"What would you like to get in place to improve learning opportunities within your system?"

Who are you? If you’re applying as an individual or group of educators, briefly describe your professional history and credentials. If you’re applying as a district, union, or state entity, describe your organization’s mission, staff, and work. 

Why is this project important? What will the work done with this grant funding accomplish? What are your project goals? Will the work be replicable in other sites? Who will benefit?

Who might fund this project? What type of organization might be interested in investing in your project? How do the organization’s funding priorities align with yours?

What changes do you expect to see from this work? What are your desired outcomes? If you don’t reach your goals, how will you adjust?

"What would you like to get in place to improve learning opportunities within your system?"

As an ELA teacher, I would like to find a grant funding to expand literacy programs, purchase equipment, and technology to support literacy. This could include purchasing books and materials for any literacy programs within the district.

Who are you?

We would apply as a group of educators (ELA teachers and librarians) within the district. We could provide data insight into the deficiencies within our district. Our mission would be to acquire books and technology means to assist in increasing reading proficiency level scores.

Why is this project important?

This grant funding would allow teachers to acquire certain technology that could aide and assist our own teaching as well as our students learning as they progress through different literacy foundation levels. This could cover contents across grammar, reading and even writing.

Who might fund this project?

We would look specifically at literacy grants that incorporate technology. Some I have researched include: Dollar General Youth Literacy Grant, Dollar General Summer Reading Grant, AASL Innovative Reading Grant, and Snapdragon Book Foundation just to name a few. We would consider applying to multiple grants at once with the same interest and goal in mind.

What changes do you expect to see from this work?

We would hope to see an increase and individual and grade group reading proficiency levels. We would also like to have teachers more involved and incorporating technology as it is a great part of our student's futures. If our goals are not reached, we would continue to research and discover new and innovative ways to keep our students interested in reading. This may include looking at other grants. We could also consider getting other content areas involved and building a more cross-curricular content revolving around literacy.

"What would you like to get in place to improve learning opportunities within your system?"

would like to improve learning opportunities for students in science classes to add hands on components to our science learning. Modern students spend so much time on screens and using technology that they often do not get to engage in phenomena in the real world. I would like grant funding to create a plant science maker space to allow students to discover various biological phenomena. I would need mini greenhouses, grow lights, seeds, various soils and fertilizers.

I am a science teacher and in my first year of teaching! I am applying on the behalf of my Biology content area.

This project is important because it would allow students to take some time to think for themselves and connect to the natural world. The goal is to produce young adults able to produce and conduct their own unique studies. All science students in my district would benefit.

This might be funded by the USDA as they have a vested interest in increasing student understanding of agriculture.

The changes that I anticipate are an increase in student interest, engagement, and understanding of material.

I would like to develop a hands-on space where students can explore math concepts through building, coding, puzzles, and games.

We are applying as a group of teachers in the STEM departments at Pittston Area.

Our goals are to spread STEM awareness to more students in the district. Another goal is to be able to create a separate STEM school, like some districts in our area do.

An organization that might be interested in funding this is the NCTM’s Mathematics Education Trust. This organization supports the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning.

The change I would expect to see is an increase in student interest in STEM. There will be more students wanting to take STEM courses/clubs offered by the school.

"What would you like to get in place to improve learning opportunities within your system?

As a second-grade teacher I would like to have a Makerspace in the back of my classroom. I believe this would be wonderful for all the teachers in the Primary Center. It would consist of storage and basic supplies that aren't that expensive (i.e., craft sticks, paperclips, copy paper, cardboard, rubberbands, seeds, plastic bags, etc.)

Who are you?

We would apply as a group of educators. There are at least 2 teachers other than me, that have a STEM endorsement. We have a dedicated STEM room; however, I believe if supplies are available in individual rooms, it would mean more frequent opportunities for STEM learning. It would also give the students that complete their work early an opportunity to create and learn.

Why is this project important?

I believe it is important to start students in STEM learning as early and as frequently as possible. Right now, I feel like we don't provide enough STEM learning.

Who might fund this project?

I would look for companies like PAWC, PPL, and UGI that have assisted us with STEM programs before, as well as others that are found in the grant websites that you have provided to us. My sister is a designer so I will also ask her if she knows of any companies that offer grants for STEM education. Engineering is a big part of building and redesigning, and these companies will need STEM educated employees in the years ahead.

What changes do you expect to see from this work?

I expect to see an expansion of STEM learning in our Primary Center because the supplies would be readily available in the classroom. I believe that if I don't reach my goals, I will keep looking for more grants and keep applying. I will also ask the other teachers that I work with to network with me to find grants and to assist me to apply for grants. This would help us to incorporate more STEM into our lessons.

All students would benefit from this grant because they would be exposed to STEM at an young age.