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ABOUT THE BROOKLINE EDUCATION FOUNDATION
The Brookline Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises funds to support excellence and innovation in the Brookline Public Schools. Through its programs, the Foundation enriches the professional growth of educators by recognizing and supporting them as they identify and pursue opportunities that will have the greatest impact on their practice, the lives of their students, and on their school communities.
ABOUT OUR GRANT CATEGORIES
There are three categories of Foundation grants. Teachers and other educators are eligible to apply for Teacher Grants and Collaborative Grants. Systemwide Grants are awarded to the school system as a whole for special initiatives and are not addressed in this packet.
Teacher Grants
• provide up to $2,500 for an individual or $5,000 for a small group
• support excellence and innovation in teaching by facilitating professional growth and/ or renewal
• may be used to explore a personal passion, acquire new knowledge related to one's teaching practice or student population, or learn together with a colleague(s) about a topic important to each of you.
Collaborative Grants
• provide funds up to $20,000
• support meaningful collaborative relationships among staff within a school, in different schools, and/or across different grade levels
• require the participation of two or more educators and the support, though not day-to-day involvement, of an administrator (principal, assistant principal, dean, curriculum coordinator)
• are awarded for one or two years
• are opportunities to employ a 'team' approach to innovations in teaching practice, curriculum design, understanding changes in student populations, etc.
For a complete list of 2007 - 2008 Grants, please visit www.BrooklineEducation.org.
SPECIAL GRANTS AND AWARDS
The Brookline Education Foundation is pleased to award the following grants this year:
Adam Russell Gelfand Fellowship is awarded annually to a Teacher Grant recipient. The award includes the funded grant, an additional stipend, and a small gift.
Charlie Baker Legacy Award will be selected from among Teacher Grant proposals in the areas of US History and/or World Geography. The purposes of this grant are twofold: to encourage the study of the United States’ economic, environmental, ethnic, racial, or cultural past with a view toward improving one’s knowledge of the history of the United States and to encourage the study of World Geography with a view toward promoting and increasing geographic literacy in the classroom. An additional $1,000 will be awarded to extend the scope of the funded project.
Examples of projects that would be eligible for the Charlie Baker Legacy Award include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Travel to African countries to research origins of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade
• Visit and research of Hopi Indian Reservations
• Study of migration and assimilation of immigrant households
• Attend a workshop for educators at Ellis Island
• Work with the Map Room staff at the Boston Public Library to create lessons and a class visit
Funds may be used to pay for travel to research sites, stipends, course tuition, and supplies directly related to the project.
Andrea Cilley Environmental Education Grant, established to honor the memory of Ms. Cilley, is a funding opportunity for educators interested in enhancing education about recycling and environmentalism, issues that Ms. Cilley passionately worked to support. The recipient will be selected from Teacher and Collaborative Grant proposals.
ELIGIBILITY
Applications are welcome from individuals or groups of teachers, administrators, or other professional and para-professional personnel.
Eligibility requirements include the following:
• Must be under contract with the Public Schools of Brookline
• Must have the intention of returning to teaching in Brookline in the consecutive school year
• May receive individual Teacher Grant every other year
GENERAL GUIDELINES
Projects may address any aspect of professional practice and any subject area taught in the Brookline Public Schools. They may also address pressing issues in Brookline education such as differentiated learning, technology in the classroom, or closing the achievement gap. They may also aspire to expand the horizons and renew the commitment of teachers through focused immersion in a new or familiar field. Eligible projects related to teaching practice should enhance, but not duplicate, the standard public school curriculum and programs.
Funds may be used to pay such costs as stipends, release time, consultants and/or guest lecturers, travel to professional meetings/research sites, books, tuition, subscriptions, duplicating, postage, and supplies directly related to the project.
Grant applicants are advised to seek funding from sources in addition to the Brookline Education Foundation when their project budgets demand. The Foundation will not fund projects that should be funded more appropriately within the school budget. Thus, proposals should not request funds for equipment, textbooks, routine classroom supplies, and regular curriculum development. For example, we would not fund teacher planning time or training required to launch a new curriculum adopted by an individual school or the system as a whole. While we do consider funding coursework, we do not pay for additional fees for graduate credit or certification.
Funded activities may be undertaken over the summer and/or during the school year but may begin no earlier than July 1, 2008.
Grant recipients must complete outcome evaluations for one-year projects and progress reports for multi-year projects. These are straightforward documents, easy-to-complete and designed to help the Foundation in its future planning. They must be submitted at the completion of the project and accompanied by written or visual materials, if applicable.
WRITING YOUR PROPOSAL
• Select the appropriate category of grant.
Choose Teacher Grant Category:
IF you are an individual applying for $2,500 or less OR, a pair or group with a project budget of $5,000 or less.
IF you or your group are pursuing professional development that is not foreseen to have wider applications in the school system in the future.
