Buckeye receives $20,000 grant from American Federation of Teachers to expand Confetti Project

YORK TWP. — The American Federation of Teachers awarded the Buckeye Local Education Association a $20,000 grant last week to expand the district's Confetti Project. The Confetti Project was started last school year by eighth grade English language arts teacher Jody Keith at Buckeye Junior High School. The program started out with eighth grade students picking an inspirational book and meeting with a staff member in the district to discuss the book's topic and to create a relationship with that person. The latest round of AFT Innovation Grants gave nearly $500,000 to 14 educational projects across the country. Keith said she was at a loss for words when she found out that Buckeye received a grant. "I'm going to be honest, I feel like I'm just along for the ride with this," she said. "I'm just sitting back and watching what God's going to do." The goal for the funding is to broaden the existing project and add new segments to it, she said. Part of the plan is to bring the program down to seventh grade in the fall by having students read inspirational fiction books and have small group discussions. "We feel like that'll be good to supplement content, and it will be good to set them up for the confetti conversations that they'll have one-on-one as eighth graders," Keith said. "It'll be a good stepping stone kind of thing." She said she would like to see the Confetti Project expand to having students connect with local seniors. The passion she has about creating these relationships stems from the times when she visited her mother in a nursing home. "I saw a lot of residents that didn't have people visiting regularly and (there was a) lack of interaction and lack of attention," she said. "If my students can provide that to seniors in the community, that's going to be great for the seniors. Our students are also going to be gaining so much more as far as empathy and sympathy and opening their eyes." AFT President Randi Weingarten visited Buckeye in September to learn more about the program after she originally met Keith in an elevator by chance at a conference. A $6,600 grant was awarded at that time, which allowed for primary level books to be purchased so older students in the district could interact with the younger students through reading. "It has been a really rewarding thing on both ends to see my students step up and take that leadership role, and then to see the joy that these primary kids get is pretty awesome," Keith said. "That's what we started with (and) some of this money will help to continue to grow that." The Confetti Project is important because it allows young people to communicate face-to-face and establish connections, she said. "I think the Confetti Project does that along with allowing kids to have choice with books and to be inspired by authors that are sending out a positive message," she said. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.