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NEA Foundation Student Achievement Grant Package

Prepared by: Holly Gilmore, Toni Williams & Katrina Poston

Loyola University

June 26, 2018

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June 25,2018

Dear Administrator,

In recent years our district and school communities have developed a focus on student

centered learning and preparing students to be successful post secondary school, particularly in

the digital world​.​ We have found a unique opportunity which supports our work in these areas.

We are seeking your enthusiastic support in submitting a National Education Association

Foundation Student Achievement Grant Application. Teachers have worked to identify specific

needs in our school. They indicate a common goal: promote proficiency and engagement in

STEAM learning for all students. In a world that is progressively digital, it is important that

students and teachers stay relevant and proficient in the areas of Science, Technology,

Engineering, Art and Mathematics.

ACOT

Through our technology planning, it has been determined that most teachers in our

schools are currently operating at the entry or adoption phases of the ACOT model. These are

the early stages of technology integration and adoption as indicated by Apple Classrooms of

Tomorrow. In order to improve proficiency and observe increased engagement, teachers should

work to move towards the later stages of ACOT, appropriation and invention. Our project,

development and implementation of a MakerSpace, can support this. As appropriation is

identified as “ focus on cooperative project based and interdisciplinary work incorporating the

technology as needed and as one of the many tools,” it aligns well to the goals and objectives of

MakerSpace and MakerSpace challenges.

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Perceived Attributes

A positive perception of the MakerSpace will be important to its success. ​Some teachers

have already participated in MakerSpace PD events and others have expressed interest in

wanting to try one. As such, we will coordinate times during collaborative planning for teachers

to use the space and plan with their teams on how to best integrate it into the curriculum. They

will be able to see the benefits of the space from the first time they use it. Students will be

engaged in learning and collaborating with the peers from the time they walk into the room and,

as we know, engagement is half the battle of a good lesson. Integration of a MakerSpace is

better than our current offering as teachers are struggling to offer these types of learning

opportunities within their classrooms due to lack of materials and funding.The MakerSpace is

easy to use and will be limited only by the students' imaginations and creativity. However, with a

teacher acting as the facilitator of learning, the possibilities are endless. Lastly, the MakerSpace

fits readily into and across our current curriculum. Through research, students will identify issues

or problems in their school, community and beyond that need solving. Both grade levels have the

opportunity to participate in a Maker Faire where they are challenged to create a prototype

solution to a local problem. By providing access to a MakerSpace we would enable students to

engage more deeply with the engineering design process, think more critically and more

effectively apply problem solving skills.

Ely

We’ve also identified specific needs in our schools in terms of Ely’s Eight Conditions of

Change. These are a set of circumstances that, when present, ​"facilitate the adoption,

implementation, and institutionalization of educational technology innovations" (Ely, 1990, p.1).

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We’ve concluded that many teachers are willing to change but feel certain resources are missing

or expectations are not met. Therefore, we are seeking support, financial and otherwise, for

establishing a MakerSpace in order to provide these resources and better meet these needs.

Grant Details

The grant we are applying for is a National Education Association Foundation Student

Achievement Grant. The NEA overview states, “Educators frequently need outside funding for

classroom resources. With our Student Achievement grants, NEA members are helping students

learn how to think critically and solve problems. ” We meet the eligibility requirements as the

lead applicant is a member of the NEA and we are all educators in a public school. Our proposal

would also receive strong consideration as it incorporates STEAM objectives and activities. The

requests for funds to purchase MakerSpace materials meet the criteria for how funds may be

used. Per the NEA, “Grant funds can be used for resource materials, supplies, equipment,

transportation, technology, or scholars-in-residence.” This grant provides $5,000 of funding for

12 months from the date of the award.There are multiple opportunities to submit applications

throughout the year; February 1, June 1 and October 15. We would like to submit our proposal

as soon as possible in order to provide students the most opportunity to use the MakerSpace.

After reviewing examples of previous grantees, we have written the following summary for the

proposed project. The MakerSpace for Agile Minds will promote proficiency and engagement in

STEAM learning for fourth and fifth grade students. Ms. Gilmore, Ms. Williams, and Ms. Poston

will create the space and provide the fourth and fifth grade teachers with training on how

students should utilize it to help support mastery of the NGSS standards by providing students

with opportunities that foster critical thinking and encourage exploration while strengthening
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collaboration and communication skills amongst students. We have established a need to

increase student engagement and performance in the areas of science, mathematics and

technology. Establishing a MakerSpace can increase engagement and motivation across

curricular, content and grade level areas. We are confident that upon your review of the

supplementary materials and proposed application you will agree and support our submission of

the National Education Association Foundation Student Achievement Grant Application.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Holly Gilmore, Katrina Poston and Toni Williams

