District Projects

Each year the Tower Foundation of Manhasset works closely with the Manhasset Board of Education and each school's administration to determine which initiatives should be supported in order to enhance the learning environment for the greatest number of students. In addition, we annually fund teacher grants for professional development and a senior scholarship.

Since its founding, The Tower Foundation has provided the schools with a broad range of educational gifts not covered by the annual school budget. Our fundraising efforts provide grants to the Manhasset Public Schools to enrich the educational experience of the students, particularly in the areas of arts and technology. List of Tower Foundation Gifts to the Manhasset Schools» [Last Updated 2022]

Broadcast Journalism/ENL Lab/Stadium Lighting: 2023

In 2023, the Tower Foundation donated over $100K to sponsor three initiatives: The Broadcast Journalism Program, ENL Lab, and Stadium Lighting:

Broadcast Journalism Program Enhancements - this is an extremely popular program that benefits both elementary and secondary school students. Tower’s funding would enhance and expand the current Broadcast Journalism program and related curriculum by providing critical, upgraded equipment.
Upgrades to the ENL Lab that will create a more functional and flexible instructional space. This secondary school space is a highly used home base for all English language learners.
Stadium lighting for the new multi-purpose field at the MS/HS, which is also used by all children within the community. The Tower contribution will provide funding towards the completion of this project and help mitigate unexpected expenses related to the Town of North Hempstead’s updated lighting regulations.

Innovation Lab (Phase One): 2020-21

In 2019, the Tower Foundation sponsored phase one of an Innovation Lab at the secondary building which will house engineering courses, thereby enhancing the technology and STEM programs in grades 7-12. We believe these initiatives are of utmost priority in our current climate and in our complex world of global competitiveness. Learn More

The Future Ready Classroom Initiative: 2019

In 2019, The Tower Foundation of Manhasset sponsored additional Future Ready classrooms in the district. Traditional classrooms were redesigned to include physical enhancements, such as LED lighting, flexible furniture (soft seating, movable and adjustable chairs and desks, writable desktops, collaborative spaces) and better technology which will allow for more individualized instruction, student responsibility, and academic engagement. Research shows that flexible and fluid spaces in the classroom have the potential of transforming learning and helping students succeed beyond the classroom walls.

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Zspace 3D Interactive Labs Initiative: 2017

2017 was the 26th Anniversary of the Tower Foundation in the Manhasset community. Given the tremendous success of our 2015 and 2016 initiatives of Digitizing the Classrooms by providing Chromebooks for our 7th through 12th grade English students and 6th grade students to utilize across the curriculum, we continued down the technology path by providing zSpace labs for our Manhasset Secondary School, Munsey Park Elementary School and Shelter Rock Elementary School. zSpace is the ultimate learning experience. Our objective of these labs was to provide support for student achievement in mathematics and science by providing access to STEM content in an interactive 3D environment. It allows students to interact with objects and truly understand the science behind them, which are often too complex, expensive or dangerous to do in the classroom. For instance, in the interactive lab, a student can see and manipulate a beating heart in virtual reality. Across a range of subjects, students will be able to learn abstract content in a concrete manner. Implementing 3D technology by our teachers in the Manhasset classrooms will support the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES) standard stating “The teacher promotes student learning by using research-based instructional strategies relevant to the content to engage students in active learning to facilitate the students’ acquisition of key knowledge and skills.”

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Sixth Grade Chromebook Initiative: 2016

In 2016, the Grade 6 Chromebook Initiative provided each grade 6 classroom with a set of Chromebooks for students to utilize across the curriculum. This initiative further expanded and broadened the horizons and opportunities for students to be exposed to and to produce the highest caliber of research based work possible, right at their fingertips. As the teachers in Manhasset continue to create environments conducive to technologically-based lessons and activities for all students, the use of the Chromebook in the grade 6 classrooms serve to open up and to develop a world of life-long and practical academic, social, and career based skills and strengths: applied skills, cross-curricular skills, cross-disciplinary skills, interdisciplinary skills, transferable skills, transversal skills, noncognitive skills, and soft skills. Additionally, it assists students in mastering the technological skills necessary for their transition into high school.

Digitizing the English Classroom Experience: 2015

The 2015 initiative, Digitizing the English Classroom Experience provided students with classroom access to individual mobile computing devices as a part of the English curriculum and the resources required to thrive in modern curricula, such as the ability to draft and re-draft writing assignments using easily accessed technology, access on-line libraries and connect to endless databases and sources. Additionally, these devices provided the flexibility and efficiency required to pave the way for the full implementation of a Journalism course in which students' work would be submitted for print in Secondary School publications, such as Indian Ink, as well as other noteworthy publications serving the broader Manhasset community. Overall, students were awarded with the technological tools necessary to master the required literary skills to thrive and compete in the twenty-first century.