Choose Collaborative Grant Category:
IF your project will cost up to $20,000 AND involve two or more participants within a given school, across grades, or with staff from two or more schools and the support, though not day to day involvement, of an administrator.
IF your focus is on sharing expertise among project participants with an eye toward future dissemination of successful pilot programs or new solutions to educational challenges.
IF you imagine that project activities may lead to innovations or changes in practice for a wide cross-section of educators in Brookline.
• Keep it simple. Convey your Passion.
We know about the busy schedules of professional educators and want to make the process of applying for a grant as simple as possible. There is an application form contained in this packet BUT it may be easier to apply on-line. If so, visit www.brooklineeducation.org and download the application onto your desktop. Complete the application on your computer, save it, and e-mail it to skye_kramer@brookline.k12.ma.us.
We appreciate concise, clear articulations of project plans that convey your passion for the work you propose and your readiness and ability to undertake it. Write succinctly and for a lay audience. Keep in mind that while some members of the Foundation's Grants Committee are educators, many are not. Communicate clearly how your project will affect you as a professional.
Include supporting materials such as conference brochures, a bibliography, etc. Reviewers can then understand the details of your plan from these materials and you can devote your narrative to explaining why the proposed activity is so important to you and what you envision its outcome to be.
• Be sure you address every question in the application.
The section of the application called 'Project Description' is the most important. If you are applying as a pair or group, be sure to request input and agreement to participate from all colleagues listed on the application. You may also want to take the time to solicit editorial comments and suggestions on your proposal narrative from peers, especially those who may have received a Brookline Education Foundation grant in the past.
Make certain you complete all sections of the proposal.
• Think “Big” Picture.
Talk about your project's anticipated outcomes. Be thoughtful about the ways that your activities will result in a lasting impact on your teaching, your students, and any ways your project can be replicated in other schools. Reflect the Core Values of the Brookline Public Schools in your proposal.
• Ask for help or more information
Information sessions will be held as follows:
Thursday, January 3 at 3pm Lawrence School Library
Wednesday, January 23 at 3pm Heath School Library
Grant-writing workshops will be held as follows:
Wednesday, February 13, 3 to 4:30pm in the MLK Room at BHS
Monday, February 25, 3 to 4:30pm in the MLK Room at BHS
Binders (apple green) containing successful proposals, as well as other important information, are available at each school. You may read the proposals there or make copies. If you have questions about the appropriateness of your particular idea, we encourage you to contact Amy Martin, Director of Grants and Program Review, at 617-730-2427, Gene Thompson-Grove, Director of Professional Development, at 617-730-2354 or Skye Kramer, Brookline Education Foundation Executive Director, at 617-232-3846. Also, feel free to consult with other members of your school's faculty and staff who have participated in BEF grants in the past.
• Complete the Budget and Finances page
Use the designated budget categories as your guide. Keep in mind that the Foundation's grants DO NOT fund salaried positions, regular school activities and programs, retroactive compensation, capital improvements, or equipment purchases that are not specifically related to and necessary for a project's completion. For instance, grants may not be used to purchase a new photocopying machine or a camera for your use. And remember, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
• For Collaborative Grants only, complete the Supplement.
Here, be sure to articulate how the Core Values and Systemwide Goals of the school system will be served. Make certain that at least one applicant is an administrator. This could be a principal, assistant principal, dean, or curriculum coordinator.
DEADLINES AND NOTIFICATION
• The application MUST BE COMPLETE and received by Friday, February 29, 2008. No extensions are possible. E-mails will be sent to applicants acknowledging receipt of the proposal.
• During March and April, the Foundation's Grants Review Committees meet to review and act on proposals. Award notifications will be sent to applicants by April 18. On May 20th, grant recipients are recognized at the Brookline Education Foundation's Annual Meeting and Celebrating Teachers at Newbury College.
• Grant recipients may begin project activities no earlier than July 1, 2008.
• Grant recipients submit summary evaluation forms upon completion of project.
REVIEW PROCESS
Both the Teacher Grants and Collaborative Grants Review Committees are comprised of members of the School Department and members of the Brookline Education Foundation Board of Directors. The committees will evaluate each proposal based on the following:
Proposed project:
•The proposed project supports excellence in teaching.
•The proposal is an innovative project or idea.
•It explores an interest or passion.
•The applicant will acquire new knowledge.
Proposal description:
•The ideas informing the project are sufficiently developed.
•The project activities are well defined.
•The applicant has provided helpful or necessary documents to support the application.
•The proposed budget seems realistic given the scope of the applicant’s plans.
Outcomes:
•The project participants will experience professional growth and/or renewal.
•The project will enhance the applicant’s professional practice (i.e. by offering new skills, strategies, academic enrichment or rejuvenation.)
•The applicant’s students and/or colleagues will benefit from the project, directly or indirectly.
•There are clear plans to share knowledge and perspective gained in the course of the project
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