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National Education Association Foundation Student Achievement Grant Application

(Amended from NEA Foundation website:
https://www.neafoundation.org/for-educators/student-achievement-grants/application-instruction
s/)
Lead Applicant Information

Lead Applicant Name: Holly Gilmore

Home Address 123 Any Street USA

Baltimore, MD 98765

Phone 410-887-5234

Is this person a member of the NEA? Yes

School/Institution: Fullerton Elementary School

Work Title Elementary Teacher

Work Address 4400 Fullerton Avenue

Nottingham, MD 21236

Work Phone 410-887-5234

Work Fax 410-661-4813

Email Address hgilmore@bcps.org

Grades Taught 4

Subjects Taught English Language Arts/Health

Percent of free and reduced lunch students in 70%

your school

How many years of work experience in 4

education does this contact have?

Is applicant a member of the American Yes

Federation of Teachers?
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Partner Applicant Information

Partner Applicant Name: Toni Williams

Home Address 123 Any Street USA

Baltimore, MD 98765

Phone 410-887-5234

Is this person a member of the NEA? Yes

School/Institution: Fullerton Elementary School

Work Title Elementary Teacher

Work Address 4400 Fullerton Avenue

Nottingham, MD 21236

Work Phone 410-887-5234

Work Fax 410-661-4813

Email Address wtonijearl@gmail.com

Grades Taught 4

Subjects Taught Math/Science

Percent of free and reduced lunch students in 70%

your school

How many years of work experience in 4

education does this contact have?

Have you previously applied for a grant from No

the NEA Foundation?

Is partner a member of the American Yes

Federation of Teachers?
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Partner Applicant Name: Katrina Poston

Home Address 123 Any Street USA

Baltimore, MD 98765

Phone 410-887-5234

Is this person a member of the NEA? Yes

School/Institution: Fullerton Elementary School

Work Title Elementary Teacher

Work Address 4400 Fullerton Avenue

Nottingham, MD 21236

Work Phone 410-887-5234

Work Fax 410-661-4813

Email Address postonhp@gmail.com

Grades Taught 4

Subjects Taught Social Studies/Technology

Percent of free and reduced lunch students in 70%

your school

How many years of work experience in 4

education does this contact have?

Have you previously applied for a grant from No

the NEA Foundation?

Is partner a member of the American Yes

Federation of Teachers?
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Fiscal Agent Information

Fiscal Agent Name Fullerton Elementary School

Candace Winterson-Salkowski, Principal

Address 4400 Fullerton Avenue

Nottingham, MD 21236

Fiscal Agent Agreement

I agree to act as a fiscal agent for this grant and to comply with the following
conditions:to maintain separate records of disbursements related to this grant
to keep receipts for at least three years
to make financial records available as requested
to disburse funds
(1) in accordance with the purpose of this application
(2) solely at the direction of the grantee(s)

*Signature of Authorized Representative

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Proposal Information

Project Title​: A MakerSpace for Agile Minds

Requested Amount​: $2,000 or ​$5,000

Proposal Budget (Upload File)​: ​Provide a line item budget for the proposed work. Your request
must total either $2,000 or $5,000. Identify any additional support (cash or in-kind) that will be
provided by other sources, including those provided by your school/district/college/university.
Your budget must be in the form of a Word, Excel, or .PDF document. (Note: The NEA
Foundation suggests that your budget be as cost-efficient as possible. Please ensure that all items
are directly related to your proposed work, as your budget will be assessed by how realistic,
clear, and frugal it is.)

See “Budget” in Supplementary Information

Students Benefited: Please enter the number of students what would directly benefited if
this grant is awarded. (Note: The number of students benefited will not affect the the
evaluation of your proposal.)

225 fourth and fifth graders

Educators Benefited: Please enter the number of educators that would be directly benefited
if this grant is awarded​.

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Additional Support: Please identify an additional support (cash or in-kind) that will be
provided by other sources. (2000 character max)

PTA and/or community partners may provide support while students work in the makerspace by
providing expertise, supervision or donations.

Summary: Provide a summary of 100 words or less describing your proposed work. Please
write in a manner in which you would be comfortable allowing the NEA Foundation to use
on its website to describe your project. (For examples of how to write a summary, please
click ​here​ for descriptions of our recently funded grants.)
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The MakerSpace for Agile Minds will promote proficiency and engagement in STEAM learning
for fourth and fifth grade students. Ms. Gilmore, Ms. Williams, and Ms. Poston will create the
space and provide the fourth and fifth grade teachers with training on how students should utilize
it to help support mastery of the NGSS standards by providing students with opportunities that
foster critical thinking and encourage exploration while strengthening collaboration and
communication skills amongst students.

