Teachers and Staff

Who may apply:
· Teachers, specialist & school staff
· Teams of teachers or schools
· Principals & school administrators

Scope and Requirements:

Grant awards will be based on how they meet the criteria established in the grant application. Projects may be funded partially or in full. The Foundation must approve changes to the project before expenses will be reimbursed. All materials and equipment purchased with funds become the property of the DeWitt Public Schools and must be identified accordingly.

All applications require your supervisor’s approval and signature on the application page. If the request is technology related the request must be approved by the district’s Director of Technology.

Projects must be completed by end of the school year.
You may not be funded for a grant if you did not fully meet the requirements/expectation of a previous grant. This requires at a minimum submission of a final report for a previously funded grant.

Field trips will be funded at a maximum of 1/3 of the total field trip cost for a given year.

Grant Criteria:
Incomplete applications or applications beyond the scope of the Foundation may be rejected.

Below is a new ranking criteria which will help guide the Foundation in award grants.

Projects Goals & Objectives: (30 points)
· Objectives are clearly stated and need is convincing.
· Direct benefit to students.
· Does the project increase student achievement?
· Clearly articulated relationship between teaching/ learning objectives and proposed activities.
· Time frame for implementation is realistic and appropriate.

Creative & innovative approaches: (20 points)
· Goes beyond traditional curricula material.
· Is the proposed project innovative and replicable?
· Is the project original?
· Did this project appeal to you overall?
· Was is thoughtfully constructed?
· Does it address a critical issue?
· Is it an important effort that should funded or be renewed?

Target Population: (3-10 Points)
· Up to 25 students - 3 points
· 25-75 students -6 points
· 75 or more – 10 points

Length of benefit: (2-10 points)
· Few days’ - 2 points
· Few weeks – 4 points
· Whole school year - 6 points
· 2-4 years – 8 points
· 4 or more years – 10 points

Promoting: (10 points)
· Does the project clearly make parents aware that the project, activity or equipment was funded by the Foundation?
· Method to document success of program is very clear and specific.

Budget: (10 points)
· The budget is reasonable and consistent with the proposal.
· Are the budget expenditures essential to meet the goals?
· Budget has an appropriate ratio to the number of students benefited and length of benefit.
· Does the applicant use other funding sources?

Communication/Evaluation:
Successful grant recipients will be expected to fill out an evaluation and may be asked to attend a Foundation meeting. This is important so the Foundation can continue to make improvements to our grant process and to ensure that grants are maximizing the benefit upon the DeWitt School District. Applicants will be provided a summary sheet of their scoring after grants have been awarded.

To ensure that the Foundation can continue to grow and give out grants in the future, marketing of the success of this program is critical. Grant recipients will be expected to provide written and/or photographs showing the positive impacts the grant is able to provide to students and our community. Additionally, the Foundation must be shown how parents and or the community was made aware that the program/equipment was paid for by the Foundation.