Funding for Fort Worthington Elementary/ Middle

With the changing times in the world today, the need for technology in classrooms has

almost become a requirement. In order to keep up with the pace of learning around the world,

technology has become an integral part in careers as well as daily living. In a typical classroom,

no two students learn the same and technology has showed us multiple ways to differentiate

learning to accommodate all students. With the inclusion of technology in all classrooms

students can learn at their own pace. Technology gives students access to things and places that

they may never get to experience up close through programs such as Skype or virtual field trips.

When students do not have access to technology they are at a disadvantage. The new shift in

education focuses on making our students 21st century lifelong learners and technology plays a

crucial part in that. Unfortunately, working in a Title I school we do not have the same access to

technology such as some of the other school districts in more affluent neighborhoods. If we want

our students in the urban environment to compete with their suburban counterparts, we need the

materials necessary to set them up for success. Some classrooms have access to Smart boards

that tend to collect dust rather than being used. This is due in part to the fact that teachers have

not been shown how to use the equipment or the different ways to include it in instruction. In this

case, a professional development (PD) or some type of training would be necessary in order to

make the faculty feel comfortable using the tool. Another issue is the lack of working computers.

Our school is fortunate to have two laptop carts as well as two computer labs. The problem is

that only half of the computers actually work. Even though these computers are not mobile

devices, they could still help students benefit with computer practice due to the fact that most

standardized tests are now given on the computer. Technology is not foreign to our school, but it

is not accessible to students as much as it should be. Teachers are also given iPads to use for
assessments, but students are not to use the tool for their own exploration. How will they become

familiar with the different technological tools, if they are not given the chance to explore and use

them? In order to get these tools, money is necessary. Not only funding for tools, but also for

PDs and the upkeep of the equipment. The major needs in my school would be working Smart

Boards to use for instruction as well as bulbs to use for replacements, mobile devices for student

use, and PDs to help inform teachers on how to integrate the equipment into instruction.

NEA Student Achievement Grant

The NEA student achievement grant is funded by the National Education Association.

The goal of this grant is to improve student achievement in public schools in the U.S.by

providing financial assistance. This grant is open to grades K-12, or public higher education

institutions for any subject area. This grant does have certain restrictions in order to be eligible to

apply for the grant. Anyone applying must be a current NEA member and a public school

educator in grades K-12 or any public higher education institute. The applications for this grant

are accepted 3 times per year which includes February, June and October. If the application is

submitted by February 1st, applicants will be notified by April 15th. If the application is received

by June 1st, applicants will be notified by September 15th. If the application is received by

October 15th, applicants will be notified by January 15th. Due to the acceptance of applications all

year round, this is a grant that can be applied for at any time. The NEA also allows for support

staff to apply for grants as well, which includes paraeducators, bus drivers, custodial staff, school

nurses, security personnel and technicians.

As with any grant, there are specific requirements as to how the money will be allocated.

The funding in this grant must be used for resource materials, supplies, equipment, technology or

any transportation needed. The purpose of this grant is to provide students with the supplies and
resources necessary to improve their achievement which is why the majority of grant funds must

be spent on materials or educational experiences for students. The proposal should engage

students in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen their knowledge of standards-based

subject matter. The work should also improve students’ habits of inquiry, self-directed learning,

and critical reflection With thus being said, only a small percentage of the funds may be used for

professional development or training to make sure students are receiving the resources needed.

The grant funding may not be used to pay for afterschool or summer activities, pay salaries or

stipends, or for conference fees for multiple people. The Student Achievement Grant offers

awards of $2,000 or $5,000. All applications must provide a budget for the entire monetary

value.

When applying for this grant, the application has six different sections to complete. The

application must include a summary of the project, the goals and outcomes, the sustainability of

the project, student needs, and the proposed activities the grant will be used for. The narrative

section is the first part which requires a summary of 100 words or less describing the proposed

work. This is the opportunity to describe the student need for this work and the activities in

which you and your students will engage to reach your stated goals. In this description, address

how the activities will engage students in critical thinking and problem solving. You must also

provide a line item budget for the proposed work. In this section also indicate if you are applying

for the $2,000 or $5,000 award. Identify any additional support that will be provided by other

sources, including those provided by your school. Your budget must be in the form of a Word,

Excel, or PDF document. The NEA Foundation suggests that your budget be as cost-efficient as

possible. It is important to make sure that all items in the proposal are directly related to your
work. The final criteria necessary to meet the guidelines is that the project must be collaborative

and sustained as well as it must be reproducible by future educators.

