Sussex County educators Danielle Kovach, Jennifer Neu, Linda Aviles and Amanda Maliszewski from Hopatcong Borough Schools, were awarded a $4,000 grant to carry out a project at Tulsa Trail Elementary School in Hopatcong.
Students will use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to determine how to best handle social situations in various classroom environments. Activities include: identifying situations in which the student is having difficulty understanding or exhibiting appropriate behavior, predicting future situations to help prepare, writing the text of a story or script for the student to act out, and acting out the written script using green screen. A final product will be created using editing software for online publication. The videos will be interactive for students to choose what they think is the appropriate response. Each response will also have an explanation as to why it is appropriate or not.
Collaboration with families will bridge a home and school connection, families will have the opportunity to share social situations outside of school that their child is having difficulty understanding. Videos will be able to be viewed at home to help apply the strategies learned.
This program is completely sustainable, and the proposed materials can be used year after year. Additionally, this grant can reach a larger target audience beyond just students with special needs. All students, regardless of disability, race, or socioeconomic status can be included in “In My Shoes, I am Ready to Choose.” Once videos are shared, students can refer to them for years to come.
For more information, contact:
Danielle Kovach, Project Coordinator
(973) 713-1406 (home)