Amanda Newman

Anitra Palmer
ET 680

Funding Paper
As the world changes into a more technologically influenced place, educators need to
provide their students with appropriate tools and skills to keep up with this change. Many
educators have the will to do this, but lack the way. In our school, advancement with technology
is a huge concern. Our administration constantly encourages technology use within all the
classrooms, however, the supplies are limited. Currently, we have an iMac computer lab that
holds thirty iMac computers. We also have three mobile laptop carts that each hold a classroom
set of Dell laptops. All of those carts are used for MAP and PARCC testing throughout the year;
however, our administration allows the staff to use the carts when testing is not occurring. The
Special Education team has one iPad that is primarily used as a learning tool and reward for
students with special needs. Though this seems like a good amount of technology for a small
school, it is not. There are twenty two classrooms within our school building, but only three
mobile carts and a computer lab to share between them. There are many times where teachers
want to use the mobile laptop carts and computer lab but cannot because other classes are using
all of them. To fill this need, our school needs more technology devices that can be accessible to
and used for more than four classrooms at a time.

The future of education demands a change in how instruction is delivered. One of those
changes is to make learning more student-centered. It has been proven in several studies that
students engagement and knowledge is increased when technology and interest are involved

when new skills and concepts are being taught. Our school wants to help our staff and students
progress into this change; however, they are unsure of the best way to implement this change and
to have our students be successful with this change. Currently, our staff has focused on
integrating more technology into the classroom through different internet technologies, but have
not examined how technology can be used to increase opportunities for student-centered
learning. Our staff needs professional development opportunities on what student-centered
learning means, what it looks like, and how it can be implemented appropriately.
Money is the main factor necessary to satisfy the needs of our school. Unfortunately, the
school and the county have very limited funds to support these needs. In this case, grants are
needed to fund the needs of the school. The first grant opportunity that our school should apply
for is the Verizon Foundation. The Verizon Foundation helps schools that are in educational need.
The focus is on supporting and promoting classroom projects that promote Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics also known as STEM education. STEM education calls for
collaboration amongst students and teachers to facilitate student-centered learning oppose to
instruction coming directly from the teacher. This aligns with our schools need for more studentcentered instruction within the classrooms.
The Verizon Foundation has an amount range of five thousand to fifty thousand dollars.
The deadline for this grant is ongoing based on information from the invitation a school or
organization receives. There are three eligibility requirements for this grant. First, the school or
organization must be invited to apply for the grant by the local community relations manager.
The Internal Revenue Service must classify an organization as a tax-exempt charity and a public
charity in order to be invited by the local community relations manager. Once invited, the school
or organization may apply for the grant if the funding the school wants is promoting STEM

learning through summer programs, teacher professional development, or research to improve

learning through technology. Finally, the school must be registered with the National Center for
Education Statistics. Jeffers Hill Elementary School satisfies all of these requirements.
As with all grants, the Verizon Foundation has spending restrictions. One restriction is
that schools that receive the grant cannot use the money to buy hardware, devices, or Internet
services. Therefore, this grant would have to be used specifically for teacher professional
development and specific classroom projects. Another restriction is the grant money may not be
used to buy property or make capital. At least eighty-five percent of the total grant must be used
for costs related to the proposed project is another restriction of the Verizon Foundation grant.
Finally, indirect costs must be no more than ten to fifteen percent of all of the grant funds.
The Verizon Foundation grant has positives and negatives as related to our school. One positive
is that it this grant can fund the professional development needed for teachers to increase their
knowledge of student-centered lessons. With increased knowledge, teachers can learn and
develop lessons that are student-centered. As they learn and apply that concept, the teachers will
become more comfortable with facilitating student-centered instructional strategies, which will
make them more inclined to use those lessons in their classrooms more often. Another positive
of this grant is it can pay for most of the materials and resources that are needed in order to
implement the student-centered lessons that the teachers will develop in their professional
development sessions. Having enough materials and resources for student-centered lessons is
imperative. Students need to have easy access to materials and resources in order for them to
gain the most knowledge about the concept they are learning and applying. With the appropriate
resources available and the increase in student-centered learning activities, our school can
adequately prepare our students for future careers. Increasing STEM learning and strategies in

