Canan Tasci, Staff Writer
Article Created: 05/25/2008 07:52:44 PM PDT
MONTCLAIR - Students at Kingsley and Lehigh elementary schools are going to get a chance to learn about the history of their city.
Through a $10,000 grant, the fourth- and fifth-graders in Montclair Community Collaborative's After-School Program will participate the Reeder Heritage Foundation's "Coming to Montclair" stories.
The students will take part in a 12-week program, during which they will learn about Montclair's founding family and the evolution of the city. Then they will explore ways to effectively communicate their own family stories through photography and historical narratives.
The California Council for the Humanities awarded the grant through its California Story Fund.
"Our goal is to have children be aware of their history and the history of the city," said Ginger Eaton, a Reeder foundation board member.
Eaton said the grant will go toward the purchase of materials and bringing in guest lecturers.
Students will be asked to interview seniors in the community and find out what role they played in the development of the city, Eaton said.
Eaton said the money will help start the type of education program foundation founder Hazel Reeder intended when she left her family's century-old homestead to the foundation.
"Hazel was an elementary school teacher, so it makes sense that we begin teaching students at the elementary level," she said.
Courtney Aguirre, Montclair resource analyst and co-facilitator for Montclair Community Collaborative, said this is one of many grants the nonprofit has received for different programs.
"We are always looking for funding that will help enrich and improve students and the quality of our community," she said.
Eaton said the project will look at more than just how the area developed.
"It was not just about producing citrus, but it was also about producing jobs and bringing in different people and having a community that is multicultured," she said. "We want the students to make connections with our community and inspire them to look at their own history."
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