Success Stories
2011
Gifft Hill School
— The Gifft Hill School has the largest early learning program on St. John. Their comprehensive approach ensures that their children are socially and intellectually ready for the rigors of formal schooling. This program is widely respected on St. John yet many children do not attend due to costs which are beyond the means of many families. To address this need Kids First! has provided a $30,000 grant to provide financial aid to needs based students so that more can attend Gifft Hill’s Early Learning classes. This is the largest single grant ever made by Kids First! and is the third made to this important island school resulting in cumulative grants worth almost $80,000. In addition, this grant was provided so as to qualify for a matching gift provided by a very generous, anonymous contributor to Gifft Hill School, meaning the total value will be $60,000. Once distributed for the 2011-2012 school year, the cumulative gifts made by Kids First! plus the matching gift will have enabled up to 50 student years of early learning that would otherwise not have been possible.
St. John Montessori School — John Folly Montessori School in Johns Folly provides a quality early learning program for the East End and Coral Bay communities. Using the widely regarded “Montessori Method” this school helps prepare the island’s children for success in later grades and life beyond. Started only three years ago with just three students, this school now has 17 children enrolled. Despite discounting tuition for as many families as possible, the cost of attending can often be beyond the means of parents. To meet this need Kids First! has provided a grant of $15,000 for financial aid to support the tuition costs for needs based students. In addition, Kids First! has provided a matching grant for other contributions received up to a maximum of $5,000. This is the second major gift Kids First has made to the John Folly Montessori School, the total which when spent will exceed $40,000.
St. John Eyecare — The challenge of mastering school work can be difficult for many. This is especially true if their eyesight is impaired, yet many parents may not be aware of the problem or can not afford the cost of eye exams or glasses. To address this need, Kids First! has provided a $2,500 grant to St. John Eyecare to offset the costs of purchasing glasses for those parents who have limited financial resources. In addition, Dr. Craig Friedenberg, owner of St. John Eyecare, has offered free vision screening for all the island’s children. Through this partnership between Kids First! and St. John Eyecare, we hope to enable good vision for all the children of St. John which in turn will support good learning.
Guy Benjamin School — Guy Benjamin School has long believed that good reading skills are essential to success in school and life beyond. For years they have focused on reading and retention programs which have demonstrated success, but they concluded there was even more they could be doing through the innovative use of technology. Dionne Wells, Principal at Guy Benjamin School approached Kids First! with a proposal to fund the purchase of four Kindle E-Book readers along with subscription services, covers, and other accessories. These E-Books make available over 30,000 age appropriate books that can be downloaded in less than a minute at a cost of half what it would be in published form. Books selected by Guy Benjamin teachers can be augmented by on-line reviews and discussions sites which acts as an aid to curriculum. In addition, there is the “cool factor”; reading via E-Books is very popular with children. For all these reasons, it is believed the use of E-Books will promote increased reading and retention. Kids First! provided $1,500 to fund this pilot program which will be closely monitored by teachers and administrators. As it achieves its objectives, its hoped that this proof of concept will result in additional funding through the VI Department of Education.
2010
St. John Christian Academy — St. John Christian Academy has served the community of St. John for over 20 years educating children ages 4 to 8 (pre-K to 3rd grade). Their mission is to provide “quality instruction which integrates Biblical truth in all subject matter, and help the child apply knowledge and develop Godly character qualities”. They currently have ~60 children in the program. With one of the lowest tuition rates of any quality island private school, they reach out to families with limited ability to pay, however, this leaves them short of funds for necessary improvements to the school. One of their most pressing needs is to air condition their classrooms, which are insufferably hot. For several months the school has been raising money for this project and Kids First! hopes to accelerate this effort by providing a two-for-one matching grant for all contributions received over the coming months. With a cap of $5,000, this grant, when earned, will allow the air conditioning project to go ahead, greatly improving the classroom environment.Eco-Camp
— While most children thrive in pre-school or formal schooling, summer often results in children falling behind unless they are given opportunities to continue to learn. To help address this problem, Kids First! provided a grant of $2500 so that 10 children can attend an Eco-Camp sponsored by the Friends of the VI Park. This three day, two night camp to be held in July, will teach children to identify basic types of trees, plants, and marine habitat and understand the importance of preserving them. They will also learn about water quality issues, identifying water pollution and non-point source pollution. Plus they will have a great time! 