another positive to this grant. Currently, our school tries to encourage every grade level team to
implement one STEM activity every quarter. Every team is not as successful with this task
because of lack of resources and lesson plans are not readily available to use. With the Verizon
Foundation grant, our staff could have the time, resources, and knowledge to develop appropriate
and meaningful STEM activities to have students complete more than once every quarter.
Along with positives, there are some negatives to the Verizon Foundation grant. One
negative is that schools can only apply for the grant if they are invited to by a Verizon
community relations manager. This means that our school would have to contact our local
community relations manager and propose our learning opportunity to him or her. If that person
finds it appealing, then our school can apply online for the grant where they would have to create
another proposal to submit to the grant committee to review. Proposing our grant idea twice for
the same grant seems very time consuming with no guarantee that we would receive the grant.
Wait time is also an issue here. We do not know how long it will take for the community
relations manager to contact the grant writing team after our initial contact with him. Without his
approval, we cannot continue the grant seeking process. Another negative is we cannot buy
hardware or software with the grant funds we are given. One of our needs is to have more mobile
laptop carts so that all classrooms can have more access to technology. This grant does not
support that school need so other grants would be needed to supplement that need.
Overall, the Verizon Foundation grant would provide us funding for professional
developments for teachers and to increase STEM learning throughout the school. However, time
and resource restrictions make this grant not the best one to address both of our schools
technology needs.

The EdTechTeam Student Device Grant is another grant that our school could apply for.
The focus of this grant is to implement 1:1 device programs in more schools all over the world.
This grant uses money from its public annual events to provide money for classrooms to offer
class sets of Chromebooks or Nexus tablets. This grant can easily satisfy our schools need for
more mobile devices so that more technology can be infused into the classroom.
The grant has an ongoing deadline which means that our school can apply at any time.
The eligibility requirements for this grant are minimal. You only need to be a school that wants
to pilot a 1:1 device program in your school building. You also need to be able to explain how
your students will use the Chromebooks or Nexus tablets inside of the classroom. Finally, you
need to be able to let the students take the technology home so that they can use them for
homework and project purposes. Our school meets all of the eligibility criteria.
While the grant does not offer a monetary amount, it does offer technology hardware
instead. It offers a device for each child in participating classrooms. The only restriction is that
the students must use the devices for inquiry and creativity based lessons. This aligns with our
need to increase student-centered learning through the use of technology.
The EdTechTeam Student Device Grant has two positives. One positive of this grant is
that it can provide the much needed devices that our school needs. With the increase in devices,
more lessons our staff can teach where technology is being used. Another positive to this grant is
that there are not many requirements in order to be eligible to apply. This will make the grant
writing process easier to complete and can satisfy our needs faster. There is no limit to how many
classes can apply for one to one devices as well. That means potentially all of the classes in our
school could apply for this grant and receive a class set of devices each. This would solve our
schools device resource issue.

Although this grant has significant positive aspects, there are still some negative ones as
well. One negative aspect that is because applying for the grant is relatively easy, there will be a
lot of classrooms and schools competing as recipients. Our school could easily get overlooked
with such a large amount of entries. Another negative about this grant is there is no timeline for
when the grant will be awarded. Our school could apply for the grant now, but may not receive
the devices for another year. This would suspend our progress on satisfying the needs of our
school. Overall, the EdTechTeam Student Device Grant would satisfy both needs for more
devices and student-centered learning. However, with a large grant seeking pool and unclear
timeline of receiving the grant, our school could be overlooked and waiting for our devices for a
long time.
A third avenue our school can explore to satisfy our technology needs is through the
government program Computers for Learning. This program helps federal agencies abide
Executive Order 12999, which was signed by President Clinton in 1996. This executive order
permits federal agencies to transfer excess hardware and software to educational and nonprofit
501(c) organizations. Schools that utilize Computers for Learning do not receive monetary
rewards. Computers for Learning matches up school and nonprofit organizations with federal
agencies that have excess technology due to upgrades to their systems. The technology usually
falls under the following categories: computers, laptops, CPUs, monitors, keyboards, computer
mice, scanners, and servers. Schools and nonprofits can view available technology an agency is
willing to donate on the Computers for Learning website. They can then put their desired
technology in a virtual shopping cart. This notifies the federal agency that there is a school
interested in obtaining their technology. If there are multiple parties interested in an agencys
particular technology, the agency reviews available information on the interested schools and

may request additional information before selecting a recipient. Schools are responsible for
coordinating pick-up of their new technology, and any cost for shipping, handling, and
refurbishment.
Eligibility is very straightforward. Public, private, and parochial schools that serve
portion of preK-12 in the US and its territories are eligible for this program. Non-profit
organizations qualify if they are exempt under 501(c) of US federal tax code, serve preK-12
students, exclusively serve educational purposes, and are accredited. All eligible schools must
provide a valid National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) number, and tax exempt code.
Jeffers Hill Elementary is eligible for participation in the Computers for Learning program.
This opportunity is ongoing, as federal agencies are regularly upgrading their hardware
and software. Eligible schools and nonprofit organizations must fill out a simple application and
within five minutes, they will be able to view available technology. The following quote is from
Emily Butler, a ninth grade english teacher at Patterson High School in Baltimore City. When I
took the five minutes necessary to post our school's information to the site, I was hoping to
receive a few computers to use in my classroom with students. (The) donation of 252 Pentium 3
computers, 54 monitors, and 32 printers was well beyond my wildest dreams. Today, thanks to
(the) donation, all classrooms at Patterson HS are equipped with two computers; Biology,
Government, Algebra I and English II classrooms-our tested subjects-are equipped with four. We
were also able to update our labs. Student and teacher interaction with computers and the internet
at Patterson HS now occurs daily. If Jeffers Hill Elementary chooses to use the Computers for
Learning program, we could potentially have computers in every classroom with enough servers
to accommodate an increased bandwith, which meets our need of more access to technology
devices.

