Rudolph Masciantonio 'Classics for All' Grant

In 2020, Ascanius learned that it is one of the beneficiaries of the Dr. Rudolph Masciantonio Fund for Classical Studies. Dr. Masciantonio taught Latin, Spanish, French, and social studies in the Philadelphia Public Schools before becoming the department head of foreign language and a curriculum specialist for the city's public schools. In the 1970s, he spearheaded one of the most extensive Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES) programs, in which fourth through sixth grade students in Philadelphia received daily Latin instruction from itinerant Latin teachers. An evaluative study found that these students made significant academic gains in the areas of English vocabulary and reading after one year of Latin.

At Ascanius, our faculty training sessions during LatinSummer always included discussions of Philadelphia's FLES program and Dr. Masciantonio's groundbreaking work. We were even fortunate to have him as a supporter of our programs from our earliest years. Dr. Masciantonio died in 2016 and is remembered by many as a champion of Classics. At Ascanius, we remember him as a true pioneer of elementary-level Latin, and we look forward to honoring his memory with the work that the fund will help us to make possible.

The new Ascanius grant, the "Rudolph Masciantonio 'Classics for All' Grant," supports events, programs, and projects geared towards teachers who are instructing elementary and middle-school-aged students about Latin and the ancient Mediterranean. Grants of up to $500 are available for teacher use. Each year, the grant will focus on projects centered on the year's chosen theme. Applications may be submitted at any time and will be reviewed by the committee on a rolling basis.

For the 2024-2025 school year the theme is Novellas. We know that students learn well through reading texts that are both interesting and accessible to their level, and we want to support your Latin Language instruction. Check out "Current Novellas - Why Novellas?" from Magister P's blog for some inspiration! How will you foster a culture of reading in your classroom?

(Our theme from the 2023-2024 school year was "Games and Activities for the Latin classroom. We will continue accepting proposals under this theme through the end of December 2024. Check out our database of games and activities and add your own through this form!)

Eligibility: Applicants may either be teachers who primarily teach Latin and/or Classics, or they may be other teachers (e.g., general education or gifted) who incorporate these areas into their students' instruction. The students who will ultimately benefit from this grant should be elementary and/or middle school students.

Please note that any individual may only receive one grant from Ascanius per academic year.

Application Requirements:
Please provide a short letter describing your goals as an educator of elementary- or middle-school-aged students in the subject area of Latin and/or the ancient Mediterranean. Discuss your requested supplies and how your proposed request contributes to and supports your goals.

Please provide an approximate budget outlining your expenses and any other funding you may receive.

Grant recipients will be asked to write up a short description of their use of the funds and their impact in the classroom. Failure to submit this brief report may disqualify recipients from future funding from Ascanius.

Applications may be submitted at any time and will be reviewed by the committee quarterly (end of March, June, September, and December). For any questions, contact info@ascaniusyci.org.