Harrison Educational Foundation awards three grants for planetarium, science probes and sensory supports

The Harrison Educational Foundation presented three grants to the Harrison Central School District on May 6, providing classroom technology and student supports district leaders say will benefit hundreds of students.

Lee Vasti, a trustee of the Harrison Educational Foundation, told the board the foundation awarded three unanimously approved grants totaling $35,235. The smallest award, $235, will fund wireless carbon dioxide probes for seventh-grade science at LMK to replace outdated wired probes and support inquiry-based lab work that the district estimates will benefit about 300 students annually. "They'll help students graph, interpret, and analyze authentic scientific data," Vasti said.

The largest award, $29,000, will go to restore and modernize Harrison High School's planetarium with a digital dome system designed to create immersive astronomy lessons for high school students, fourth graders and the broader community. Vasti said the upgrade would reach roughly 600 students and enable three-dimensional visualizations of scientific data.

A third grant of $6,000 will be split among Harrison Avenue, Parsons, Preston and Purchase elementary schools to create a multi-sensory environment and mobile sensory support system intended to strengthen students' executive functioning, self-regulation and classroom engagement across K–5.

Board members and district administrators thanked the foundation and encouraged continued collaboration. The presentation concluded with a photo opportunity and a commitment to share updates when installations and programs begin.