In Belleville Education Association (Essex County), Belleville High School educators Gerard Fabiano and Ryan Sheridan were awarded a $9,763 grant to work with students to develop the Student Learning Academy Website. The project is a student-based educational website almost completely created for students, by students. The website features National Honor Society students fielding inquiries from students needing homework help; educational videos produced and filmed by students; educational documents and games created by students; highlights of class trips filmed by students; and other cutting-edge ideas. Mr. Sheridan’s Mass Communications students will film and edit all materials. They will make six trips to a television studio to hone their skills and increase career readiness abilities.
All educators, students, and parents have the opportunity to attend trainings on how to properly utilize the website. The school district agreed to allocate time on Enrichment Wednesdays, at faculty meetings, during professional development workshops, and at several free “launch parties” for parents in the evenings. Educators share what they learned in a workshop at the NJEA Convention.
The Hipp grant covers all of the start-up expenses to launch the website properly. Future expenses will be minimal and profits will be generated from the sale of website merchandise. The grant team also requests donations from local foundations for future website updates.
For further information, contact:
Gerard Fabiano
973-450-3500, ext. 1316 (school)