As with all opportunities for funding our schools need for technology, Computers for
Learning has some pros and cons. First, this is green solution that can make a positive impact
on our environment. The program promotes the reuse of federal excess computers and
peripheral devices among needy schools and educational nonprofit organizations, reduces landfill
disposal of toxic wastes, and continued use of the computers is a better solution than
dismantling/ component recovery of hazardous materials that can cause harm to humans or the
environment (U.S General Services Administration, 2009). The virtual shopping cart makes it
easy to view available technology. The shopping area is also updated regularly, so if we check it
regularly we will find something that fits our schools specific needs. Finally, the application is
simple to fill out and is not very time consuming. Our time is very valuable, so we want to
pursue opportunities that wont take up hours of our planning or personal time.
Now lets discuss the cons for the Computers for Learning program. First, available
software and hardware may not be cutting edge technology. Federal agencies are donating their
used technology to schools, and they are typically getting rid of what they currently have because
it is out of date. This is important to consider because some of the programs our school may want
to implement with our new technology may require up-to-date operating systems. Even though
our school will not need to pay for any hardware or software received through Computers for
Learning, we would still be responsible for some costs. If hardware is out of date, we would need
to cover the costs of refurbishment. We would also need to arrange and pay for shipping and
handling, which can have exponential costs depending on what we receive. Submitting an
application to Computers for Learning does not guarantee we will receive technology. Federal
agencies must select the school or nonprofit group they wish to give their excess technology to.
That being said, there is a potential for a lot of competition for desirable technology.

A fourth grant opportunity for Jeffers Hill Elementary to pursue more technology devices
and software is the National Educators Association (NEA) Student Achievement Grants. The
NEA awards grants in the amounts of $2,000 or $5,000 to schools working to improve student
achievement in any subject area. The grant application must explain how funds will be used to
engage students in critical thinking and problem solving that promote mastery of a standardsbased curriculum. The work should also improve students habits of inquiry, self-directed
learning, and critical reflection (NEA Foundation, 2012). Our schools needs fit with the
purpose of this grant. When students use appropriate technology as tools for learning and
communication, learning becomes more active and interactive. Students can make choices about
how they view, generate, manipulate, and explain information. This fits with the NEAs belief
that learning should involve inquiry and be self-directed. David Nagle reported on the findings of
the study Focus on Technology Integration in America's Schools that in high-need schools,
there's been a 31 percent increase in the innovative use of technology by teachers in core subject
areas. What's more, in these schools, the report found significant increases in reading and math
achievement (17 percent to 33 percent in reading and 18 percent to 36 percent in math) (Nagle,
2009). Clearly, when implemented effectively, access to technology hardware and software will
boost student achievement in our school.
Jeffers Hill Elementary School is eligible to receive funds from this grant. Any teacher,
counselor, or education support professional employed by a public school in the United States
may apply. Faculty and staff at public universities are eligible as well. Preference is given to
NEA members, and teachers who have been in the profession for under seven years are
encouraged to apply. Jeffers Hill has many young teachers, and many of us are member of the
NEA.

The grant application is extensive. All applications must include a narrative that consists
of a summary, goals, sustainability, student needs, and activity descriptions and a detailed budget
that totals $2,000 or $5,000. There are three opportunities throughout the year to apply for this
grant: February 1, June 1, and October 1. The NEA foundation awards grants partially based on
geographic location; level of challenge and rigor in the applicants goals; level of student
engagement in activities; how well the goals, assessments, activities, and budget align; and the
collaborative and sustainable nature of the project. If our school pursues this grant opportunity,
we should form a grant writing committee to work collaboratively on the application to divide up
the work ensure the proposal fits our schools needs.
The NEA Foundation Student Achievement Grant has some restrictions. Grant funds may
be used for resource materials, supplies, equipment, transportation, technology, or scholars-inresidence. A small portion of the funds may go toward necessary professional development to
properly implement the proposed project. The foundation is very clear that funds may not be
used support after-school, weekend, or summer programs; pay indirect costs, grant
administration fees, or salaries; pay stipends to the applicants; support conference fees for more
than one person; or lobbying or religious purposes (NEA Foundation, 2012).
There are many benefits for Jeffers Hill if we participate in this grant application. The
grant is awarded three time per year to over one hundred applicants. This is very helpful because
we have multiple opportunities to apply, and the three dates a spread out in a way that we can
choose the deadline that works best for us. The NEA website also has a grant writing tutorial
page full of links to resources, online courses, and videos to help applicants navigate the process
of proposal writing. Our school probably has very staff members who have actually written a
proposal in the past, so this resource would be very helpful. The NEA prefers to award grants to

