The Dover Sherborn Educational Fund (DSEF) has awarded approximately $130,000 in grants to the Public Schools of Dover and Sherborn for the 2017 – 2018 school year.  Each of the four schools in the system, the high school, middle school, Pine Hill and Chickering, received funds stemming from grants authored by educators.  Funded grants include art and music, science, and technology initiatives; health and wellness and cultural enrichment; as well as core academic curricula.

Specific programs funded this academic year include the update and reorganization of the high school library, Code with Friends, the New Repertory theater production, Roots Robot, Difficult Conversations about Race in America, the Inside Out project, and Recess is for Everyone. Also funded are speakers and traveling museum exhibits for Social Studies, as well as an expanded World Cultures Week.

DSEF grants also enabled the purchase of a CNC milling machine, Maker Space equipment for Chickering, hands-on equipment to support the new Physical Science curriculum at the middle school, as well as equipment for the high school fitness center.

DSEF grants will also continue to support the innovative Challenge Success program in all DS schools, as well as SPAN DS, and many other programs and initiatives, including bringing nationally recognized Internet and social media expert Katie Greer to address parents and guardians on October 16th.

“We are very fortunate to be part of a community that values and actively supports education. It is their generosity that enables us to support our teachers and enhance the education of all Dover-Sherborn students,” said Sarah O’Connell, DSEF Co-President.

For more than thirty years DSEF, a private, volunteer, non-profit organization, has raised well over $3 million for the DS Schools. Funds have been used to enhance art, science and technology programs, athletics, and cultural enrichment, as well as core academic curriculum. In the last eight years alone the DSEF has funded more than $1 million in grants, making it one of the most successful education funds in the Commonwealth.

“In addition to academic programs, DSEF recognizes the importance of funding grants that support cultural programs, as well as initiatives that nurture emotional health and resilience and provide our students with the skills they need to thrive,” said Marcus Hatfield, DSEF Co-President.