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Birch Grove Community School awarded Lloyd K. Johnson grant

Sep 29, 2017 09:07AM ● By Editor

New students love the first day of school Bell Ringing Ceremony. Photo courtesy of Birch Grove Community School 


From Staff Reports from The Cook County News Herald - September 29, 2017

Birch Grove Community School has had a great start to the 2017-2018 school year. “Everything has been running so smoothly, it’s as if we didn’t have a summer break. Students were already familiar with our school and classroom routines and expectations the first week of school – one of the benefits of having multi-grade classrooms”, said Director Diane Blanchette. “A good portion of students are in the same classroom, and those that have moved up, are still familiar with the structure, expectations, and procedures. 

Students returning to the same classroom are more than happy to share ‘how we do things’ with new students or those who have moved up,” she said with a grin. “It also allows us to jump into learning earlier, something all of the staff really like.”

With the beginning of this new school year, the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation awarded the school a $21,600 grant to purchase new reading and math curriculum. The grant was awarded on Tuesday, September 19. Math and reading materials were ordered on the 20th, and will arrive at the school the following week. Preparations were made to get the curriculum in the hands of staff and students as quickly as possible in the event that the grant was awarded. 

“Thankfully, Lloyd K. Johnson supported our grant proposal and we can’t wait to dive into our new curriculum,” said Sara Lizakowski, a third year teacher at Birch Grove Community School. “This new curriculum will help to aid us in increasing our students’ growth. I am especially excited about the integration of technology in the math curriculum. I believe that our students will like it too.”

Birch Grove Community School would like to thank the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation for making the start of this school year even better. The school has plans to keep the momentum going and make it a stellar year. Pictures and updates of staff and students using the new curriculum will be found on the school Facebook page and on the school website at www.birchgroveschool.com under Events/Photo Gallery.

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