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The Edgemont School Foundation is proud to have funded a standing desk pilot program in Ms. Lim’s 2nd grade classroom at Seely Place.

Ms. Lim outlines how she plans to incorporate the standing desks in her classroom: “We are using them to create small partnership or group work areas. At the start of independent work, students check in with how they are feeling and have the opportunity to request a standing desk. We maintain a daily checklist to track which students have used the desks, as part of our flexible seating options.

Since we began using the standing desks, we’ve noticed significant improvements in both handwriting quality and overall focus. Students seem more engaged with their work, and the flexibility of the standing desks appears to support their learning and concentration. Students have also taken ownership of their learning and understanding their needs.”

The students have noted the benefits from the new desks as well, stating: “They make me have better handwriting” and “It helps me come closer to the board and see the board better. I am able to focus better.” 

Please help us continue to fund projects like this by donating. DONATE HERE!

The state provides aid under a number of categories, but by far the most important and material bucket is Foundation Aid. The state’s allocations of Foundation Aid ($21.3 billion in 2022-2023) to school districts is intended to ensure that all districts in the state have the necessary resources to ensure all students receive a “sound basic education” as required by the state constitution. The formula for calculating Foundation Aid is overly complex; however, what is important to note that the two primary drivers of the differences in aid received amongst schools are: 

1. Expected Minimum Local Contribution (i.e., the relative wealth of the community), based on a computed tax rate or local share formula that utilizes an income wealth index and a local tax factor. 
2. Total Aidable Foundation Pupil Units (i.e., enrollment).

In short, the higher the income wealth index the lower the proportional share of the Foundation Aid pot. Conversely, the lower the enrollment, the lower the proportional share of the Foundation Aid pot. Edgemont has a high income wealth index and a mid to low enrollment total. As a result, we receive less aid than neighboring districts who rate differently on these metrics. 

The good news is, that over the past ten years, we’ve seen an increase in the percentage of our revenue budget stemming from state aid. Namely, an increase from 6% of the budget in 2014-15 to 12% of the budget in the current year. This is most closely attributed to the state’s commitment to fully fund districts based on the approved Foundation Aid formula. As a result, we have seen a 56% increase in our Foundation Aid allocations in two years. This will be the last significant increase as we are now “fully funded.” Moving forward, we expect more modest increases based on economic growth factors. 

Year	Budget	Foundation Aid	Total State Aid	Aid as % of Budget
2024	$          69,374,373	$      4,869,652	$      8,076,495	12%
2023	$          67,026,024	$      3,541,218	$      6,587,323	10%
2022	$          65,251,389	$      2,546,644	$      5,163,310	8%
2021	$          63,616,332	$      2,103,877	$      4,563,118	7%
2020	$          61,048,737	$      2,104,103	$      4,378,532	7%
2019	$          59,129,371	$      2,078,729	$      4,571,279	8%
2018	$          57,092,835	$      2,028,138	$      4,479,340	8%
2017	$          55,512,470	$      1,960,263	$      4,059,081	7%
2016	$          54,104,349	$      1,960,259	$      3,669,817	7%
2015	$          53,149,102	$      1,944,439	$      3,354,471	6%

Neighboring districts like Ardsley, White Plains, Hastings, and Elmsford receive between 14% and 17.2% of their budget from State Aid. Every dollar counts!

http://WWW.EDGEMONTSCHOOLFOUNDATION.ORG/DONATE

DONATE TODAY!

Groups of 7th grade math students presented their classroom redesigns in May to administrators, teachers and the Edgemont School Foundation board members. The redesign the best represented a modern Edgemont classroom given mathematical parameters was selected and the classroom furniture was ordered! Please see below for images and quotes from teachers using the new innovative teaching space in D5.

“I would say that having chairs with wheels is a big help even though I was worried about the kids rolling around.  It is easy for them to turn and see the white board or the promethean, as well as to turn and face anyone who is speaking.  The desks are a little larger than the old desks.  It’s helpful for the students to have a little extra space for a textbook or chromebook.  And everybody loves to work at a whiteboard table. We’ve gone through more than our share of Expo markers!” – From the teacher of the D5

Quotes from students: 

“The furniture allows for group work, and chairs with wheels help a lot because moving a little and fidgeting a little allows you to think better. The whiteboard tables are especially my favorite, because you are able to write on them and do math problems on them. The shape of the regular desks is also really nice, because contrary to a regular square desk, these allow for a better way of placing things and more space.”

“The whiteboard tables allow for a space to write and interact with the surroundings of the classroom. It gives a break from boring seatings and makes it more fun to learn in my opinion.”

“The quality of the new furniture helps me to stay focused, I’m my other classes I’m playing with how wobbly the desks are. But these desks are adjustable so I don’t have that problem.”

“Having flexible furniture makes me happier because I enjoy the learning environment.”

What do the students like about D5 now: 

“It is spacious and allows for everyone to move around.”

“I enjoy the color of the tables/chairs and the moving chairs.”

“I like the whiteboard tables.”

