Grant-Writing Support

GEF makes grants to the District, but it also has helped the District secure grants from other funders—and in most cases, the impact of this assistance has been profound.  Some examples:

• A 2014 submission to the state-administered federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program resulted in the establishment of O’Maley Academy, which has just been re-funded by the state for a second phase and is now extending learning time for one-third of O’Maley students. The program offers nearly 20 separate classes after the close of the school day in a variety of activities, as well as a handful of summer learning activities that engage students in learning about science, math, the arts and language arts and reinforces social-emotional skills.

• A 2015 submission to the Cummings Foundation lead to a major grant that supported a three-year initiative to convert the underutilized O’Maley Library into a 21st Century Learning Commons. The new space has been redesigned to incorporate flexible seating and table arrangements that can be quickly reconfigured to accommodate individual learners, small groups of students collaborating on a project, or entire classes that are now held in the facility. Chromebook carts give students quick access to technology for research and sharing of work. A new conference room includes an Apple TV and interactive white board for presentations and conferencing.

The O’Maley Learning Commons is a two-floor space.  Downstairs, a new fully-equipped BioLab, funded by GEF, Applied Materials Foundation and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, is being established for the study of life sciences.  An additional space houses a “green room,” where students learn video shooting and editing.

Also in the works is the development of a new Makerspace that will be accessible to all teachers and students engaged in Project-Based Learning, the central focus of all teaching and learning at O’Maley.