Addressing Disparities in Health and Educational Resources for Students with

Learning Disabilities
Budget Worksheet

Item Request In-Kind Total

Personnel (senior) $0 $31,000 $31,000

Personnel (Other) $17,809.20 $26,950.44 $44,759.64

Fringe Benefits $0 $10,951.16 $10,951.16

Conference or $10,608 $0 $10,608

Workshop

Equipment $0 $3,250 $3,250

Materials/Supplies $375 $375 $750

Publication/Dissemin $80 $0 $80

ation Costs

Indirect Costs $1,000 $0 $1,000

TOTAL
$29,872.20 $72,526.60 $102,398.80

NOTE:
● All in-kind donations are provided by LDA’s organization budget.

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Addressing Disparities in Health and Educational Resources for Students with
Learning Disabilities
Body of Proposal

Cover Letter
June 8, 2021
Mia Powers-McCormack
Healthy Children Project
Learning Disabilities of America (LDA)
4156 Library Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15234

Dear Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation,

The Learning Disabilities Association of America’s (LDA) Healthy Children’s Project
writes to you in hope that we can direct efforts towards our shared mission of expanding
education and working to better the environment. To our attention and excitement, we find a
strong indicator that our two organizations are grounded in developing programs that strive to
serve the community. With this, we submit our full proposal for LDA’s Healthy Children Project
along with this letter. We are requesting $29,872.20 for this project.
In adopting an educational, environmental, and social approach, the Healthy Children
Project works to improve and create resources for students with learning disabilities. We are
dedicated to raising awareness of and educating communities on toxic chemicals known to harm
brain development and, in turn, cause or contribute to learning disabilities in children. Our focus
is on rural and low-income communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania, both of whom face
limited resources and are disproportionately represented higher among students with learning
disabilities. With Pennsylvania standing as one of the highest states in the nation to release the
most toxic chemicals in the environment, the urgency of the Healthy Children Project is felt by
students and the community.
Grounded in our shared interest and support of innovation in educational programming,
we are passionate about addressing these disparities. In demonstrating our commitment to the
community, our Project is centered on direct outreach through our partnerships with Project
TENDR, Uniontown Area High school, and Bobtown Elementary School to construct and
implement a new classroom curriculum and workshop. By educating students and the
community on the dangers of toxic chemicals and the impact learning disabilities can have on
individuals, we will pave the way for opportunities for success for students with learning
disabilities. Our Project will resonate with and benefit not only individuals directly affected by
learning disabilities, but with students, parents, educators, and the community at large.
We hope that you will join us in maintaining the health and wellbeing of children as well
as achieving our vision of universal acceptance and understanding of learning disabilities. We
thank you for this opportunity and look forward to any future communication between our
organizations.

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Sincerely,

Mia Powers-McCormack

Abstract
The goal of LDA’s Healthy Children Project is to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals that
have been proven to cause or contribute to the development of learning disabilities in children.
With the organization rooted in Pennsylvania, the Healthy Children Project will work with Green
and Fayette, Southwestern rural counties, that are faced with limited resources for students with
learning disabilities. Over the course of about six months, this project has five objectives: 1)
create, implement, and evaluate a new classroom curriculum that focuses on the prevention of
toxic chemicals as well as understanding learning disabilities; 2) increase and evaluate that 100%
of current students with learning disabilities enrolled in public schools receive educational
services and resources; 3) increase and evaluate the number of students identified under the
IDEA within both elementary and high schools by 50%; 4) document and evaluate the reach of a
45-minute workshop about the impact of toxic chemicals in the local environment held for
community members of both counties.
In working to address the disparities in health and education felt by Southwest
Pennsylvania communities, the Healthy Children Project partners with Project TENDR,
Uniontown Area High school, and Bobtown Elementary School. Centered on increasing support
for and the health of students with disabilities who are from rural and low-income communities,
the Project takes the active approach of directly reaching out and connecting with children by
beginning in the classroom.
The outcomes of this project will be two-fold. First, Pennsylvania public schools will
have a better understanding of its current resources and how to care for the needs of students
with learning disabilities. This understanding will provide a lens for additional schools within
each district to create the necessary changes to their programs. Second, students and the local
communities will learn of the best practices to reduce and prevent the exposure of toxic
chemicals as well as the development of learning disabilities in children. The curriculum and
workshops will pave the way towards greater recognition and acceptance of learning disabilities
within Pennsylvania public schools. At the end of the six months, outcomes and practices will be
disseminated through the Healthy Children Project, Uniontown Area High school, and Bobtown
Elementary School to other national organizations and Pennsylvania schools.