Johns Folly Montessori School — This school, located in the Johns Folly Institute, offers the only licensed, pre-school program in the Coral Bay community. Using the well regarding “Montessori Method”, school founder Debra Polucci is dedicated to serving the growing needs of her community by providing a strong early learning experience for children ages 3-7. However, as is the case with all quality, early learning programs on St. John, the cost of attending is too high for many parents. To help offset these costs, Kids First! provided a grant of $13,750 for financial aid so that more students can attend this school. Debra Polucci reaches out to the community to support her school by running fund raising initiatives. To help these efforts, Kids First! will match all contributions made through the 2010-2011 school year on a 2 for 1 basis, up to a maximum of $5,000. Last, Kids First! has provided a grant of up to $2,200 so that the Montessori School can receive non-profit status. These grants at a combined value of $20,000 will enable the Montessori School to admit more students, raise more funds, and provide more services to the Coral Bay community. Commenting on the support from Kids First!, Debra Polucci said “The Montessori School has received tremendous community support as highlighted by the three grants Kids First! has awarded. We simply can not succeed in our mission without this kind of community support and I deeply appreciate what Kids First! is doing for us and the east end of St. John.” Also commenting on this grant, Sharon Coldren, President of the Coral Bay Community Foundation said “Having a quality early education program right here in Coral Bay is very important to our community. Kids First! is enabling the St. John Montessori School to expand and better meet the known educational needs of our community. The matching grant program provides and incentive for all of us who love Coral Bay’s children to help assure this pre-school program is available to every child, regardless of their parent’s income.”
Gifft Hill School — The Gifft Hill School runs the largest early learning program on St. John. Using the Creative Curriculum method, this school focuses on language, social/emotional, and physical development for children ages 3 to 5. As is the case with all quality pre-school programs on St. John, the cost of attending is greater than many parents can afford. Kids First! is helping by providing $20,000 of financial need so that more children can attend the 2010-2011 school year. This grant is in addition to 3 made in 2009 which provided financial aid for needs-based students along with teaching materials and aids to enrich the classroom experience. Total grants to the Gifft Hill early learning program now total $50,000. Commenting on this recent grant, Ed Deusser, interim Headmaster said “Kids First! understands the importance of pre-school education so that children can successfully start formal schooling ready to succeed. St. John parents know this time of development is important to their children but they often lack the means necessary to send them to an early learning program. Kids First! is helping meet this need by providing much needed support”.Julius Sprauve School — Julius Sprauve school has found creative ways to use technology to support their children’s development starting as early as Kindergarten. These tools have been successfully used in may ways including the development of vocabulary, pronunciation, reading and comprehension. To further support these efforts, Kids First! provided a grant of $500 to purchase wireless routers and related products so that these tools can be further used across multiple classrooms and grades.
2009
Reading Intervention Teacher at Guy Benjamin - Reading is a critical skill, essential for success throughout the school years and beyond. Unfortunately, some students begin to lag behind, starting in the early years, and by 4th or 5th grade it is difficult to catch up. Recognizing this, Dionne Wells, principal at Guy Benjamin School, created a new position: “Reading Intervention Teacher”. This teacher closely monitors the progress of all the children at Guy Benjamin School and works with teachers and students to help each student read at grade level or beyond. Despite the progress being made, this position was at risk of being eliminated due to budget pressures. Kids First! is providing emergency funding to ensure this position will be maintained throughout the school year and will work with Guy Benjamin School to secure ongoing funding. “This position is critical to the success of our students” said Ms. Wells. “Kids First! has made it possible for us to continue providing this important support for our children”.
Financial Aid — St. John public schools are not funded to run pre-school programs. Gifft Hill School, a private school in Estate Bellevue, fills that gap with the largest early learning program on St. John. This highly regarded program supports children from ages 2 1/2 - 5 and ensures that young students are ready to thrive as they start the more formal education of first grade. Gifft Hill's comprehensive program, based on the Creative Curriculum, focuses on the cognitive/language development, the social/emotional development and the physical development of the young child. Unfortunately, many island families cannot afford the cost of this program. 
To ensure the highest number of St. John children possible have access to this valuable learning experience, Kids First! provided a grant for financial aid, allowing up to 10 more children to attend this program than would otherwise be possible. Commenting on Kids First!'s support, Ben Biddle, Headmaster of Gifft Hill School said, "GHS' mission is to serve the entire community of St. John. Scholarship funds received from Kids First! help to assure an education in our Early Learning Center is accessible to all students-regardless of financial background."
Teacher Development at Julius Sprauve — Brenda Dalmida, assistant principal at the Julius Sprauve School in Cruz Bay wanted to prepare her teachers for the new school year, while demonstrating how valued they are within the St. John community. To support her efforts, Kids First! sponsored a one day planning and development retreat at a St. John Villa. The reatreat was held on August 20th and included 19 members of the faculty and staff along with 3 administrators. It was an intense day of training, planning, brainstorming and personal development. While it was “all work” it was done in the nicest possible environment with majestic views of the north shore islands. Commenting on the session, Ms. Dalmida said “My staff left (reluctantly!) feeling important, valued and empowered to take on the very serious challenges of public education in the USVI”.
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