School Advisory Council Projects Receive New Innovation Grant
Grants from the new School Advisory Council (SAC) Innovation Fund will support new and innovative projects focused on student achievement and well-being. (Communications Nova Scotia / File)
NOTE: The list of funding recipients follows this release.
The Province is funding 26 projects through the new School Advisory Council (SAC) Innovation Fund.
Announced in December as part of the government’s work to ensure families and other community members have more say in school operations, the fund enables new and innovative projects to support student achievement and well-being. It provides grants of up to $10,000 to test an idea, which – if shown to be successful – could be expanded to other schools.
“I am so impressed with the creativity and commitment to bettering schools that SACs showed in their applications to the innovation fund,” said Becky Druhan, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “The councils really demonstrated their deep understanding of their school communities and the things that get students engaged in their learning experience.”
Funded projects include:
- expanding school gardens with hydroponic equipment
- building a model apartment for students with special needs to practise everyday life skills in a realistic environment
- purchasing technology and materials to create multilingual multimedia to support newcomer families and students in navigating their new school, education system and community.
Applications were open from February 15 to April 18, and the Department received 128. In total, more than $250,000 was awarded to 26 recipients.
Quick Facts:
- SACs are volunteer organizations with roles and responsibilities set out in the Education Act and supporting regulations
- SAC members can include parents and guardians, school staff (including teachers), students and members of the wider community
- projects will be featured at the first provincewide SAC conference this September and, once implemented, considered for expansion to other schools
Additional Resources:
School advisory councils: https://www.ednet.ns.ca/SAC
SAC Innovation Fund application guidelines: https://www.ednet.ns.ca/docs/innovationfundguidelines2024-25eng.pdf
News release – More School Input for Families, Students, Advisory Councils: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2023/12/01/more-school-input-families-students-advisory-councils
The projects receiving funding are listed below. More information about them is available at: https://www.ednet.ns.ca/docs/sac_innovation_fund_successfulprojects_en.pdf
Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education
- Champlain Elementary School: The Right to Bike – Biking for Student Well-being and Community Connections
- Kingston and District School, Dwight Ross Elementary School and St. Mary’s Elementary School: Experience it, Learn it, Share it!
- Wolfville School: Wolfville School Project Achievement
Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education
- Sydney River Elementary School: Movement – Up and to the Right
- Coxheath Elementary: The Coxheath Elementary “Yeti” Storybrook Trail
- Donkin School: Donkin School Homegrown Salad Bar
Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for Education
- Salt Springs Elementary School: Salt Springs Elementary's Outdoor Walking Track
- Maple Ridge Elementary School: Sparkle and Shine
Conseil scolaire acadien provincial
- École secondaire de Clare: Model apartment
- École Wedgeport: Building leadership skills and appropriate behaviours through gaga ball
Halifax Regional Centre for Education
- Nelson Whynder Elementary: Cultivating Excellence through the African Nova Scotian Education Framework
- Charles P. Allen High: Better with Bees: CPA's Path to Sustainable Climate Action and Food Sovereignty
- J.L. Ilsley High: Promoting Purple Pride
- Shatford Memorial Elementary: Shatford Signals – Connection to Community and School
- Prospect Road Elementary: Building Bridges to Achievement – Collaborative Spaces for Learning and for Growing Relationships
- Bel Ayr Elementary: Enhancing Well-being through Creativity and Representation
- Holland Road Elementary: Building Bridges to Learning: Creating an Inclusive Elementary School Learning Commons
- Portland Estates Elementary: School Community Learning Series presented by the Woodlawn High Family of Elementary Schools
- Oxford School: Improving student success through movement in learning
South Shore Regional Centre for Education
- North Queens Community School: Unity Through Tradition
- Bluenose Academy: Bluenose Bright Futures for All
Strait Regional Centre for Education
- Antigonish Education Centre: Readers Retreat: The AEC Library Revival
- Felix Marchand Education Centre: FMEC Rewilding Green Space
Tri-County Regional Centre for Education
- Forest Ridge Academy: A Sensory Journey: A Mi'kmaq poqtamga'sit
- Digby Regional High School: Virtual Reality: The Future of Inclusive Education
- Plymouth School: Outdoor Learning & Recreation Enhancement: Concrete Slab Grant for Upper Playground Utilizing Active Smarter Kids (ASK) Program