Chef Grants Buy New Technology at High School

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – A new grant from the Croton-Harmon Education Foundation (CHEF) has provided Croton-Harmon High School with funds to purchase new Advanced Placement textbooks, electronic language-learning tablets and upgraded sound equipment for its auditorium.

“Without the support of CHEF I don’t think we would even be able to consider adding this upper level social studies course,” said high school Principal, Alan Capasso, about textbooks for a new AP Comparative Government and Politics course.

The Croton-Harmon Board of Education faces one of its toughest budget years in recent memory. The board anticipates it will have to cut $1.2 million from its projected budget, before it can be put up to vote.

Although preliminary estimates show the budget numbers only decreasing by $90,000, increased pension contributions, healthcare costs and contractual obligations are cutting into the district's technology and staffing budgets.

“We’re already looking at cutting most dollars toward technical equipment, so that kind of goes into the other grant application, the Mandarin one,” said Capasso, “without CHEF support it’s just something I know we wouldn’t be able to do.”

Electronic tablets will be purchased for use in the high school’s Mandarin Chinese classes. The tablets allow students to save their work electronically, although in practice, they work much like a traditional white board, Capasso said. The district also offers Mandarin Chinese classes in Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School.

“The support of CHEF is a win-win, because we’re able to get things that in all likelihood we would not be able to get from the budget. The students benefit from it, and the tax-payers benefit, in the sense that it doesn’t get funded out of the regular budget, tax dollars are not used,” said Capasso.

The fall cycle of CHEF grants awarded $27,000 to all three schools in the Croton-Harmon School District. CHEF accepts applications for programming ideas from teachers, students, parents and administrators. CHEF has awarded more than $600,000 in grants over the past 11 years to the Croton-Harmon district schools. The next upcoming fundraiser for CHEF is Dine-A-Round on Jan. 28. Tickets are available Jan. 3.

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