students have discovered in their texts.

You will also see many of the students enthusiastically discussing what they have learned with other classmates. Often you will see students trading their books with their peers after hearing about an interesting topic.

Room 12 and Room 16 students are so excited about what they have learned that they are eager to share their knowledge through their writing. Visitors to these classrooms will be impressed by the students’ expository writing that they’ve created during writers workshop. These expository pieces are transformed into All About books.

Thank you Lawndale Education Foundation for providing this wonderful experience for our second grade students!"

Denise Bolton
Carson Elementary School

"Thank you for the generous grant that allowed us to purchase the Magnetic Flip and Learn Counting Frames.  Now, the Kindergarten Kids at Smith School are counting more than ever!  

The interactive counting frames give students a chance to visually track when counting and allow them to see patterns in numbers.  They love to take turns flipping the numbers and lead counting warm-ups when we count forwards, backwards and skip count by 2s, 5s and 10s.  Students also use the counting frame to “count on” which is a problem solving strategy for beginning addition problems.  Their number sense has definitely been strengthened through frequent use of these counting frames which have become a favorite learning tool in our classrooms."

- The Smith Kindergarten Team
Wendy Moulton, Gail Rosadini & Jennifer Yi

Anderson Garden Project

"The beneficial implications of the Anderson garden project are community wide with an essential focus on providing students with a physical space that will allow for vital ecological, nutritional, and community growth.  School gardens encourage self-confidence and a sense of responsibility and belonging to one’s community.  In additional they foster healthy relationships between food, ecology, and people reestablishing food as a cornerstone for both social and physical vitality.

Student gardens are also a great way to create enthusiasm for learning.  Outdoor classrooms are often irresistible to children (and adults), especially in the warm climate of Southern California.  In addition managing a garden space requires an elevated level cooperation and as a result plenty of opportunities for students to practice team building.

The addition of a school garden will enhance the subjects of nutrition, science, mathematics, and social studies from kindergarden through fifth grade. Students will also work with the nutritionist, chef, and teachers to make healthy meals from an organic garden.

The garden will be maintained by master gardeners, teachers, staff, students, and community members. We have been planning for an organic garden for two years. Our Wrigley Worm Ranch is ready to be used as our organic pesticide and nutrient liquid. Students have planted fruit trees and have been caring for the worms in the worm ranch  in preparation for the garden. Eight hundred twenty-three students have signed a petition, created by student council leaders, to have an organic school garden. We are committed to the cause of eating and living healthy from an organic school garden. Anderson Elementary is ready to become responsible gardeners!"

Anne Schmitt
5^th Grade Teacher
Anderson Elementary

"Thank you so much for helping to send Rogers Middle School - Team Harvard on a field trip to the Birch Aquarium where we learned about the local impact of global warming.  We were also able to take our 100 students on a tour of UC San Diego.  Without the support of the education foundation this field trip would not have been possible due to budget cuts.  Thank you so much for seeing the importance in academic field trips!" 

Team Harvard teachers

"With funds from the Lawndale Educational Foundation, I purchased 8 MP3 players for use with struggling readers in 4th and 5th grade at Smith Elementary School.  Our school focuses a great deal on literature.  However, contemporary children’s literature can often be too difficult for struggling readers.  To make the books more accessible, I use the MP3 players to allow these students to listen to the book on tape as they read.  When a text is too difficult, the MP3 player makes the content much more accessible for these readers who might otherwise become frustrated and give up.  
    The MP3 players are currently being utilized by students in 4th grade to help them read the popular Guardians of Ga’Hoole book.  This book is part of our summer reading program.   Students who are below grade level in reading use the MP3 player to listen to the book on tape as they read along.  This boosts their comprehension and helps them improve their own reading fluency.  In just the few days since I started using the MP3 players, teachers in the upper grades have reported a great interest in the books and a lack of frustration."

Adam Jaquette

BOTANY CLUB BLOOMS!

"The FDR Botany Club blossomed this year as 33 fourth graders were involved in planting and maintaining the garden of California native plants. The Lawndale Educational Foundation grant money allowed the furthering of the goal to expose these students to native biodiversity and additional scientific concepts. Along with the provision of extra plants and potting supplies, the purchase of binders and associated photocopies has made this goal achievable. The use of disposable cameras gave the botanists experience in documenting their amazing progress!

The garden featured annual wildflowers, allowing the students to see the complete life cycle of plants from seed to bloom to seeds. The addition of perennials has introduced the botanists to other types of plants, including grasses, shrubs, vines, and succulents. Grant money provided some of these new plants as well as some control plants we could “sacrifice” as the gardeners explored important questions like- “Do plants need light to germinate?” “Do plants need continued light to thrive?” and “How much water must native plants have compared to exotics?”

A huge benefit for the kids has been the hands-on experience of working with soil, water, plants, weeds, and mulch. The Botany Club members have been instrumental in preparing the soil, seeding and planting, maintaining control, and finally, collecting seed which they have sold to parents and other students in order to buy more plants. Assessing plant growth and problem solving have been integral parts of this learning process. Without the Lawndale Education Foundation funds for the inorganic mulch (gravel), peat pots, and potting soil needed, the kids would not have been able to practice various gardening techniques.

Adding to the practical benefit of learning gardening methods are the lessons presented in the classroom, which have covered basic principles of botany and the fourth grade standards for science. Included in the topics covered were: drought and water conservation, plant adaptations, Native American uses of plants, structure and function of plant parts, hydrozones and habitats, the scientific method, food chains and webs, photosynthesis, pollination, and seed dispersal.
The children learned about:

container gardening by planting in pots,
the water cycle by making terrariums,
ecosystems and wildlife by building fake trees to accommodate birds, and
succulents by making dish gardens for a Mother’s Day gift.

These learning activities were made possible by the funds from Lawndale Education Foundation (LEF).

This year the students created notebooks, allowing them to practice taking lecture notes, drawing diagrams, recording plant growth, and documenting scientific experiments. Without a budget from the school, the grant money has been useful in buying the binders and photocopied pages needed to make a valuable writing experience. Though more academic than the “glove & trowel work,” the kids seemed to enjoy adding to their notebooks each week.

As the students recorded their observations with one-time use cameras, furnished by the grant funds, they were able to observe the seasonal changes in the garden and take pride in their individual efforts. Developed pictures were used at school events to promote seed sales and to educate the school community.

In summary, the benefits from the LEF donation included increased enthusiasm of the students as they got “up close and personal” with new native plants, learning to care for our environment properly. With LEF aid, the botanists documented their learning progress, practicing listening and writing skills. Finally, the fun with photography gave them a pride and ownership of their garden!

Submitted by Peggy Young
Botany Club Facilitator 2010-2011