The 544 Foundation is a nonprofit organization in Fergus Falls that was founded in September of 2000 with the vision to enhance the quality of public education in Independent School District #544, with a corresponding mission to raise, invest and grant money through a charitable foundation to support educational programs.
The foundation recently approved a grant in the amount of $648.88 for adaptive seating options for students served by the Special Education Cooperative.
Adaptive seating essentially provides children with positioning support to better allow them to interact with various learning environments.
Kara Johnson is a special education teacher (OTR) within the Fergus Falls Public School system and explains how important this grant was for students: “In (Occupational Therapy) we are often trying to find ways that every student we serve can be successful, and sometimes that means needing different seating options – due to a child’s size or different abilities – and the 544 grant allowed us to do that.”
“We’ve known about these grants and have written various ones up in the past, but I feel like this one was super impactful,” Johnson says. The staff was able to purchase several different chairs and seating options for students to meet both sensory and motor needs through the recent 544 grant.
“We had a few options for our little preschoolers – sometimes they’re too wiggly to sit down and do the work they need to do,” Johnson explains. “They need a really stable surface to sit on and different options when compared to other kids, so it’s cool to have the opportunity to help these kids get what they need to be successful.”
Johnson describes that some of these seating options and specialized materials can be difficult to requisition because of their high cost and availability: “We looked at what options we had, what needed to updated, where our needs were and at our clientele we’re currently serving, including the ages and any potential gaps there may be.”
Johnson explains that sometimes a standard chair and desk doesn’t meet the needs of certain students. Through the grant, the school was able to supply several older students with seating options that provided them a bit more movement and in turn helped them get through class periods better.
More information on the 544 Foundation can be found at the following: 544foundation.org.
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