District Receives $18,000 Grant for Italian Language

Laura Ann Weiss, coordinator of world languages for the district, presented the Board of Education with an $18,000 check from the Italian American Committee on Education (IACE) at Thursday's meeting. 

Weiss said Italian is the second most popular language, with seven full sections. The award, she said, is partially funded by the Italian government and is given to schools to promote the instruction of the languages across the Northeast. 

Weiss applied for this grant last year and said the organization is very specific about how funds are used. The Middle School experienced a .75 scale point reduction – which translates to $743.25 based on the scale of 1 point = $991 – in the Italian after-school program, but this grant cannot fund that.

It must fund the salary of a teacher, Weiss said, and it will filter through the district and she said she plans to apply for the grant again next year as the sixth grade language program is always vulnerable to budget cuts, although it survived this year.  

Board President Mary-Jo Masciello said the board is grateful for such a donation, particularly in such an economic climate as this. 

The award, according to IACE, is given to public and private schools and can finance a teacher's salary for grades K - 8 up to $25,000. It has been given to schools in the tri-state area. IACE is located in Manhattan and in addition to providing these grants, they also promote adult education and enrichment.