Mathematics Teacher Grant Winners Announced

The Somerville Mathematics Fund is pleased to announce the winners of their 2012 grants to teachers who are working on providing the students in Somerville with exciting, challenging  and creative mathematics in their classrooms.  This  year through the generosity of John Bullock they were able to fund a wonderful set of grants.

If you know any of these wonderful teachers, be sure to congratulate them on a job well-done.


• Annette Fiore Bassett at Winter Hill Community School for “K-2 & 3-5 Family Mathematics Nights”
• Laura Bonnell at East Somerville Community School at  Edgerly for “3^rd grade Success Day”

• Sally Brith at Next Wave for “Pre-Algebra Curriculum Materials”

• Frances Carino at Winter Hill Community School (4^th) for “Math Games”

• Margaret Clapham & Kate Briggs at Healey School (3^rd, 4^th) for “Think Tank and Figure It Materials”

• Adriane Cruz-Cioppa at Argenziano School (2^nd SEIP) for “Resource Activity Center”

• Kristy Desilets at Unidos, East Somerville Community School at Cummings for “Think Tank and Math Games”

• Donna Driscoll at Argenziano School (SEIP, Unidos)  for “K-2, 3-5 Bilingual Family Mathematics Nights”

• Benjamin Hehn at Kennedy School (5^th) for “Calculators and Mathematical Posters”

• Cathy Hughes at Kennedy School (1^st) for “Math Materials to send home and to differentiate in class”

• Eileen MacDonnell at Healey School (3^rd) for “Math Game and Literature”

• Charlene O’Neill at Winter Hill Community School (4^th) for “Math Games”

• Roxanne Scrima at Kennedy (K) for “Materials for parent/child activities”

• Zachary Shufran at Winter Hill Community School (3^rd-8^th,  ELL) “Mathematics Magazines”

• Sharon Sotiros at Kennedy (K) for “Materials for parent/child activities”

• Kathryn Sousa at Argenziano School (1^st, SEIP) for “Mathematics Activities for Small Groups”

• Celia Taylor at Healey School for “K-2 Family Mathematics Night”
• Alison Walton at Healey School for “Mathematics Materials for classroom & Take-home”
• Linda Wiegenfeld at East Somerville Community School at Edgerly for “2 – 4 Family Mathematics Night"



            The Somerville Mathematics Fund, an affiliate of the national scholarship organization Dollars for Scholars, was chartered in 2000 to celebrate and encourage achievement in mathematics in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts.  Over eleven years, the math fund has awarded $55,835 in teacher grants in the city of Somerville.


           The Somerville Mathematics Fund is an all-volunteer organization and is able to fund these teacher grants and scholarships based solely on the generosity of their supporters.  You can donate online by going to Community Room thanks to Eastern Bank.

            In early April, the fund will be seeking applications from students who reside in Somerville for college mathematics scholarships.  Copies of the scholarship application form is available at  www.somervillemathematicsfund.org   For more information, to volunteer or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please contact Erica Voolich (666-0666 or mathfund@gmail.com).

SMF goes to the School Committee Meeting

Last Monday, The Somerville Mathematics Fund was honored to be recognized by the Somerville School Committee for their work in Somerville and their winning the Outstanding Dollars for Scholars Chapter in New England for 2011.  Some of the members of the SMF board were able to attend and Paul Bockelman presented us with a framed congratulatory certificate from the whole School Committee.

The Somerville School School Committee devoted the first part of their meeting to recognizing retiring teachers, the Duhamel School Initiative, teachers winning Duhamel grants, and The Somerville Mathematics Fund.   The Duhamel School Initiative received a surprise award: Outstanding School Partner Award from the  Massachusetts Association of School Committees.  The Duhamel Initiative has been doing wonderful work in Somerville for the past 15 years and deserves this recognition.  Congratulations to them!

As the President of the Mathematics Fund, I was able to offer some words to the School Committee.

I took the time to thank the larger community.  The success of The Somerville Mathematics Fund is the result of many people.  Many people donate time and money.  The teachers who apply for a grant give their time to implement their wonderful ideas that we are able to fund.  The teachers also write the letters of recommendation for the scholarship applicants and recruit the high school volunteers for math nights and recruit the Scrapheap teams.  The teachers also organize and run the K-5 math nights and co-plan the middle school math celebrations of math, such as Pi Night.  The students volunteer their time and also study so they are ready to use the scholarships that we're able to award.  Basically, the success of The Somerville Mathematics Fund is a community success.  Thank you.

Somerville Mathematics Fund, a Dollars for Scholars Chapter, Named New England Dollars for Scholars® Chapter of the Year

Somerville, April 28, 2011 – Somerville Mathematics Fund, a Dollars for Scholars Chapter, is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of the 2011 New England Chapter of the Year Award.  The Chapter of the Year Award honors and recognizes Dollars for Scholars^® chapters that have performed outstanding service to their community and that exemplify the commitment of Dollars for Scholars and Scholarship America^® to ensuring all students have access to and complete postsecondary education.

They were chartered in September 2000 to celebrate and encourage achievement in mathematics in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts. They offer renewable mathematics scholarships to students who were residents of Somerville during their high school years without regard to which high school the applicant attended.  They offer grants to K-12 teachers of Somerville students for projects to improve mathematics instruction in the classroom or in after-school programs.   As of January, they have awarded a total of  $138,000 in four-year mathematics scholarships to thirty-five students and $47,921 in teacher grants to support one hundred four teachers’ projects and fifteen emergency grants to ESCS teachers after their devastating fire.  They also run middle school family math nights to celebrate Pi, for example, and the Scrapheap Showdown, a high school engineering challege each October.

As the New England Chapter of the Year, Somerville Mathematics Fund, A Dollars for Scholars Chapter, will receive a $500 scholarship and will be entered into the National Chapter of the Year competition. The chapter selected as the National Chapter of the Year will receive a $1,000 scholarship. 

“We are honored by this recognition.  We couldn’t do what we do in the community of Somerville if it weren’t for our wonderful volunteers and donors.  I want to thank them for their continued support and efforts,”  said the chapter president, Erica Voolich, “this award is really recognition of everyone’s effort to make mathematics accessible and exciting here in Somerville.”

About New England Dollars for Scholars^®

·      Northeast Dollars for Scholars provides leadership and support for 280 chapters throughout the six New England states and the state of New York.

·      Northeast Dollars for Scholars actively promotes the Collegiate Partners Program of Scholarship America.  Almost five hundred colleges and universities agree to use Dollars for Scholars scholarships to reduce student and family loan debt and not adjust need-based institutional gift aid the college has already given to the student.  A number of Collegiate Partners also match chapter awards, effectively doubling the scholarship.  Northeast Dollars for Scholars works with 164 Collegiate Partners throughout the seven-state region.

·      In 2010, Northeast chapters awarded almost $19 million in scholarships to more than 15,000 students.  In 2010, Northeast chapters distributed an average of $75,000 each in college scholarships.

About Scholarship America®

Scholarship America mobilizes support for students getting into and graduating from college. The movement began in 1958 with the first Dollars for Scholars chapters. We became a national organization in 1961—and since then, we've helped more than 1.7 million students follow their dream of getting to college.  Go to www.scholarshipamerica.org

 to learn more.