One of the major student needs at my school is technology tools. There are not enough

working devices for students to use, due to the lack of money to take care of the equipment and

outdated devices. Students are required to take iReady assessments and PARCC exams on

computers. Without experience using devices, students struggle and are not able to complete the

assessments to the best of their ability. Test scores using the computers have dramatically

decreased in comparison to prior years without computer testing. Being a Title I school, students

already face many adversities, and technology should not be one. These scores raise many

questions to the administration in regards to what is to blame. Is it the teaching or the tools? This

grant would help to provide devices to be used throughout the school helping students to perform

better on assessments and understand how to use the devices.

Although this grant does provide great opportunities through funding, there are some

negative aspects associated with it. One issue would be that it is open to the entire United States,

which means the chances of being a grant recipient may be very slim. They offer 150- 170 grants

a year, which is not a lot compared to the amount of educators throughout the country. There is

also a requirement that applicants must be members of the National Education Association. Just

because someone is an educator does not necessarily mean they are a member of the NEA which

would not make them eligible for the grant.

Century Link

The purpose of the Century Link grant is to support teachers integrating technology into

their daily curriculum at the classroom level. This grant is to be used to expand and enhance
student learning using technology. Those who apply are encouraged to create innovative

teaching and learning projects that incorporate the technology of today to help improve teaching

and learning experiences. It is also recommended that technology should be integrated across all

subject and content areas, engaging students in project producing events with measurable results

and persuade other teachers and administrators to follow after their example.

This grant provides awards in the amount of $2,500 to $5,000 annually. The window to

apply opens 1st of each year and ends the second week in January. Although the window is

currently closed, after researching the website, the grant has been given annually each year since

2008 with a history of more than five million dollars in awards given to schools to incorporate

technology in classrooms across the country. The requirement for this grant is that applicants

must teach grades Prek-12 in a public or private school to be eligible. It is not mandatory for

applicants to be Century Link customers to be considered for an award. However it is necessary

for the applicants to live in an area where Century Link service is available. Maryland meets that

qualification and Century Link does provide service throughout the state.

The money awarded from the grant may be used to purchase technology, supplies and

pay for expenses that support professional development needs. The money is not to be used to

pay salaries or stipends. Any items purchased will remain as property of the school district.

When applying for the grant there are multiple steps involved. An application must be

completed first which contains basic information about the applicant. The next step is to write a

one page narrative that explains the goals of the project proposed, activities, and learning goals

for students. It is also necessary to include an explanation as to how the technology will be used

in a transformative way as well as align to the Common Core state standards. Last, it is required

to include a budget plan that includes 10% of the funds will be allocated to professional
development. The grant will then be reviewed and given a rating of 0-3. 3 is the best score

possible and a cumulative score of 15 is the highest score a teacher can receive.

I think that this grant would be a great source for my school. We are in desperate need of

funds to purchase technology equipment and this would provide a large amount of what we

would need. Due to the fact that many teachers are familiar with technology this would give

them a great opportunity to get the tools necessary to give students the experience of using

technology. A reason I could see this grant as not being a good grant to apply for is if there is a

large need for professional development. If there are many teachers in need of training on how to

integrate the technology into the curriculum, this grant would not provide enough funding to do

so. But in my opinion, I think if we can at least get the equipment, we can later find additional

funding to provide professional development for teachers to learn multiple ways to enhance

instruction through technology.

Funds for Teachers Grant

The Funds for Teachers Grant is for individual teachers to receive $5,000 and teams of

teachers to receive up to $10,000. The chance to apply for this grants opens up on October 1st.

The deadline to apply is the last working day of January of each year. The deadline for the

upcoming 2018 grant will be January 31st. Even though the deadline has passed for this year,

resources assure that the grant will be available every year.

This grant is a great source for teachers to design their own professional development to

meet their own needs. The funds can be used for a variety of projects, making the possibilities of

learning almost endless. Some examples from the website included a teacher going to Costa Rica

to help create more meaningful lessons that will help her to make sure the new science standards
adopted in her district are met. It also was a way to help her improve communications with

Latino students and their families. Although this grant allows for a variety of projects there is

one requirement. Teachers must design their projects to create enhanced learning environment

for teachers, students and their school communities.

To be eligible for the grant, there are certain requirements that must be met. All

applicants must be employed fulltime as a grade Prek-12 teacher and spend 50% of their work

time in direct contact and instruction with students. Applicants must also return to the classroom

in the consecutive year if receiving an award. Lastly, all applicants must have at least three years

of teaching experience. When completing the application it must include a purpose and rationale

for the project. The applicant must also include the learning goals they want to explore, the

challenges and passion that inspires the proposal what the applicant would like to learn or

improve in regards to their teaching practice. The application must also include a description of

the project that includes the key activities and their importance, and a timeframe for

accomplishing set goals. Next, the applicant must address how the grant will help address the

key questions about the learning goal and how students will benefit from the project and what

meaningful experiences it will bring to the classroom. The next point that needs to be addressed

is how the school community will benefit from the proposal and how it will help engage studnets

and improve learning. Next, the proposal is required to include a plan for implementation as well

as an action for the classroom giving explicit examples of what will be done. Last a budget plan

is required that stipulates a time frame and an approximate cost that is as close as possible to the

actual cost.
Toshiba America Foundation

The Toshiba America Foundation grants projects ideas and materials teachers need in

their math and science classrooms. This foundation funds projects designed by teachers or small

teams of teachers for use in their own schools.