Organization Description
Learning Disabilities of America (LDA) is a grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated
to advocating for and serving individuals affected by learning disabilities through identification,
intervention, cultivation of research, and protecting the rights of individuals. Originally founded
as the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities (ACLD) in 1963, the organization’s

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mission began when a group of parents came together at the “Exploration into the Problems of
the Perceptually Handicapped Child ”conference in Chicago. Sharing recognition and concern of
the need for services for their children, the organization was formed with volunteers at its core
and later became the LDA in 1964. Today, the LDA stands as a national organization with a
reach of over 100 state and local affiliates and more than 50 years of advocating for individuals
with learning disabilities.
To lead in the effort to reduce environmental factors, the LDA launched the Healthy
Children Project in 2002. We are centered on raising awareness and addressing environmental
factors, such as toxic chemicals, known to harm brain development, by developing policy to
prevent exposure with the purpose of establishing a nationwide network to protect children’s
health.
Our efforts are guided by the direction of Tracy Gregoire, director of the Healthy
Children Project, along with the efforts of LDA staff and volunteers. We are dedicated to serving
our target population of children at risk of or affected by learning disabilities, with an emphasis
on rural and low-income communities. In 2020, the Healthy Children Project achieved a variety
of projects, which include educating members on polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals,
policy wins on implementing PFAS water quality standards, and co-hosting the webinar “What is
Environmental Racism.” In joining LDA’s mission of creating opportunities for success, we work
to achieve our vision of universal acceptance and understanding of learning disabilities.

Statement of Needs
Across the U.S., with a specific focus on Pennsylvania, communities are actively exposed
to 275 toxic chemicals and substances that are linked to learning disabilities (National). Listed
under the U.S. Environmental Protection’s Agency’s (EPA) 1988 Toxins Release Inventory’s
“State Rankings for Releases of Developmental and Neurological Toxins,” Pennsylvania is
ranked in the top 14 for air emissions and surface water discharges, air emissions (pounds), as
well as closely ranked to the top 20 in surface water discharges (United). Toxic chemicals in
Pennsylvania continue to be prevalent. The Pew Research Center reported a 32 percent increase
in the population of disabled American students in public schools between the years of 2000-01
and 2017-18 within the state (Schaeffer).
We have identified three interconnected issues that we believe can be effectively and
thoroughly addressed by the Healthy Children Project: (1) detrimental impact of environmental
factors, including toxic chemicals, (2) lack of awareness and care for individuals affected by
learning disabilities, and (3) rural and low-income communities who are disproportionately
represented higher among students who are affected by learning disabilities in Pennsylvania
public schools.
The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) reported that 2.4 million
American students enrolled in public school had been identified with learning disabilities under
the Individuals Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2011 (National Center). In other words,
about 5 percent of all American students enrolled in public school had been formally identified

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with a learning disability, which left 15 percent or more students with unidentified and
unaddressed learning and attention disabilities (National Center). To demonstrate the lack of
identification and intervention, populations that lack in providing services for students with
learning disabilities are generally not equipped to be assessing students. Furthermore, there is a
problem of inaccurate representation as to the majority of data from studies that measure the
prevalence of developmental disabilities are limited to high-income populations and exclude
low-income populations (“Prevalence”). Other factors that contribute to the redirection from
finding and addressing the root cause can be traced to a historical and understandable concern for
cancer and chemical carcinogens. Regular standards that permit a given amount of toxic
substances are based on the risk of cancer. New chemicals are not tested for possible dangerous
impacts on the brain development of children (National Environment). With the absence of
government testing of chemicals and their harmful effects on brain development, the Healthy
Children Project is prepared to go beyond raising awareness but implementing proactive steps to
combat this issue and prevent detrimental consequences.
According to the FISA Foundation, individuals with disabilities, including learning
disabilities, in Southwestern Pennsylvania found that rural counties had the highest disability
rates. Both Fayette and Greene county had the highest rates of individuals with learning
disabilities with 24.9 percent and 22.4 percent, respectively (FISA). In terms of low-income
communities, 17.2 percent of individuals with disabilities lived at or below the poverty line
compared to 9.3 percent of individuals without disabilities (FISA). While individuals may have
greater access and a wider range of resources in cities, it does not capture or address the scope of
the problem.
Our Project works to include the voices of individuals who are most affected and at risk,
instead of solely focusing and adopting an outside perspective. We plan to take an educational,
environmental, and social approach. Beginning with establishing an 8-week curriculum that
educates students, who are enrolled in Uniontown Area High School and Bobtown Elementary
School, on toxic chemicals and learning disabilities, we present an opportunity to create positive
change within Pennsylvania’s public school system. Our Project is founded on collaboration in
connecting with parents, teachers, and students themselves. We strive to establish this curriculum
only in the sophomore class at Uniontown Area High School and the fourth-grade class at
Bobtown Elementary School, which will support our ability to review, learn and improve as we
broaden our reach.

