BELCHERTOWN — Belchertown Education Foundation awarded four grants totaling more than $10,000 in new Student Success Grants, including an outdoor classroom at Chestnut Hill Community School.

The foundation is an independent nonprofit organization established in 2017. All funds raised stay local, solely supporting projects in Belchertown schools.

Grant funding will be used to transform a concrete slab behind the library into an outdoor learning classroom, with seven benches that convert to tables, a retractable crank awning and a mobile whiteboard.

Studies have shown benefits to students’ mental and physical health when learning outside, and outdoor learning can improve behavior and academic motivation, according to Belchertown Education Foundation.
Belchertown Education Foundation Board of Directors President Heather St. Germaine said, “There is a wide opportunity of learning which is phenomenal especially for younger students who benefit from getting outdoors, breathing some fresh air and being able to get up, walk around and learn from their physical environment."

Chestnut Hill Community School will join Cold Spring School and Swift River Elementary School, which have received grants for outdoor classrooms in past grant cycles.

St. Germaine said, “The first classroom space we funded at Swift River was integrated into the curriculum around the school garden and science curriculum for students at that elementary school so it was used on a regular basis. It has multiple uses and the students have been excited and energized about these outdoor learning opportunities.”

It can also be used as a community gathering space during the summer.

Katie O’Neill, Laura Anderman and Laurie Murray were the Belchertown teachers who applied for the grant.

The space was named the OMA classroom after the last name of the three teachers who applied for the grant.

O’Neill said they applied for the grant because Chestnut School Community School did not have an outdoor classroom and thought it could benefit the students.

In addition, the school had an atrium in the back that had been vandalized and had some inspiration to “make lemonade out of lemons.”

O’Neill added, “With some creative thinking and thought process, we applied for a grant through the Belchertown Education Foundation which has been a god sent for Belchertown to fund these types of projects. We wrote it up with a hope that it could add another way to get the kids moving outside, change scenery and following the pandemic any way we could get them outside is always helpful.”

Classes have used the OMA classroom for writing projects, group read aloud, board games and any other lesson where the students can enjoy the fresh air.

O’ Neill said, “Any good day it has been utilized and it has been wonderful. It can be used in a variety of ways and anything you don’t necessarily need technology for can be done outside which is another great reason to have it to get kids off screens.”

O’Neill would also like to thank the head custodian Silas Holesovsky and his staff for the great work they have done installing and maintaining the outdoor classroom.

The other projects funded by the foundation’s grants were kinesthetic seating at Belchertown High School, alternative seating for the SAILS Program at Swift River Elementary School and biotech equipment at Belchertown High School.

The Students Achieving Interacting Learning Safely Program at the Swift River Elementary School is an intensive self contained or partial inclusion special education classroom for students in grades 1-3.

St. Germaine said that all the other projects have been implemented within their respective schools.
Over its five years of existence, the Belchertown Education Foundation has awarded 29 grants totaling more than $70,000.

The grants for 2023-2024 school year the Belchertown Education Foundation will be announced sometime in the month of June according to St. Germaine.

She added that the foundation is always looking for volunteers and board members.

“Through the generosity of local individuals and businesses who have donated to the Education Foundation, we are able to support innovative projects in Belchertown schools that would otherwise go unfunded,” St. Germaine said. “This year’s grants will bring exciting experiences to students and help them stay focused on their learning. We congratulate the teachers who invested their time and energy into the grant application process and who received funding this year.”