Describe your project, including goals for student learning and how you will measure each
outcome. Be sure to include the standards with which you will be linking your work. (3500
character max)

Ms. Gilmore, Ms. Williams, and Ms. Poston each seek to lead students and teachers in
developing a MakerSpace in their school in order to promote engagement in content and
mathematics, increase proficiency in Next Generation Science Standards and finally, foster the
development of P21 skills. This project seeks to meet the initial needs of establishing a
MakerSpace. Student proficiency increases when students are motivated and engaged. The goal
of the project is to collect materials and develop a space for students to engage in the engineering
design process. The engineering design process is addressed by the Next Generation Science
Standards. Therefore, student performance and success in STEAM based projects will indicate
students’ progress toward mastery of these standards.

3-5-ETS1-1 Engineering Design

Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria
for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

3-5-ETS1-2 Engineering Design

Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is
likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
Performance Expectation

3-5-ETS1-3 Engineering Design

Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are
considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

We are seeking support and funding in order to provide learning experiences and opportunities
for students to exercise and develop skills in multiple areas and disciplines. Working through
challenges in the MakerSpace provides opportunities to problem solve, follow directions, adhere
to specific criteria and guidelines, evaluate and self assess their work and grow as learners across
many curricular areas.
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Describe the student need for this work. In addressing student need, focus first on
academic need then describe sociological, economic, emotional and/or cultural issues (3500
character max)

Establishing and consistently utilizing a MakerSpace has great potential for increasing student
performance and helping teachers to more effectively meet the needs of a diverse population of
learners. Ms. Gilmore, Ms. Williams and Ms. Poston have all identified a need to increase
student engagement and performance in the areas of science, mathematics and technology.
Establishing a MakerSpace can increase engagement and motivation across curricular, content
and grade level areas. First, Ms. Gilmore, Ms. Williams and Ms. Poston have each set a goal to
increase student performance in Science as indicated by achievement on the Science MSA or
MISA. On average, these three schools which currently do not have a MakerSpace had 52.2% of
students score proficient or advanced on the Science MSA. In comparison, schools that did
implement and utilize a MakerSpace at the time of testing averaged 84.1% of students scoring in
the proficient to advanced range.

The applying teachers also indicate a need to increase proficiency on Math and English
assessments. On average, these three schools had a passing rate of 16% on the PARCC
assessment. Three similar schools had a dramatically improved average passing rate of 60.6%.
One key difference being the inclusion of a MakerSpace and time to engage in the engineering
design process in their schools. This project, the development of a MakerSpace, also seeks to
meet socioeconomic and emotional needs of a diverse student population. If funded, this project
will provide opportunities and experiences to students in schools where the average percentage
of students eligible for free and reduced lunch is 70%. Oftentimes, these students do not have
opportunities to participate in project based learning or problem solving activities the way they
would by accessing the MakerSpace throughout their learning day in the schools. The
implementation of this project also seeks to improve school climate and community.

By working in a MakerSpace, students develop skills in collaboration, critical thinking,

reasoning and problem solving. Development in these areas will support students in growing
socially and emotionally. Schools that have established a MakerSpace and consistently have
students engaged in cooperative STEAM activities reported less suspensions or disciplinary
action with regard to fighting. Schools without a MakerSpace reported an average of 21 incidents
that resulted in suspension due to fighting. In contrast, schools with a MakerSpace reported an
average of only 12.6 incidents resulting in suspension. The discrepancy in these reports clearly
indicates the need for teachers to provide students with opportunities that foster critical thinking
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and encourage exploration while strengthening collaboration and communication skills amongst
students.

Describe the activities in which you and your students will engage to reach your stated
goals. In this description, address how these activities will engage students in critical
thinking and problem solving. (3500 character max)

We are seeking funding to support the purchase of a MakerSpace kit which includes a challenge
guide “​complete with more than 20 hands-on, leveled challenges. The Challenge Guide was
originally developed for New York City school libraries by a team of practicing maker educators
led by Stanford FabLearn Fellow Mark Schreiber. Each lesson includes detailed teacher and
student guides that follow Demco’s Making Framework. As students work through three
increasingly challenging levels, they progress from instructor-led exploration to inventing their
own solutions, reflecting on what they’ve learned and building valuable 21st century skills along
the way. Designed to encourage student-driven learning as stations in the classroom or library,
activities support up to 30 makers working in groups of 3–5. The challenge guide is complete
with “extension suggestions, adaptable for age and skill level. Each challenge includes teacher
and student guides for grades 3-7 and requires 30–120 minutes.” Students will engage in the
engineering design process to complete many different projects and learning experiences. Design
challenges and activities will be cross curricular, collaborative and cover many different aspects
of STEAM including robotics and coding, circuitry, design and building and arts and crafts.