Works Cited

FISA Foundation, 2000, People with Disabilities in Southwestern Pennsylvania, People with
Disabilities in Southwest Pennsylvaniahttp://fisafoundation.org › FISAcensussummary-3.

National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2014, The State of Learning Disabilities,
www.ncld.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2014-State-of-LD.pdf.

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National Environmental Trust; Physicians Social Responsibility; Learning Disabilities
Association of America, 2000, Polluting Our Future Chemical Pollution in the U.S. That
Affects Child Development and Learning,
healthychildrenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PollutingOurFuture.pdf.

“Prevalence of Learning Disabilities.” Mental Disorders and Disabilities Among Low-Income

Children, by Thomas F. Boat and Joel T. Wu, National Academies Press, 2015,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK332880/.

Schaeffer, Katherine. “As Schools Shift to Online Learning amid Pandemic, Here's What We
Know about Disabled Students in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, 23 Apr. 2020,
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/23/as-schools-shift-to-online-learning-amid-pan
demic-heres-what-we-know-about-disabled-students-in-the-u-s/.

United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2000, 1998 Toxics Release Inventory,
www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-12/documents/1998_pdr_complete_report.pdf.

Goal and Objectives

Goal
The Healthy Children Project is centered on community outreach and advocacy for
students with learning disabilities. Our Project works to address the disparities in health and
education felt by the community in Southwest Pennsylvania. In focusing on the target population
of public school students who are from rural and low-income communities, the goals that we will
achieve are:

1) Decrease the degree of environmental factors, specifically toxic chemicals, within Southwest
Pennsylvania.

2) Increase the number of children with learning disabilities who receive educational support in
Southwest Pennsylvania public schools.

The state stands as one of the highest in the nation to release the most toxic chemicals in
the environment, which has detrimentally impacted rural and low-income communities and
placed them further at risk. Both rural and low-income communities are disproportionately
represented higher among students who are affected by learning disabilities in Pennsylvania
public schools. With the lack of identification and intervention of learning disabilities in students
within current public educational services, inaccurate representation in studies that measure the
prevalence of developmental disabilities, and the absence of governmental testing of chemicals
that harm brain development, Pennsylvania’s Southwest counties have suffered the most. By first
implementing the Project’s activities in the adjacent Southwest counties of Fayette and Greene,

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we are dedicated to succeeding in bringing about our vision of improving and expanding current
resources that are accessible to Pennsylvania public school students with learning disabilities.
The Project’s collaboration with Uniontown Area High School and Bobtown Elementary School
will lead in the efforts of creating opportunities for success.

Objectives:

The activities the Healthy Children’s Project will carry out are founded on our
collaboration with Uniontown Area High School and Bobtown Elementary School, Pennsylvania
public schools that are located in Fayette and Greene County, respectively. In order for the
Project to attain its goals, our objectives are as follows:

By the end of the six months…

*1) 522 high school students and 299 elementary students will have completed a new curriculum
that focuses on the reduction and prevention of toxic chemicals as well as understanding
learning disabilities. Through lessons, in-class activities, and projects, students will have learned
about the history, including statistics, of toxic chemicals within Pennsylvania in comparison with
other states. In addition, students will have been educated on how toxic chemicals can become
and have been the root cause or contributor to learning and developmental disabilities.
Specifically, focusing on the prevalence and destigmatization of learning disabilities.

2) 100% of students with learning disabilities enrolled in Pennsylvania public schools, who are
located in rural areas and or low-income communities, will have access to and receive the
educational services and resources they need. While there is a disproportional representation of
these communities among students affected by learning disabilities, each student will have had
an equal and equitable ability to utilize aid.

3) Increase the number of students identified under the IDEA within both elementary and high
schools by 50%. More students will have been accurately and efficiently assessed and identified
to have a learning disability based on the improvement and extension of current resources
provided by the public school system. The project will produce a 50% increase in the number of
students who are listed under the IDEA with the acknowledgment that some students may not be
eligible according to IDEA guidelines but were still able to receive and utilize school resources.

*4) Provide 300 community members in Fayette and Greene County with a 45-minute workshop
that focuses on the impact and preventive measures of toxic chemicals in the local environment.
Members of the community will have had the opportunity to participate in one of the six
workshops that were hosted by the elementary school and high school in Fayette and Greene
County, respectively. Each workshop held the capacity of up to 25 participants and covered a
brief history of toxic chemicals in Pennsylvania, statistics, and their connection to learning
disabilities. The material would have emulated the one used in the classroom to teach students.

