Ridgefield Academy is pleased to announce the 2012 Teacher Enrichment Grant recipients, preschool teacher Kristeen Chickering of New Milford, and science teacher Jerry Nash of New Haven.
These grants are awarded each year to faculty members based on proposals detailing how the experience will enhance student experience in the classroom. Ridgefield Academy has awarded two grants per year over the past seven years to teachers in their Landmark Preschools (programs for children ages 1 - 5) or teachers in the Kindergarten - Grade 8 program at Ridgefield Academy. The grants are funded by Ridgefield Academy Parents Association fundraisers to empower faculty both personally and professionally.
Mrs. Chickering has been a teacher at Landmark Preschool for fifteen years and is Head Teacher of the Landmark Preschool 4s program at the Ridgefield campus. Landmark Preschool, an affiliate of Ridgefield Academy, has campuses in Redding, Ridgefield and Westport. Chickering will travel to Alabama next summer to attend Space Academy for Educators at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Activities will include astronaut-style training for simulated space missions and workshops on how to bring the excitement of space exploration into the classroom.
Mr. Nash, who teaches science to Ridgefield Academy students from Kindergarten through Grade 4, will spend time exploring the two subjects his students love best, namely animals and rockets. He will travel to Disney’s Animal Kingdom & Sea World, then on to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A Wild Africa Trek via a privately guided expedition will allow Mr. Nash access to Nile crocodiles and giant hippos while workshops at Sea World will join teachers together for backstage experiences with killer whales, sea turtles and penguins. Nash will attend The Astronaut Training Experience, a hands-on spaceflight training program designed and taught by veteran NASA astronauts.
Upon their return, the teachers will present an overview of their experiences to the faculty and staff.
For more information, visit Landmark Preschool at www.landmarkpreschool.org or Ridgefield Academy at www.ridgefieldacademy.org.
