The Arlington Education Foundation (AEF) concluded its fall cycle by awarding more than $9,000 under its "Innovations in Education" grant category. Five innovative grants, supporting core math, social studies and world language curriculums, will benefit students in all nine of Arlington’s public schools.

* Math Support for Ottoson: Ottoson’s Math Support team will use Plato, a Web-based program, to create tailored student programs to more efficiently and effectively meet student needs.

* Dallin School Literary Journal: Dallin School fifth graders will write, curate and produce an annual literary journal allowing budding writers to develop their writing skills beyond the classroom.

* Kindergarten Around the World: Kindergarteners will learn about children from different cultures. Through the use of Skype, students will communicate with and interview peers in other countries.

* World Language Differentiated Learning Strategies: The world languages department (grades 6-12) will receive training in Strategies for Differentiating Instruction and Total Physical Response Storytelling, increasing target language and differentiated instruction.

* Statistics at Ottoson: Tinker Plots dynamic software will allow students to create and dynamically engage with data, thereby deepening their understanding of data analysis.

"These Innovations in Education grants foster creative teaching and learning in core subjects from kindergarten through 12th grade," said AEF President Rebecca Steinitz. "The AEF board is especially excited to be supporting diverse learning strategies, from software to storytelling, in classrooms across the district."
AEF works to support and advance public education in Arlington. AEF funds systemwide initiatives and creative new projects to enhance the educational experiences of Arlington’s teachers and students. In fiscal year 2012, community donations enabled AEF to award nearly $100,000 in grants to the Arlington public schools.

AEF’s next "Innovations in Education’ grant cycle is open until April 15. For more information on AEF’s current and past grants, or to donate, visit www.arlingtoneducationfoundationma.org.

This story was published Friday, Jan. 11, 2013.