“The colors. The pastel green and beige match well and also the chairs and desks are so comfortable. Also, Mrs. Reinmuths plants make the classroom look so bright and relaxed.”

“Flexible and creative seating.”

“I like the fact that there are multiple whiteboard tables”

“I enjoy the whiteboard tables because I could write down notes and other thoughts that I don’t need to write down on my paper.”

“I really like the flexibility of the room.”

From Jen Borella and Jeremy Levin, SP 4th grade teachers: Our Poetry Podcast Day was a huge success.  Their journey began weeks ago in reading as we started talking about poetry, looking at elements of poetry and reading poetry to understand meaning. 
Last week our class began writing their own pieces and then shared them with their 8th grade EHS poetry coaches, with support from Ms. Cecere, EHS English teacher.  Our students and the 8th graders collaborated through google doc to support the editing process. This was a valuable experience and we saw the excitement as they were given feedback from someone other than their teachers! 

8th graders made the trip by bus to Seely Place to support our students with the poem layout and recording of their podcast.  Watching this collaborative process was extremely rewarding for both myself and Mr. Levin as we saw our vision come to life from the grant we wrote this year. 

The Edgemont School Foundation purchased the high quality microphones we used for this project in order to support our creative and “think outside the box” approach to learning. 
Student Quotes: 
4th Grader Maya Fenyves:  “The podcast experience was so cool.  Having the chance to use the microphones was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They made my voice louder and were so exciting to use.  I loved making my own Podcast, my dad listens to them so it was fun to make one.” 

4th Grader Mason Rothman: “The microphones made my voice louder and let me put my poem sound better and more quality to my poem.” 

8th Grader Gabriel Hwang: “My poetry podcast experience was a blast! It was great to bond with and help out some fourth grade students. The whole process of recording and editing was such a wonderful journey! I would totally recommend this for future eighth and fourth graders! It was spectacular.”

8th Grader Celina Spearing: Our 8th-grade field trip to Seely was just as you’d expect! The 4th graders were eager to meet us. We helped them revise/edit their poems as well as helped them record. Everything was perfect as both we and the 4th graders were on their best behavior. Ms. Borella was also an amazing hostess to us and helped answer any questions we may have had. Overall, this was a great experience and I would definitely sign up for it again!

Please use this link to read the poetry podcasts themselves!

The Edgemont School Foundation is proud to have granted the Seely Place 6th grade with a new library with more advanced topics, reading levels, and genres for their reading groups.

“I can’t thank The Edgemont School Foundation enough for helping to purchase new book sets for our sixth grade book clubs. The students were excited to have a voice in the book sets that we were requesting, and couldn’t wait to dive into our new cycle of book clubs once the books arrived. During this cycle of book clubs, I was able to offer students high-interest book options that spanned a greater variety of genres that they were interested in compared to what I was able to offer before. The hardest part for many of them was having to choose just one book to read during our book club cycle, and many of them asked if they could borrow some of the other choices just to read for pleasure. The new books that we received have allowed the students to have deep discussions within their book clubs that focused around topics of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Students have been more motivated, engaged, and are having some of the most thoughtful, deep discussions with their peers thanks to the new book sets. Thank you again for considering our grant and for helping to make such an impact.” – Olga Jubinville, SP 6th grade reading and ELA teacher

Quotes from students: 

“I love Book Clubs and I feel we should do them more often. These books are amazing not only because they are new and high quality, but because the stories are so interesting and fun to follow. I love doing the jobs and discussing the books and I feel that thay make me a better reader as a whole.”

-Liv D.

“I think this cycle of Book Clubs is very motivating and enjoyable thanks to the new book choices. I really enjoy our book choice, The Breadwinner. The plot is very specific and unique, and the characters are dynamic. I have really enjoyed book clubs so far!”

-Kimaya B.

“I find that this cycle of Book Clubs is exciting. This is because I have to constantly socialize with new people and try things that I usually might not do. I really like my book club’s new book. It is called The Breadwinner and really makes sure kids like us don’t see the world through rose colored glasses.”

-Alex L.

“I really like the set of books because I love to read historical fiction and there were a lot of those types of books. I know most of the people in my book club also love to read historical fiction, and A Night Divided was really good and we all really enjoyed it. I also really like book clubs in general because it helps me focus on a book and really think about the book deeper than I normally do”

-Isabel W.

“I feel that this cycle is better than the last cycle because the new books are better. The books were way more interesting even though they were longer. I like the idea of book clubs and being able to discuss what we read with other kids in class.”

-Bailey M.

Thank you to all who attended the Seely Library Ribbon Cutting Event. We hope you enjoyed the presentations and learned about how your donations impact all students in Edgemont. A special thank you to our presenters: Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Hamilton, Seely Place Principal Eve Feuerstein, Greenville Assistant Principal Michelle Ring, Seely Place librarian Caroline Piazza, 7th grade math teacher Amanda Ruderman, and EHS Co-director of Phaedrus Cory Karpf.

To view the presentations please see below:
ESF Welcome Presentation: Click here
The Library Presentation: Click here
The 7th Grade Math PBL Presentation: Click here
Phaedrus Presentation: Click here