Enrichment

Clusters
Discovering interests, developing talents, practicing professionals

A mini-grant application respectfully submitted to

The North Branford Education Foundation
By Joe Amodio, Carrie Seiden, and Shelly Thompson

 North Branford Education Foundation
Mini-Grant Application

Name: Joe Amodio Date: 10/9/2014

School: Totoket Valley Elementary School Position: Grade 3, Lead Teacher

Home Address: 2231 Town Walk Drive - Hamden, CT Home Telephone: (203) 314-8327

Initiative Title: Enrichment Clusters Requested Amount: $2,000

Scope and Reach of the Initiative

What is our proposal?

Enrichment clusters are part of a brand new, innovative initiative at TVES that offers our
students new ways to discover their interests and develop their talents. Students will be
deeply involved in self-directed learning experiences that facilitate higher order thinking and
will provide them with opportunities to apply their interests, knowledge, skills and creative
ideas to self-selected problems or areas of study. Specifically, we are asking the North
Branford Education Foundation to cover some of our one-time costs associated with getting
Enrichment Clusters up and running during the 2014-2015 school year.

What are enrichment clusters?

Enrichment clusters are groups of students who meet together regularly to pursue a common
interest in an investigation of a real-world topic. Groups are interest-based, multi-age and use
real-world methods and resources to develop an authentic product or service for an intended
audience. Cluster offerings are selected based on interest and promote discovery and talent
development (Appendix I).

Who will participate?

Approximately 70 students in grades 3, 4, and 5 will participate in interest-based, multi-age

enrichment clusters. Students in Mr. Amodios 3rd grade class, Ms. Thompsons 4th grade
class, Mr. Rice and Mrs. Champagnes 5th grade class will participate during the pilot year of
this initiative.

Seven staff members and two parents are dedicated to this initiative and will serve as
facilitators for enrichment clusters. Listed below are the names of facilitators and the
enrichment cluster they will facilitate.
Staff Facilitators:

Joe Amodio Ocean Research Institute

Jeremy Rice Sports Science Team
Elyse Mortensen Clay Designers Guild
Shelly Thompson Young Writers Guild
Carrie Seiden Director of Operations
Linda Franklin-Biggs Foreign Language Council

Parent Facilitators:

Portia Amendola Future Fashion Institute

John Garrett Sports Science Team

It is important to note that TVES students and staff working in enrichment clusters will not
be the only people involved in this unique initiative. Community members who are experts
in their career fields will be invited to meet with groups of students to help participants
expand their knowledge about career fields, specifically real-world methodologies these
people use daily, as a part of their job. For example, artist and former professional baseball
player, Kevin Rival of Newington, CT, will meet with groups of students in the Clay
Designers Guild and Sports Science Team to discuss his professional career and provide
students with his expertise in the area of sports, art, and marketing.

Additionally, our goal is to invite other classrooms, students, and adult participants to join
Enrichment Clusters in the 2015-2016 school year, depending upon the success of our pilot.
Enrichment for all students will be provided through school-wide enrichment clusters.

When will Enrichment Clusters meet?

Enrichment clusters will meet during regularly scheduled school hours from 8:25-9:25 am
every sixth day of the school calendar.

Objectives and Expected Results

TVES aims to meet the needs of all students through our Creative Learning initiative. This
initiative ensures that students will have multiple opportunities to develop their unique gifts
and talents by engaging in Project-Based Learning (Appendix II). Through enrichment
clusters students will question their surroundings, think critically to solve problems, and
become more valued, contributing, and responsible members of society.

One of our goals is to immerse students in real-world learning experiences in which they
apply advanced content knowledge and methods to develop a product or service that will
 have a direct impact on intended audiences. For example, students in the Clay Designers
Guild will not only be involved in the research and discovery of the uses and techniques of
clay, but they are planning to use their clay creations to assist them in raising funds for the
American Cancer Society. Through their enrichment cluster meetings, students will discover
and develop and understanding of how to market and sell a product successfully.

Our Enrichment Cluster goals are aligned with TVES core beliefs, and empower students to
achieve academic excellence, creativity in the arts, personal growth and wellness.

Core Beliefs:
Become confident and engaged learners who take risks and assume new challenges
Persevere when facing difficulties or obstacles
Exhibit innovation and inquisitiveness in problem-solving
Understand the world they live in through study and experience
Communicate effectively with others
Develop independence and take responsibility for their actions and learning
Work cooperatively and collaboratively with peers and adults
Recognize that they have a voice and can make a difference in the world

How do clusters provide enrichment?

