Keyword for this page: District Grants
Announcements
District Grants Team
Last year the District Grants Team was credited with helping to win $10.5 million in competitive grants. Revenues realized from competitive grants written by or made possible by the District Grants Team have ranged from $8 million to $12.6 million annually, and averaged $9.67 million each year since the department was created in 2002. This is in addition to entitlements and to discretionary funds attracted by some departments and schools.
2009 Significant Competitive Awards:
- $1.4 million, the largest of nine NASA K12 education grants awarded nationwide in 2009
- 4th largest award in the United States for Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools from among 334 applicants, $592,602
- $2.7 million from the federal Advanced Placement Incentive Awards to create a secondary education department for academic rigor
- $998,640 from the federal Teaching American History program, with a potential additional $660,000 after the first three years, from among more than 400 applicants
Ongoing projects and studies funded by competitive grants procured by the District Grants Team:
- $.8 million, Promoting Academic Success of Boys of Color, an initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation through the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center of the University of North Carolina. Awardees are Chicago, IL; Lansing, MI; Peoria, IL; and Polk County Public Schools.
- $13.9 million to assume the Head Start program for 942 slots in Polk County to increase school readiness for children from low-income families
- $150,000 as one of seven districts to model Problem Solving-Response to Intervention for the Florida Department of Education via a sub-grant from the University of South Florida
- $50,000 from the federal Agriculture Education Challenge program to inspire and recruit future agriculture education teachers through college preparation and job shadowing
Other significant competitions won by the District Grants Team have yielded:
$1.6 million in Teaching American History grants to raise student achievement in traditional American history by enlivening lessons through sharpened teacher expertise and enriched classroom resources.
$.92 million in assistance for students and their families in the Hearth program who qualify as homeless under the federal McKinney-Vento Act.
$.85 million for a national pilot program to demonstrate the effectiveness of Student Drug Testing to reduce overall student drug use.
$17.6 million in Reading First grants providing reading coaches to teachers in 38 schools.
$11.1 million in 21st Century Community Learning Center grants providing afterschool enrichment and tutoring in 14 schools and at Lakeland Public Housing.
$.57 million in Transition to Teaching funds that helped teachers from other professional fields earn their teaching credentials.
$1.3 million in Even Start funds to help moms earn high school equivalency diplomas while they helped their young children with learning skills to get ready for kindergarten.
Grants Team-sponsored partners win top award
From left, Supt. Gail McKinzie congratulates United Way of Central Florida President Terry Worthington and Penny Borgia, Chief Operating Officer for Community Impact. Nominated by the District Grants Team for their successful collaborations, UWCF took top honors in the 2009 Superintendent’s Partnership Awards hosted by the Polk Education Foundation.
What We Do
Planning and Writing Grants
The Grants Department helps plan special projects and writes funding proposals, often collaborating across departments, to win competitive grants ranging from Head Start to Agriculture Education.
- We authored or wrote parts of 68 proposals over the past two years that brought in funds from state and federal programs, and corporate and charitable foundations.
- These funded about 260 school-based activities.
- Other district departments write most entitlement, or non-competitive grants.
Workshops and Coaching
School-based and classroom grants are usually written by teachers or by teams from the school and community. In many cases teachers are eligible for in-service points.
- The district Grants Department helps individual teachers and schools via workshops and coaching.
- We respond to requests for how-to sessions, and follow up with real-life application for teachers.
- We give sample components to writers, offer step-by-step suggestions for competitive wins, and help refine proposals.
Grants Web Page
The district Grants Department hosts a web page for those interested in writing grant proposals. (Visit www.polk-fl.net, Keyword: District Grants)
- It has links to a variety of grant opportunities and is updated twice weekly.
- We can teach grant seekers how to judge which are good bets and how to research their funding histories.
Clearinghouse and School Board Approval
The Grants Department publishes guidelines and routinely reviews all grant submissions for School Board approval. Therefore, it is a central location to find a considerable amount of information on grants received throughout the district, both for the current year and in the past.
- We can provide background information on other projects similar to yours and about related district and community activities that can enhance your proposal.
Resources for Planning and Project Design
The district Grants Department keeps a resource bank of information.
- This includes language and data that are commonly used in project descriptions, for needs assessments and for baselines from which the success of grant objectives are measured.
- We can help select contracted evaluators for large projects.
- We often help grant writers with evaluation design, job descriptions, formatting various grant components, and budgeting.