They believe that science and mathematics are exciting fields of study that all students can

succeed in with the proper tools and instruction. This grant is available to grades K-12.

Applicants who are applying for grade K-5 are accepted once a year on October 1st and have the

chance to be awarded a $1,000 grant. Applicants for grades 6-12 of $5,000 or less are accepted

on a rolling basis, throughout the calendar year. If requesting more than $5,000, those

applications are reviewed twice a year. Applications for grants of more than $5,000 are due

February 1st and August 1st each year.

In order to apply, applicants must use specified links according to grade level on the

website. No paper submissions will be accepted. The foundation requires that applications must

be for project based learning. Grant requests for solely computers are not accepted.

Toshiba America Foundation grants support public and nonprofit private schools throughout the

United States. After school and summer projects, and independent study projects are not eligible.

The Foundation strongly encourages projects planned and led by individual teachers or teams of

teachers for their own classrooms. Many successful grantees have designed projects that generate

the natural curiosity of their students, enable students to frame their own scientific questions, and

incorporate community partners. The website did not allow you to progress to see the application

steps without registering your school. I called and spoke to a representative who informed me the
applications must include school information, a description of the project, the resources needed,

the goals and expected outcomes of the project, and an itemized budget.

This great would be great for my school to use as a project based learning opportunity

incorporating technology. With the focus of our new 21st Century building being a project based

learning school, math and science projects would be a great way to stimulate this process.

Another positive point with this grant is that it is open to grade K-12. Our school is an

elementary school serving grades K-8. Our middle school studnets could also truly benefit from

a grant like this to improve their learning in science and in math.

A negative point I noticed about this grant is the fact that K-5 students can only receive

$1,000 compared to middle school students that can receive up to $5,000. Due to the fact there

are more K-5 students than 6-8 students, it would be hard to spread the funds amongst the

elementary students and see large gains across the levels.

Voya Unsung Heroes Grant

The Voya unsung heroes Grant provides awards to K-12 educators utilizing new teaching

methods and techniques that improve learning. 100 educators are chosen to receive $2,000 to

fund their innovative class projects. Three winners are selected as the top award recipients and

receive additional awards in the amount of $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000. First place will receive a

bonus of $25,000; second place will receive a bonus of $10,000, and the third place winner will

receive a bonus of $5,000.

In order to be eligible for the grant applicants must be employed by an accredited K-12

public or private school located in the United States. This includes Full-time educators, teachers,

principals, paraprofessionals, or classified staff with effective and innovative projects that

improve student learning. The deadline to apply is quickly approaching which is April 30, 2017.
This award is given annually which would mean our school would look to apply next April 2018.

Applicants do not have to be customer of Voya financial to be eligible. All awards are to be used

to fund the projects described in the submitted application, within the school or school system.

Administrative fees are not to be paid or withheld from the grant award. At least one award will

be granted in each of the 50 United States, if one or more qualified applications are received

from each state. Applicants will be notified by June 30, 2017 via email. The Educators Advisory

Board, consisting of teachers and education administrators, will select recipients of the top three

awards in the summer of 2017. The payments for the awards will be presented no later than

December 2017 to recipients by local agents of Voya. This allows for implementation of the

project during the spring term or following year.

When completing the application, there seven different sections which include: school

information, project description, benefit to students, project evaluation, use of funds, and budget.

The information about the project requires a lot of detail as to who will be involved, what will

take place and how the project will be carried out. The goals of the project and how it will be

evaluated is also required in the application. They also want to know how evaluations will be

carried out to tell if the project was effective or not. Lastly, they asked for details on how the

funds will be used in the project and request a budget with the cost of all items.

This grant has many positives that would be beneficial for m school to apply. It gives you

the opportunity to receive up to $27,000 based on your proposal. It is very competitive but

allows for a winner in each state. The fact that you can be chosen for an additional award is also

great. This grant also leaves room to use the funds at your own discretion. There are not many
stipulations as to how the money can be spent which opens up lots of opportunities for great

projects.

The cons of this grant are the fact that it is very competitive. Only 100 educators are

chosen which does not make the chances of being selected very likely. It is also only open

annually. If the April deadline is missed, then we would have to wait until the following year to

apply.

Ultimately, these grants would provide a large proportion of resources to help support the

needs of our school. With the lack of devices available to students, a need for technology training

for teachers and a need for improved learning experiences, our school would greatly benefit from

any source of funding available. This is a great start to help meet the needs of our students.