Sample grant
- 1. SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE Application for Instructional Initiatives Cover Letter Project Title: Motivating Struggling Readers Project Chairman/Applicant Name: Thomas Benton Grade (s) Taught/Subject Area: Grades 6 School: Ritenour Middle School Address: 2500 Marshall Avenue City: Overland State: MO Zip Code: 63114 Phone Number: 493-6255 Email: bentont@ritenour.k12.mo.us Date of Project Implementation: August 2012 Date of Project Completion: July 2013 Total Dollar Amount Requested: $1,630.00 Applicant Signature: ________________________________________Date: _______________ Principal Signature: ________________________________________ Date: ______________ Please submit 3 printed copies of cover letter and completed application to: RITENOUR PRIDE & PROMISE FOUNDATION 2420 Woodson Road St. Louis, MO 63114 Do Not Fax or Email Date Received: _______________ NOTE: Review of proposals is anonymous. This cover sheet is not included as a part of the actual selection process by the Foundation. Consideration of your request is based entirely on the following proposal. Ritenour | Pride & Promise Foundation 1
- 2. Application for Instructional Initiatives Project Title: Motivating Struggling Readers Grade Level: 6 Subject Area: Language Arts Date of Project Implementation: August 2012 Date of Project Completion: June 2013 Total Dollar Amount Requested: $1,630.00 Project Requirements/Guidelines Project is appropriate for submission if the following standards are met: Yes No Project is important to student learning. Yes No Project is congruent with the Ritenour School District improvement strategies. Yes No Project is innovative and rigorous and will advance educational opportunities to benefit students, school and/or community. Yes No Project promotes environmental responsibility and commitment to sustainability (not required, but consideration given to these projects). If an appendix is needed for supplemental material, it must be limited to a maximum of three (3) pages. Only complete applications are considered for funding. Do not include teachers name or school name in this section of the application. 1. Briefly describe this project and the need for it. This project would utilize Playaways which are audio books on a device similar to an MP3 player. They will enable struggling, non-motivated readers to understand material better without calling attention to themselves. Titles are sufficiently diverse to appeal to ESL students. They are simple to use and a medium which appeals to middle school age students. (See attached descriptive material.) Efforts such as this one are needed because a significant number of our students fail because of reading deficiencies which are increasingly difficult to remediate with each passing year since they become more and more reinforced, and students are less and less willing to engage in reading activities which will alleviate their deficits. Ritenour | Pride & Promise Foundation 2
- 3. 2. Explain how this project meets the instructional goals of the Ritenour School District and/or school improvement plans. One of the chief instructional goals of the Ritenour District and my schools improvement plan is to increase achievement to meet or exceed AYP target proficiencies in Communication Arts as measured by the 2013 MAP and EOC standardized tests. A second district goal is to increase the level of English proficiency for all LEP students. Motivating reluctant readers to read more would relate directly to these goals and enhance the chances of meeting these district goals. 3. What are the major objectives of this project? a. More than a year of growth in reading and language arts grade levels within one year for the targeted student group. b. Increased comfort with, and interest in, reading. c. Improvement over the previous year in other subject matter areas for the targeted student group as a result of improved reading skills. 4. What teaching methods will be used to implement this project? a. Student choices based on areas of interest. b. Student sharing of reading content with small groups of students. c. Leading students to an understanding of the relevance of improved reading skills. 5. What grade levels will be affected by this project? Approximately how many students will benefit from this project? The project will involve only about 村 of the sixth graders in my classes, or approximately 35-40 students. 6. What is the potential for expansion of this project to other grade levels and/or to other schools? If the project proves to be effective, it could definitely be used by any teacher or school with a comparable middle school population. 7. What, if any, additional materials will be required from the District to implement this project? I do not expect to need additional special materials from other sources. 8. List a chronological time schedule which includes, as applicable: completed lesson plan(s), ordering/receipt of materials, actual classroom implementation, evaluation, and any other significant dates. Ritenour | Pride & Promise Foundation 3
- 4. August 15, 2012: Order the materials September 15: Receive and process materials and develop a system and plans for use of materials. September 20: Identify students who are most likely to benefit from use of materials and identify the most current assessment levels for each student. October 1: Introduce identified students to materials and begin use of them. February 1, 2013: Assess level of use by individual students and the effectiveness of the results, and modify any procedures as needed. May 15: Complete analysis of standardized assessments to determine growth. June 10: Make final evaluation of results of use of materials, including plans for subsequent use and recommendations for expanded use if results are promising. June 30: Complete evaluation and end-of-project reporting as required by the grant application. 9. How will you evaluate whether your objectives have been achieved? (a written project evaluation is REQUIRED at the completion of the project.) Meeting the time schedule, completing the activities in 8 above, and targeted students making positive growth will be the criteria for evaluating the project. If the results are promising, I will make them available to other teachers who may wish to use the Playaway materials. Ritenour | Pride & Promise Foundation 4
- 5. Application for Instructional Initiatives Budget Worksheet Please list budget request in order of priority. Detail your budget request. If a kit is included, please detail the contents. Include specific information on materials and equipment needed and their sources, duplicating costs, and any other fees, charges, and payments. NOTE: If this initiative is approved, copies of all invoices and proof of payments will need to be attached to a written evaluation and returned to the Ritenour Pride and Promise Foundation by the end of the school year in which the initiative is implemented or by June 30. QTY ITEM COST SUPPLIER BUDGET AMOUNT 40 Playaway Audiobooks 40.75 ea Follett Publishing Co 1,630.00 Representative titles: Anne Frank Remembered Great Inventors What My Mother Doesnt Know Toad Heaven The Lovely Bones The Lightning Thief TOTAL $1,576.80 Ritenour | Pride & Promise Foundation 5
- 6. Application Guidelines Twice annually the Foundation Board of Directors will review submitted applications for grants and funds. The Foundation will fund up to five requests at each meeting not to exceed $2,500 each. This amount may be adjusted by Board approval at Board meetings. Applications may come from individual students or teachers or from student or teacher groups. Funding shall be proportioned to students and teachers equally so that in each year up to five teacher and five student grants are approved and funded by the Foundation. Applications shall be competitively reviewed by designated foundation members. All applications will undergo a blind review (without cover letter). Should the Board receive evidence of waste, fraud or abuse the board shall notify the grantee and school superintendant in an attempt to retrieve funds and notify civilian authorities if the action warrants. Wage garnishments if actionable shall be pursued. Such grantees will be prevented from receipt of any additional grants. In submitting this application, Project Chair and School Principal agree to the following: 1. Sign a statement certifying use of funds as requested and approved. 2. Provide a written project summary, including copies of all expenditure receipts, within 30 days of project completion. Reports must document how funds were used, success of the project and how results compared to expectations. For projects taking longer than six months, status reports shall be provided every 180 days following date funded. 3. Grant the Pride & Promise Foundation and the Ritenour School District permission to publish all or parts of the initiative proposal and final reports. 4. Agree to present a presentation of the project to the Pride & Promise Foundation, potential donors or other organizations if so requested. Ritenour | Pride & Promise Foundation 6