[3] Students Offered Enriching Curricula

Strickland, Sandy, The Florida Times Union

At Jefferson Davis Middle School, streetwise kids who are prone

to quit school will be learning to manage money and balance a

checkbook.

At West Jacksonville Elementary, students will be making model

rockets that will blast off from the Florida Air National

Guard's base at Jacksonville International Airport.

At Hyde Grove Elementary, the 665 students will be

immortalizing their faces and feelings in a permanent tile

mosaic.

And at Oak Hill Elementary, students will be taking field trips

to the zoo, a gallery and a park while drawing inspiration from

Beatrix Potter, creator of Peter Rabbit.

Those schools are among 16 on the Westside that have received

1996 enrichment grants from the Duval Public Education

Foundation Inc. The grants were awarded to Duval County

educators who have developed innovative programs.

The foundation awarded a total of $57,000 in grants to 65

schools throughout Duval County. Applications were submitted in

October. The winners were chosen by a panel of Duval County

business, community, PTA and education leaders.

Here's how some of the Westside schools will be using their

grants:

At Jeff Davis, Marsha Kerr Nix teaches seventh-graders who are

learning-disabled or have emotional or mental handicaps. They

are overage when they come to her and likely to drop out in the

ninth or 10th grade, she said.

"You can't teach these teenagers, who are so streetwise and

physically mature, like tender 11-and 12-year-olds," Nix said.

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information: Article title: [3] Students Offered Enriching Curricula. Contributors: Strickland, Sandy - Author. Newspaper title: The Florida Times Union. Publication date: January 15, 1997. Page number: 1. © 2007 The Florida Times-Union. COPYRIGHT 1997 Gale Group.

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