Grant Board Report Tonna Powers As the first year as Grant Implementer comes to a close, I have learned a great deal. I have maintained current grants, researched new grants and helped to assist with other grant writing. The following grants were currently in place when I began my duties in this position: AASA Breakfast Grant The valuable Breakfast model was fully implemented, district-wide, during the 2015-2016 school year. In addition to the existing program, the high school implemented a Second Chance breakfast opportunity for students who were unable to participate during the Grab & Go Breakfast offered before school. Some of these students ride a bus that arrives right before the tardy bell. Other students participate in band and sports practices that do not allow time for students to participate in the morning breakfast opportunity. This additional breakfast opportunity for students has resulted in a significant increase in participation at the high school. In October, Shelly Johnson attended the National AASA meeting in New Orleans where she presented a “snapshot” of Neosho’s successful breakfast program through storytelling. Mrs. Widener’s 4th grade students (at Benton Elementary) wrote narratives about how the Breakfast program has impacted their lives and academics. The link below will direct you to that presentation. AASA Breakfast Program Presentation for Neosho The Breakfast program funds are sufficient to provide breakfast for the remainder of the school year. After this year, the grant funds will end. The program has proven to be highly effective for Neosho students. Insomuch that other school districts have traveled to observe the different breakfast models Neosho provides in hopes of beginning their own breakfast program. Coover Charitable Foundation Grant The Coover Charitable Foundation awarded $10,000 to Neosho in February of 2016 for the developing and sustaining of a transition skills facility. At the time, The Holloway House, was functioning on a limited budget and donations made by the community. The Holloway House serves to help students meet their goals of transitioning from school to society with real life skills and experiences. The grant funds allowed for the purchase of a great deal of useful resources for the students. These resources include a washer, dryer, lawn mower, kitchen table, various house furniture, dinnerware, personal hygiene supplies, ipad minis and other working materials. With these items, students were given opportunities to practice life skills such as washing and folding laundry, setting a proper dinner table, cooking meals and aspects of house cleaning. As the grant implementer, I organized and recorded the purchases according to grant requirements. All items were required to be identified within the proposed grant budget. At the end of the grant funding period, we were required to submit a Grant Progress Report to confirm spending of funds within the application. This grant report was completed and submitted in February 2017. Dolly Parton Imagination Library These grant funds are sufficient to supply books to our enrolled children, ages 0-5 years, through May 2017.
Lowe’s Playground grant The Lowe’s charitable and Educational Foundation awarded the Neosho Middle School $25,000 for their Energy Zone project. This project was intended to increase physical activity for the middle school students by increasing the number of outside play structures. Dr. Ford, the Lowe’s representative and I met several times in the fall to determine structures that would be engaging, exciting and age appropriate for these students. We had set a time frame and marked locations for the playground project. The project was postponed due to the discussion of whether or not the district would transform the middle school to a K-6 facility. At this time, the current building administration is determining how to proceed with the project plans. We have until April of 2018 to utilize all funds. Grants written: Within the past year, I have written the following grants: I submitted a grant to the Neosho Charitable Foundation for the high school PBIS committee to help the the startup of the PRIDE time coffee shop. I submitted a grant application for the Neosho Jr. High and the Project Lead the Way program. Both grants were denied. I also assisted with grants for others. Upon request, I helped to edit the Follett grant written by B.J. Baum and the Ag grant written by the high school team of Ag teachers. I am currently working on an additional grant opportunity through DESE for the Jr. High’s Project Lead The Way program. Requested areas: There have been several staff members ask about grants for certain areas. These areas include a trap shooting program, a teen shelter for Neosho and computers for the computer science program. Recommendation If I were to asked to provide a recommendation for grant writing for the Neosho School district, I would suggest that teachers be encouraged to write grants. Teachers are the best advocates for writing grants. Their personal passions for their educational needs can be better expressed through a grant proposal or grant application. Some educators in our district may not recognize their ability to effectively write a grant proposal. It might be a consideration to offer training for teachers to write grants and offer incentives, such as PRIDE hours and/or PD hours, for writing grants.