North Penn School District Educational Foundation Receives $10,000 Grant from Verizon Foundation
 

Thanks to the Verizon Foundation, educators in the North Penn School District will receive technology-based skill training in Cyber Bullying, Digital Storytelling and Internet Safety from the district’s integration coaches.

The North Penn School District Educational Foundation has received $10,000 from the Verizon Foundation to provide educators the opportunity to receive special training and learn how to integrate what they learn into their classrooms and schools. Once trained, educators will work with students in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10 to create digital stories that focus on Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying. These digital stories will then be shared with other students to educate them on these topics and posted on the district Intranet for other staff members.

The generous Verizon donation also provides the opportunity for an outside professional to work with parents district-wide during two presentations, one in the fall of 2010 and one in the spring of 2011. These special parent presentations will focus on what parents need to know about Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying and how they can help their children make good choices and use of the Internet.

Both the NPSD Educational Foundation and the Verizon Foundation strongly believe in the integration of technology in the classroom. Therefore, technology will be used to train teachers and students to use Mac computers and iMovie to create digital stories. Flip video cameras will also be purchased and be used to capture the video stories created by the students. A grade level blog will be used for students to share what they have learned about Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety.

"Verizon is proud to help improve the quality of life for individuals by empowering the community with innovative tools and resources," said Daniel J. Reavy, Director of External Affairs for Verizon Pennsylvania. "We're investing in programs, such as our partnership with North Penn School District Education Foundation to touch people's lives by focusing on health and family safety in the 21st century.”

“Thanks to the Verizon Foundation, our students, faculty and parents will have a greater knowledge of Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety as a result of the activities provided by this grant. While focusing on these important issues that children face today, this grant also introduces these topics to them in a way that also allows them to work on their communication and technology-based skills, preparing them for the 21st century,” said Christine Liberaski, Executive Director of the NPSD Educational Foundation.

The NPSD Educational Foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises money to fund educator-created projects in the North Penn School District. Since its inception in 1988, the Foundation has raised more than $500,000 to fund programs that enrich and complement the North Penn curricula. For more information on the NPSD Educational Foundation, contact liberacd@npenn.org.

The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.