Old Saybrook teacher earns grant to search for artifacts of native people, settlers

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OLD SAYBROOK — Eric Yale, fifth-grade teacher at Old Saybrook Middle School, has been awarded a $5,000 grant by Fund for Teachers.

This grant is being used during the first two weeks of August so Yale can travel to several national parks throughout the Midwest, where he will learn about the geology, plant and animal life, and the geography of the region, according to a press release.

During the 2018-19 academic year, the Fund for Teachers visited Old Saybrook Public Schools and offered faculty an opportunity to obtain grant money to be used for expenses toward designing a summer learning experience that would transform their classroom, the news release said.

The organization encourages applicants to “craft an odyssey that brings out the scholar, explorer, scientist or artist in you — and then, your students.”

Yale plans to bring back artifacts and primary learning resources to his students for his yearly unit on the Midwest. He will also be sharing his knowledge and artifacts with his fellow teachers to improve district curriculum so that all students may benefit from his trip, the release said.

Yale outlined his overall goal for the project: “Currently, my students learn about the Midwest through reading a National Geographic textbook. Like many National Geographic materials, it provides excellent photographs, maps and text. I would be able to enrich the unit significantly by bringing back artifacts much more tailored to their learning objectives,” he said in a prepared statement.

The district is supporting Yale’s endeavor through access to the Twitter page so he can post photos and videos of his journey and share the experience with students and the community in real time. It is also partnering with Yale to create informative videos of each national park visited so teachers can share videos with students throughout the district.

Superintendent Jan Perruccio is excited about the trip: “Fund for Teachers has provided Mr. Yale with such a wonderful opportunity that we are thrilled to support him and feel fortunate to be able to share in his experiences in this way,” Perruccio said in the release.

His trip is being documented through the Old Saybrook Public Schools Twitter page, OS_RAM_PRIDE now, and through videos to be released on the district website, oldsaybrookschools.org, beginning Aug. 26.