members and young teachers. Many teachers at Jeffers Hill are already members. If the lead
applicant is not already a member, joining is a simple free process that could mean the difference
between being awarded a grant or being rejected.
There are also a few negatives to this grant that should be discussed. The NEA
Foundation explains in the frequently asked questions section of the Student Achievement Grant
page that this grant is highly competitive with only 150-170 applicants receiving awards
annually. Our school should consider if it is worth our time and effort to apply for a grant we
have a slim chance of winning. The NEA Foundation also does not accept identical grants. This
means if our school was to apply for the June 1 deadline and be denied; we would have to
rework our proposal before submitting it again.
The final grant Jeffers Hill should explore is the Voya Unsung Heroes Award. This grant
has been active for over twenty years, and has awarded over $4 million in grants. One hundred
educators are selected annually to receive a $2,000 grant to fund their innovative classroom
projects. Voya aims to select at least one applicant from each state to receive an award, provided
there is an applicant from each state. From the pool of one hundred, three addition grants are
given out in the amounts of $5,000, $10,000, and $25,000. The description of what the selection
committee is looking for is very general. Applicants must have an effective project that improves
student learning. Any teacher, principal, paraprofessional, or classified staff working at an
accredited K-12 public or private school is eligible for this grant. No specific restrictions are
listed on the website. This grant could work for our schools needs.. This past year, our school
piloted the flipped classroom model, so we could use funds to support furthering this initiative.
The grant money could purchase some devices, as well as provide funding for site licences for
software that specializes in flipped learning, like EduCanon.

Voya has granted educators from all fields and backgrounds awards for a variety of
innovative classroom projects. Pamela Roberts, Gary Rivers, Barry Strickland, Anna Miller and
Rita Jones from Sylacauga, Alabama won a grant in 2014 to create a learning environment that
promotes movement throughout the day. Cardio exercise equipment, standing desks, and active
learning kiosks replaced traditional desks. Their school also built an active learning classroom
that has learning stations, which ellipticals, rowers, steppers, bikers, surfboards and more.
Another 2014 grantee is Holly Whitt from New Market, Alabama. She used the grant
money to turn her schools media center into a Library Maker Space. Their standard library
now has robotics, 3D printers, whiteboards, video game software, electronics, art supplies, a
soundproof recording studio, and collaborative furniture. All of this was done to encourage
collaboration and creative problem solving.
A third winner from 2014 is Demi Brown from San Diego, California. Her project
involves students in kindergarten through sixth grade working with elderly community members
to create digital stories about their lives. The students learn to use technology and develop
writing skills for an authentic purpose. At the end of the school year, there is a digital showcase
at the local community center where the entire community and its leaders are invited to attend.
It is clear that the Voya Unsung Heroes Grant goes to a variety of educators with vastly
different project ideas. The common thread between all of the winners is a project that is
innovative, engaging, and promotes student achievement. The general nature of this grant makes
it very desirable, but also has its disadvantages.
One hundred awards are given, with at least one award is given per state. This removes a
layer of competitiveness for our school because we come from a small state. However, our state
is very progressive educationally so we may have more applicants than other states.

If our school is selected to receive a $2,000 award, we could potentially win $5,000,
$10,000, or $25,000. This would have a real positive impact on our school in that we could
potentially go 1:1 if we receive one of the larger grants. However, to even be eligible for the
bigger awards, we must first be selected the pool of initial applicants.
The committee that selects the winners of the supplemental awards are made up of
educators and administrators. These people work in schools with children every day and know
what educators struggle with, what engages students, and the pedagogy. The composition of the
committee that selects the initial winners is unknown. We have contacted the appropriate
personnel and are awaiting a response.

References
U.S General Services Administration. (April, 2009) Computers for learning program: enhanced
learning opportunities [Brochure]. Fort Worth, TX: GSA CMLS.
Student Achievement Grants // The NEA Foundation. (2012). Retrieved June 22, 2015, from
http://www.neafoundation.org/pages/nea-student-achievement-grants/
Nagle, D. (2009, April 2). Study Ties Student Achievement to Technology Integration -- THE
Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2015, from http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/04/02/study-tiesstudent-achievement-to-technology-integration.aspx