Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Mini-grant Application

Briefly describe the geographic location and composition of the

population your organization serves. Please limit your answer to 700
characters (approximately 100 words).
We are a Title 1 school that houses 1046 students in grades 6th, 7th, and
8thgrades. The 6th grade wing has 345 students, the 7th grade wing has 356
students and the 8thgrade wing has 346 students. There are 70 teachers at CMS
and of those teachers 13 are Special Education teachers. Camden Middle School is
in the center of Camden County home of King s Bay Naval Submarine Base. The
total population of Camden County in 2011 was 50,410. Of the total population of
Camden County the ethnic makeup is 75.2% white, 19.8% black, 1.5% Asian with
other ethnicity at less than 1%of the residents. The population is almost
equally divided between males 50.7% and females 49.3%. A profile of ethnic
groups revealed 61.8 percent of the student enrollment was Caucasian, 26.1
percent was African American, 4.7 percent was Hispanic, 4.6 percent was of mixed
origin, and 1.8 percent Asian, and less than one percent was classified as American
Indian or Alaskan. The ages of students at CMS are from 10 years nine months of
age to 15 years nine months of age. The student body is 51.9 percent female and
48.1 percent male. Reading is usually one of the areas that Camden Middle School
does well on consistently.

Has your organization received

an EJK Mini-Grant in the past?

No

What is the name of your

proposed program?

I Can Read

If not funded by a Mini-Grant,

will the program go forward?

No

Describe in detail the program activities, including how the students,

educators and caregivers will be participating. Please limit your answer
to 1400 characters (approximately 200 words):
This program would select a group of struggling readers based on Lexile scores to
participate in the program. The grant would provide the funds for four first
generation ipads to be purchased. The I pads will be used for the group of
students to read e-books together after school in an effort to promote reading to
these students. The I pads and e books will enable the students to have read aloud
and highlighted reading for students with lower Lexile scores. Students in the
reading club will be involved in a rewards system based on the improvement in

reading ability based on Lexile scores. Students will be placed in groups of 3.

Groups will consist of one strong reader placed with two struggling readers. The
groups will use the I pad to read e books voted on by the group. The strong reader
placed in the group will provide support for the weaker readers.
How does this program go beyond the basic curriculum? Please limit your
answer to 1400 characters(approximately 200 words):
This program provides students with technology that they would not otherwise be
exposed to. We also provide the struggling readers with extra teacher and peer
support to encourage reading. We also feel that the reward system based on
increased Lexile scores will motivate the students to increase their reading levels.
Rewards will be given out at the end of the 30 sessions. I pads have access to
better reading apps than most android devices do so this is specifically why I pads
were chosen over other devices. We feel this will enhance the students
experience.
How many sessions will be held?

30 sessions after school

What will the length of each

session be?

1 hour sessions

How often will sessions be held?

Three days per week

How many children do you expect

to participate?

12

How many caregivers?

Will your program be exclusively

funded by the EJK Mini-Grant?

Yes

Cost of Materials
Materials

# of Units

Cost Per Unit

Total Cost

Apple I pad - 1st

generation
-refurbished

$124.00

$496.00