Our initiative enriches the regular curriculum, supports national and state educational standards,
and allows students to acquire real-life skills like time management, critical thinking, problem-
solving, and self-reflection. Joseph Renzulli and Sally Reis, pioneers of providing enrichment
services to students, developed a three-tier enrichment model, which is promoted through our
enrichment cluster initiative (Appendix III).

Enrichment Clusters also promote 21st Century Skills and aim to develop six essential skill sets:

Creativity
Critical thinking
Project management skills
Information technology skills
Collaboration and community building

Additionally, Enrichment Clusters support the Common Core State Standards for English
Language Arts and Mathematics in grades 3-5. Students will work toward becoming college and
career ready in reading, writing, speaking, listening and language by:

demonstrating independence
building strong content knowledge
responding to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline
comprehending as well as critiquing
valuing evidence
 using technology and digital media strategically and capably
coming to understand other perspectives and cultures

Detailed Budget of Initiative

There are some one-time costs associated with getting enrichment clusters up and running. If our
pilot year is successful, then future funding will be built into our school budget, so that we can
continue to provide enrichment for all students.

We are asking the Education Foundation to share the costs associated with providing students
with opportunities to extend learning beyond the classroom and act as practicing professionals.

The costs associated with this initiative are outlined below:

Expert Speaker Fees video-conferencing $600 ($100 per cluster)

Transportation Costs (field trips)
Initiative Dedicated Supplies
expert visits
The Sound School New Haven, CT $1,000
ESPN Southington, CT
North Branford High School
Yale Art Gallery New Haven, CT
clay, paint, fabric, green-screen $400

Initiative Success Measurements

The success of this initiative will be evaluated based on (1) the students increased understanding
of advanced content and real-world methods and research practices, (2) the students ability to
use real-world methods and research to create a product or service for an intended audience, (3)
students increased ability to use 21st Century Skills to work toward college and career-readiness,
(4) student surveys indicating what they learned and how their thinking evolved as a result of
participating in clusters, (5) teacher surveys indicating how the adults and students benefited
from being a part of these groups.

Long-term successes may be more difficult to measure, however this experience of exploration
may one day stimulate students to pursue their own careers. Joe Renzulli often describes the
benefits Enrichment Clusters provide under-performing and/or unmotivated students. For
example:

Kelvin, who once described himself as a "mental dropout," now finds school a much
more inviting place. He is hoping to use the research he is doing in his enrichment
cluster on the design of airplane wings to enter a state science fair competition. He is
also thinking about a career in engineering, and the enrichment specialist has helped
him apply for a summer program at the University of Connecticut that is designed to
 expose minorities to professions that are related to mathematics and engineering.
"School," says Kelvin, "is a place where you have must-dos and can-dos. I work harder
on my must-dos so I can spend more time working on my can-dos." (Joe Renzulli, 1998)

Students and adults will share their work in progress, products and services during bi-monthly
student-led Town Hall meetings, which will be held in the TVES library. Town Hall meetings
will help to develop our community and provide a forum to showcase student learning. Through
Town Meetings students gain confidence performing and presenting. Parents, community
members, board of education members, and the North Branford Education Foundation members
will be encouraged to attend our meetings to view the successes of Enrichment Clusters in
action!

Additionally, enrichment cluster products and works in-progress will be shared with the
community through updates on our school website and newsletters. If space allows, we will
display some of our work on a bulletin board in our building. We are also interested in sharing
our work with the greater community, and invite the Education Foundation to work with students
involved in our Young Writers Guild enrichment cluster to develop an article featuring our work
in a future edition of the Totoket Times.

Closing Remarks

The inclusion of Enrichment Clusters in the academic program at TVES would promote life-long
learning and inspire our students to explore talents and interests in a unique way. It would
provide time for students to work with practicing professionals, community members, teachers,
parents and peers across all age-levels, ultimately building relationships and rapport with all
stakeholders in our school community. Partnering with the Education Foundation is the perfect
opportunity to provide our students with highly motivated and authentic learning experiences.

We would like to thank the members of the North Branford Education Foundation for taking
the time to consider this proposal in support of the Creative Learning and academic
enrichment program at TVES!

Signature of Applicant: Joe Amodio Date: 11/8/14

Signature of School Administrator: Kris Lindsay Date: 11/8/14

Appendix I
 Production Company
Offerings
Enrichment Clusters

FOREIGN LANGUAGE COUNCIL

Parlez-vous Francais? Hablas espanol? Nihongo hanasemasu ka? Come explore world languages through cultural
music, songs, and traditions or customs. Technology has made it possible for us to travel virtually and learn with
students in far-away places like Africa, Europe, and South America. Let music - and language - take you there!

OCEAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Do you ever wonder what happens deep below the sea-level surface of our Earth? Scientists believe that life on
Earth began in the ocean, approximately 4 billion years ago. If you are interested in exploring our mysterious
undersea world and the work of marine biologists join our Ocean Research Institute!

SPORTS SCIENCE TEAM

Cant get enough of sports? Find yourself yelling at the TV because your favorite team is losing? Join this team
to take a closer look at the science behind sports and why fans become so invested in their favorite teams. Discuss
sports heroes and zeroes and perhaps even design your own sporting event!

CLAY DESIGNERS GUILD

Do you love sculpting? Do you love getting your hands dirty with that wonderful stuff we call clay? And do you
want to learn to market your masterpieces to raise awareness for a particular issue or cause? There will be some
decisions to make, some marketing to do, and some strategies to sort out. Sobe ready to use your whole brain
and get muddy, too!

FUTURE FASHION INSTITUTE

Got passion for fashion? If so, you have the chance to work with a specialist in the field: a former New York fashion
designer. Bring your own sense of style and see how far your creativity and some Eco-friendly up-cycling will
take you. You'll explore the design process from sketch to finished product using your own hands and simple
skills. Then wear it or flaunt it in your very own fashion show!

YOUNG WRITERS GUILD

What is the life of a writer really like? Come find out for yourself. Write, illustrate and perform original work,
whether it be song lyrics, poems or simply good stories. This is the creative outlet you have been waiting for.
And, you will also automatically become a member of the T.V.E.S Magic Mailbox Peer Review Board and have
a hand in creating and judging all contests or events throughout the year!
Appendix II

Project-Based Learning
Below are some examples of products and services the students may create and/or produce
through enrichment clusters:

Product Type Examples

Models/Construction sculpture, habitat, games, furniture, clothing, blueprints, documentaries
Written brochures, comic strips, advertisements, public service announcements
Artistic architecture, filmstrips, photography, movies, web pages, pottery
Spoken debates, lectures, guided tours, puppet shows, songs, infomercials
Performance skits, athletic events, demonstrations, experiments, reenactments
Visual videos, computer programs, collages, murals, fashion design, maps
Leadership speeches, mock trials, open forums, editorials, fund raising, campaigns

Below are two detailed accounts of enrichment cluster success from Laurel Mountain
Elementary School in Austin, TX:

Take 2
We spent eight weeks exploring the world of videography. We had lots of hands-on time with
new equipment and software; opportunities to problem solve when our first attempts with flips
cameras didnt quite work out as planned; and joint-learning experiences where we shared
what we discovered. Each student created a video complete with some very creative acting! We
discovered that many of us loved being in front of the camera as much as we enjoyed filming
others. We hope you enjoy viewing our movies popcorn is optional.

Inventing Minds Cluster

During the course of this cluster we discussed the fact that inventors invent for multiple
reasons but they usually invent products or services that are for convenience or to meet a basic
need. That brought up the difference between wants and needs. We talked about different
inventions and into which category that they might fall.

Talk about a kids paradise. This was it. The first meeting I proposed a problem to the students.
They were stranded on a tropical island. They had set up camp under a mountain to protect
themselves from the heavy wind. The problem was that the fresh water source was 5 miles
away from camp. Their job was to design a method to get the water from the fresh water source
to their camp using the resources available to them on the island. They designed and made
models.

We then looked at different shelters that had been invented and investigate the geodesic dome.
The children had to first master building them. They are made of 20 equilateral triangles. We
discussed why it was important that the triangles were equilateral. We then tried to build larger
figures. We had to discover that we had to change how many triangles we started with to make
the figures bigger. This was quite a challenge.

Another thing the children enjoyed was making simple and complex machines with kNEX.

(http://sematlme.blogspot.com/2012/03/2nd-and-3rd-grade-enrichment-cluster.html)
Appendix III
 Joseph Renzullis Enrichment Cluster Triad Model

Type I Enrichment Experiences and activities that are purposefully designed to

expose students to a wide variety of disciplines, topics, issues, occupations,
hobbies, persons, places and events not normally covered in the regular
curriculum.
Type II Enrichment-Instructional methods and materials that are purposefully
designed to promote the development of thinking and feeling processes.
Type III Enrichment-Investigative activities and artistic productions in which
the learner assumes the role of a first-hand inquirer; the student thinking,
feeling, and acting like a practicing professional.