Little Oak Middle School PTA

Mini-Grant Program

The Little Oak Middle School PTA is pleased to announce its annual Mini-Grant Program for teachers. The purpose of our program is to provide financial support for any teacher seeking to introduce innovative and creative projects in his or her classroom, or in the school.

Eligibility: Any full-time teacher currently employed at Little Oak Middle School, and a current member of the Little Oak PTA, is eligible to apply for a grant of up to $500.00.

Competition: The Little Oak PTA Mini-Grants are competitive grants. The PTA has established a $3,000 fund for allocations of mini-grants of up to $500 each, for the 2009-2010 school year. There may be additional funds available as the fiscal year progresses and we may be able to extend the number of grants; however, at this time, we are only approving 6 mini-grants.

Evaluation: Applications will be evaluated using the following six criteria:

Innovative nature of the project - The extent to which the project is new,

unique, original, or creative, or will improve existing instruction.

Educational merit of the project - The extent to which the project will increase student achievement or enhance learning.

Project Design - The extent to which there is evidence that the project has been carefully planned, and can be successfully implemented this school year.

Evaluation tool - A successful application must be accompanied by an evaluation tool that is appropriate, reliable and practical for assessing the success of the proposed project.

Reasonable cost - Does the cost seem reasonable enough to cover the implementation of the project

Ability to replicate - Is this project idea capable of being replicated in other classrooms and pertinent to the curriculum.

Rating System: The following rating system will be used to evaluate each of the 6 criteria outlined above.

5 Excellent

4 Good

3 Satisfactory

2 Needs improvement

1 Lacks sufficient evidence of criteria.

Once completed, all grant applications should be submitted in a sealed envelope and placed in the PTA mailbox in the mailroom. All applications will be reviewed and signed by Ms. DiCarlo for approval before they are forwarded to the PTA Mini Grant Committee for judging. The purpose of his review is to: 1) ensure that the project is aligned with the long-term vision of the school and the District, and 2) determine whether funding is available in the existing school budget.

The Mini Grant Committee will consist of five to seven members: one PTA Board member, one School Administrator and three to five at-large PTA members, representing each grade level. Each committee member will score and rank all submitted proposals using the rating described on the previous page. Scoring and ranking of “blind applications” will be accomplished by the removal of the cover page prior to review. This page is the only page which should contain the name of the applicant. A number will then be assigned to the application.

Questions: Questions may be directed to Annette Sebastian, PTA Mini-Grant Coordinator, at 641-7732 or sebastianfam6@gmail.com

DEADLINE: The attached application should be completed and delivered in hard copy to the PTA mailbox no later than 3:00 p.m., Thursday, October 1, 2009 for review by Ms. DiCarlo. No application will be accepted after this time.

Important Dates for 2009 - 2010 Mini Grants:

Completed applications due to Ms. DiCarlo Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009

Approved Applications due to PTA Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009

Mini Grant Committee review and selection Oct. 7 - 15

Mini Grant recipients announced and funded Friday, Oct. 16

ALL TEACHERS MUST SPEND GRANT MONEY BY DEC. 1, 2009

PTA meeting – Recipient update presentations Thursday, Mar. 4

Notification: Mini-Grant recipients will be notified by letter immediately thereafter.

Method of disbursement of funds: The Little Oak PTA will allocate the monetary awards to the Mini-Grant recipients once paid receipts have been submitted to the Program Chairperson.

Implementation of grant projects: Little Oak Mini-Grant monies must be spent by Dec. 1, 2009 and the projects must be implemented within the current 2009-2010 school year, in time to demonstrate the effectiveness to the PTA in April.

Presentation of results to PTA. Recipients of the Little Oak PTA Mini-Grants will be invited to attend the regular PTA board meeting March 4th, to summarize their project, and demonstrate/describe the implementation of their project and its effectiveness.

Little Oak Middle School PTA

Mini-Grant Application

Purpose: The purpose of the Little Oak PTA Mini-Grant Program is to provide financial support for any teacher seeking to introduce innovative and creative projects in his or her classroom or in the school.

Eligibility: Any full time teacher currently employed at Little Oak Middle School, who is also a current member of the Little Oak PTA, is eligible for a grant of up to $500.00.

Prior Approval: All grant applications will be approved by Little Oak Principal Amy DiCarlo before being submitted to the Little Oak PTA.

GRANT APPLICATION FORM COVER SHEET

Application #: _________ Overall Rating: _____________

(Applicant: Please leave blank)

Applicant Name: _____________________________________________________________

(Please print name)

Title of Project _______________________________________________

Grade level: _________ Primary subject area: _____________________

This page is the only page which should contain the name of the applicant.

Applicant’s signature Principal’s signature

Date______________ Date _______________

Applications due Oct. 1

Little Oak Middle School PTA

Mini-Grant Application

Application # ________

[Please Note: The reviewing committee will not see your name, grade level or subject.
Your name is to appear on the signed cover sheet only.]

Instructions: Please provide clear, complete answers to all the following questions, and provide a complete budget itemization. This information will enable committee members to fully understand your proposal. If you complete the application with MS Word, you may adjust the amount of space provided for each response, as long as the final application does not exceed 5 pages, excluding the cover page, the budget page and supporting documentation for your costs.

TITLE OF PROJECT: _____________________________________________

Describe the purpose of your project in one (1) sentence: ______________

________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________.

What educational objectives do you wish to accomplish? ______________

________________________________________________________________

Give a brief description of how your project would operate.______________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________.

Application # ________

Give a brief description of how you plan to implement your project, step by

step:___________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

How will you evaluate or measure your project’s success? ______________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

What is innovative, or especially creative, about this project? ____________

________________________________________________________________

How many students will directly participate? _________________________

Application # ________

How many students will be impacted by your project? _________________

How could this project be shared with other teachers? ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Has this project already been used in your classroom? If so, how would this be different?

________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

This area is for any additional information that you feel would help the Review Board better understand your project

________________________________________________________________

Application # _______________

Little Oak Middle School PTA Mini-Grant

Proposed Budget Page

Title of the Project:_____________________________________________

Please be sure that all items listed below have been clearly named and briefly described in the body of the proposal. Please include documentation and/or verification of costs.

ITEM Quantity Unit Price Total

TOTAL MONETARY REQUEST FOR PROJECT: $___________