Students will also access and utilize the MakerSpace to solve problems relevant to their
community. Through research, students will identify issues or problems in their school,
community and beyond that need solving. For example, the fourth grade science curriculum
addresses natural disaster preparedness and waste collection while the fifth grade curriculum
addresses the freshwater problem on Kent Island. Both grade levels have the opportunity to
participate in a Maker Faire where they are challenged to create a prototype solution to a local
problem. By providing access to a MakerSpace and the tools and materials in the MakerSpace,
we could enable students to engage more deeply with the engineering design process, think more
critically and more actively apply problem solving skills.

Describe how this project will be sustained beyond the grant period and/or how it provides
a model that can be used by other educators. (3500 character max)

At the end of the 12-month grant period, the fourth and fifth grade teacher teams will meet to
evaluate the MakerSpace project and identify any changes necessary to enhance future use. FES
will then create a plan to expand availability of the MakerSpace to other grades throughout the
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school. Ms. Gilmore, Ms. Poston and Ms. Williams will lead professional development for
teachers of other grade levels and provide coaching as needed. As teachers of grades four and
five, our proposal focuses solely on these students. However, students at all grade levels will
benefit from the use of the MakerSpace as students at all grade levels must master three NGSS
Engineering Design standards. While details of the three standards vary slightly depending upon
grade level, the overarching themes are the same for all grade levels: all students are expected to
define a problem, design a model to solve the problem and carry out a test. (NGSS, 2018)

To address fiscal sustainability, Ms. Gilmore, Ms. Poston and Ms. Williams have discussed
creating a small MakerSpace budget with the Principal. The purpose of this budget will be for
the replacement of consumable materials used in the MakerSpace throughout the year and the
Principal has agreed to include line item in upcoming budget planning. Additionally, the team
will work with the FES PTA to discuss fundraising prospects in order to increase future
MakerSpace offerings such as adding 3D printing capabilities.
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References

Dwyer, D., Ringstaff, C., Sanholtz, J (n.d.) Integrating Technology into Classroom Instruction:

An assessment of the Impact of the ACOT Teacher Development Center Project.

Retrieved from : ​https://apple.com/euro/pdfs/acotlibrary/rpt8.pdf

Ely, D. P. (1990). Conditions that Facilitate the Implementation of Educational Technology

Innovations. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 23(2),298-305.

Maryland Public Schools Suspension by School Report (2017). Retrieved from

http://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Documents/DCAA/SSP/20162017Student/2017S

uspensionsbySchoolCOMBINED.pdf

NEA Foundation Grantee Archive. Retrieved from

https://www.neafoundation.org/for-educators/grantee-archive/?grant_type=&grade_level

=&school_subject=&school_state=MD&orderby=menu_order-asc

Surry, D. W. (1997). Diffusion Theory & Instructional Technology. Retrieved from

htt​tp://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwitr/docs/diffusion/
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Supplemental Materials
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Fullerton Elementary School MakerSpace Budget

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Data Collection
This site : ​http://mdk12.msde.maryland.gov/data/rcounty.aspx?Nav=1.2:5.3​ provides reports like

the one below for all schools with available testing data. In order to collect the data supplied in

the grant application, reports were accessed for the following schools which had established

MakerSpaces at the time of testing : Rodgers Forge, Cromwell Valley, Fort Garrison, Hillcrest

and Hampton Elementary. Reports were also generated for the applicants’ three schools which

do not have MakerSpaces: Fullerton Elementary, Harlem Park Elementary Middle School and

Beechfield Elementary.
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This document:

http://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Documents/DCAA/SSP/20162017Student/2017Suspensi

onsbySchoolCOMBINED.pdf​ provides categorized suspension data for all Baltimore County

Public Schools. Data was pulled for the following schools with MakerSpaces : Rodgers Forge,

Cromwell Valley, Fort Garrison, Hillcrest and Hampton Elementary. This site

http://baltimorecityschools.org/Page/30346​ provides similar data for all Baltimore City Public

Schools.

This site : ​http://data.baltimoresun.com/news/parcc2017/elementary/​ provides detailed

information regarding the passing rates for the PARCC assessment. Data was pulled for the

following schools with MakerSpaces : Rodgers Forge, Cromwell Valley, Fort Garrison, Hillcrest

and Hampton Elementary and the following schools without : Fullerton Elementary, Harlem

Park Elementary/Middle and Beechfield Elementary.

This site

:​http://marylandpublicschools.org/programs/Pages/School-Community-Nutrition/FreeReducedPr

iceMealStatistics.aspx​ provides statistics on Free and Reduced Meal eligibility.

This site:​https://neafoundation.org/for-educators/grantee-archive/​ provides examples and

information on previous projects and grantees.