April 6, 2017
Ms. Robyn McKenney, WPS Technology Coach, and Ms. Whitney Wadecki,
Grade 1 teacher at Quaker Hill Elementary School, were awarded the Fund
for Teachers Fellowship granting them each $4000 to support a
self-designed summer learning odyssey. On April 4th Ms.
McKenney and Ms. Wadecki joined an elite group of more than 200 teachers
across Connecticut in receiving the great news and becoming part of the
Fund for Teachers Community.
"Fund for Teachers provides educators, possessing a broad vision
of what it means to teach and learn, the resources needed to pursue
self-designed professional learning experiences. FFT grants are used for
an unlimited variety of projects; all designed to create enhanced
learning environments for teachers, their students and their school
communities. We believe that supporting teachers’ active participation
in their own professional growth, positively impacts student learning
and achievement." Adapted from the Fund for Teachers Website http://fft.fundforteachers.org/applications/guideline/program_id:197/step:overview
After being selected in January as presenters at the ISTE
(International Society for Technology in Education) conference that will
be held in the summer of 2017, Ms. McKenney and Ms. Wadecki created
individual proposals to the FFT specific to this Professional
Development event. It was a great honor to have them both selected for
this grant. With the assistance of the FFT grant, Ms. Wadecki and Ms.
McKenney will have the opportunity to attend the ISTE Conference which
provides an unparalleled opportunity to meet with practitioners and
thought leaders immersed in technology and gain exposure to cutting edge
ideas and resources. In their fellowship proposals, Ms. McKenney and
Ms. Wadecki detailed how this unique learning opportunity would
translate into positive action in the school communities as they bring
back ideas and resources that they can share with colleagues and
students.