WARWICK, RI (May 12, 2023) – Bishop Hendricken High School’s Br. Thomas R. Leto Options Program has been awarded an $11,055 grant from The John E. Fogarty Foundation, the second largest award in the partnership’s 6-year history. The grant will directly support the Options Program’s classroom materials, curriculum programming, annual events, and other services for the 2023-2024 Academic Year.
“We are incredibly proud of our longstanding partnership with the Fogarty Foundation,” said Vanessa Cardillo, Director of Academic Support Services. “The funding received from the Foundation has been a major contributor to the Options Program’s success, and most importantly, has enabled us to better serve the young men entrusted to us.”
The Fogarty Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the Options Program, providing roughly $40,000 of funding over the last six years. The partnership began in 2018 when the Fogarty Foundation awarded a $7,000 grant to enhance technology in the program’s classrooms which provided students with iPads, wireless keyboards, and chargers for streamlined instruction and further development of independent learning skills.
Since then, Fogarty Foundation grants have supported professional development for faculty and peer mentors, the purchase of ViewSonic boards for each Options classroom, online programming to assist with progress monitoring during the COVID, technological accessories for students who did not have access while at home during the pandemic, life skills curriculum, retreats, textbooks, flexible seating for the classroom, Unified Sports teams, and special social events.
“We are tremendously grateful for the continuous support of the Fogarty Foundation,” said Mark DeCiccio ’03, Principal. “Through their generosity, we’ve been able to provide the students and peer mentors in the Options Program with important tools like technology, professional development, and key social events critical to our life skills curriculum.”
The Options Program was launched in 2008 with the belief that all young men, including those with mild to moderate disabilities, deserve the “option” of a Bishop Hendricken education. The focus of the program is to provide academic, social, and spiritual growth for each student in order for them to be successful and independent adults in the future. In honor of its 15th year, the Options Program is hosting a carnival and pasta dinner on Saturday, May 20, 2023 for students, parents, peer mentors, and alumni to celebrate the program’s success, in large part due to the generosity of the Fogarty Foundation. Tickets for the Options Program Pasta Dinner & Carnival can be purchased, here.