Another group spreading a similar message will be a new Men of Strength (MOST) Club. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified this club as one of the top four gender-violence prevention programs in the country. Blakley is undergoing facilitator training for that program.
“It will be a violence prevention group of 12 to 14 young men,” said Blakley. “The positive leadership skills they develop will hopefully be carried to the student body and out into the community.”
In addition, Springboro Junior High math teachers Linda Gillum and Amy Marcum wanted an intervention program for struggling math students, so they wrote a successful grant application to the Kinder Morgan Foundation in 2011. With the $5,000, they started an electronic math lab. Initial data showed that targeted students gained an average 41 percent in building-block skills, and 49 percent on grade band skills. Gillum and Marcum applied for a second $5,000 grant this year to expand the program, and were recently notified of their success.
“It is essential that teachers and students have regular access to technologies that support and advance mathematical reasoning, problem-solving, and communication,” states the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. “Effective teachers optimize the potential of technology to develop students’ understanding, stimulate their interest, and increase their math proficiency.”
For more information about these grant organizations, visit www.healthpathohio.org and www.kindermorgan.com.
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