VCSD receives grants to help support educational opportunities for students

The Voorheesville Central School District recently received $10,800 in grants from the Voorheesville Community & School Foundation.

The money will be used to help enhance teaching methods at the elementary school and to pay for an Odyssey of the Mind program at the elementary school for the current school year.

The elementary school received $10,000, which will be used to create a list of best practices in teaching methods and assessment of those methods. School officials expect students to improve their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, and to take a more active role in learning. Officials also believe this new approach will result in higher student scores on the English Language Arts state assessment exam.

The elementary school will also receive $800, which will be used to help pay the registration fees for district students who have signed up for Odyssey of the Mind, an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Students apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics.

In the Voorheesville school district this year, 75 students signed up for the Odyssey program, 65 from the elementary school and 10 from the middle school and high school. Because of the overwhelming interest at the elementary level, the money in the Parent Teacher Association’s budget school budget isn’t enough to cover registration fees.

In prior years, several Odyssey teams from Voorheesville have gone to the state competition, and school officials hope that by making sure every student who wants to participate can, it will increase future enrollment.

Superintendent Linda Langevin thanked the Voorheesville Community & School Foundation, saying the grants will help the district strengthen educational opportunities for its students.

“Community support is vital to the success of any school district. By offering these grants to our district, the Voorheesville Community & School Foundation is helping to advance our students along the path to success,” Superintendent Langevin said.

The Voorheesville Community & School Foundation’s purpose is to enhance educational, cultural, athletic and organizational opportunities for students and communities of the Voorheesville Central School District. It works to achieve this goal by providing additional resources to augment educational opportunities for all students and promoting efficient utilization of all assets of the Voorheesville District.