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*5) Conduct a total of four 40-minute student, parent, teacher conferences for the high school
sophomore class and elementary school fourth-grade class. Provided, this will have been an
opportunity to open and foster greater communication between students, parents, and teachers.
Conferences will have been centered on the new curriculum and a chance for individuals to
provide live feedback.

* Objectives 1, 4, and 5 rely on the design and creation of an educational curriculum that can be
incorporated into the existing public school education. This curriculum will be produced from
the collaborative efforts of LDA staff, Project TENDR staff, and teachers from the elementary
and high schools, and completed over the summer before the 2022-2023 school year.

Methodology and Timeline

Objectives will be achieved through the following activities:

June 6th-30th, 2022 (4 weeks)

1. Await the finalization of contracts and agreements between the LDA’s Healthy Children
Project, Project TENDR, Uniontown Area High School, and Bobtown Elementary
School. Give a final review of the contracts and agreements once they are received.
2. Partner with Project TENDR and employ their board of experts comprised of scientists,
health professionals, and children’s health, environment, and disabilities advocates, to
conduct quantitative and qualitative research on the number of children exposed and
impacted in Pennsylvania by county (i.e. Fayette and Greene County).
3. The week after the end of the 2021-2022 school year and the rest of the month June is
dedicated to research conducted by Project TENDR’s board of experts.

July 1st-August 12th, 2022 (6 weeks)

1. Project TENDR will present its research to the Healthy Children Project and all educators
who teach the sophomore class at Uniontown Area High School and the fourth-grade
class at Bobtown Elementary School. Meetings will take place separately in each
building.
a. Content and material of the curriculum, based on research, is used to construct a
6 lecture, 8-week discussion-based course. A minimum of about three months will
be spent on the design and creation of the educational curriculum.

August 15th-19th, 2022 (1 week)

1. Finalize curriculum by incorporating the voices of parents and students. Collect and
receive input through the means of focus groups and surveys.

September 26th-November 18th, 2022 (8 weeks)

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 1. Every Tuesday and Thursday, students will be taught the curriculum for 45 minutes. The
curriculum consists of lectures, in-class activities, projects, and discussions. Students will
learn about the history, including statistics, of toxic chemicals in relation to development
and learning disabilities within Pennsylvania.
2. Conduct a total of six workshops, three that are held in Uniontown Area High School for
the community of Fayette and the other three in Bobtown Elementry school for the
community of Greene County. Workshops will be led by educators who teach the
sophomore class in the high school and fourth-grade class in the elementary school, both
of whom have participated in training over the summer. Workshops will emulate lectures
and the information taught in the classroom and will be held on a Wednesday late
afternoon (October 19th, 26th, and November 2nd) consecutively for three weeks.
3. Host a total of four teacher, parent, student conferences, one on October 13th and the
other on November 10th. Each conference will be held simultaneously at both the high
school and elementary schools on the designated dates. These conferences will be
conducted as a group, in which all educators who received training and actively teach the
classroom curriculum will guide the conferences. Conferences will be a total of 40
minutes with the last 15 minutes for further questions and for optional individual
conferences with specific teachers.
4. Broaden students’ access to disability services by allocating discretionary resources.
a. Direct resources to the grades and students who attend Uniontown Area High
School and Bobtown Elementary School that have the highest needs. Where
resources fall short, re-examine the school budget.
b. Examine state statistics and each of the school's own evaluations of the number of
students using resources. This activity will be carried out by the established
disability services program in partnership with the Healthy Children Project.

November 21st-December 9th, 2022 & (3 weeks)

1. Evaluation of the curriculum, workshops, and conferences will be achieved through

surveys, observations (i.e. student participation and engagement), and focus groups. Also,
using direct measurements and recording how many students participated in the
curriculum and community members who attended the workshops.

June 5th-23rd, 2023 (3 Weeks)

2. Evaluate how many students were identified under the IDEA by each school’s annual
report and compare the results to previous school years.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of current resources through the use of surveys and
questionnaires distributed to students by the disability services program at the high school
and elementary school. These methods can include a place for suggestions on resources
to invest in and offer.

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Budget Narrative

A. SALARIES Total $75,759.64

Senior Personnel:

● Tracy Gregoire, Director of Healthy Children Project and the project’s Manager, will
commit to one full summer and 3 ½ months (during and after the school year).

1 Director: $31/hr x 40 hrs/wk x 25 wks = $31,000

Other Personnel:

Union Area High School

● Teacher from Union Area High School, who teaches high school sophomores &
will commit to one summer of training and 8 weeks within the school year. (x2)

1 Teacher (summer training & curriculum instructor): $14.55/hr x 16hrs/wk x 19

wks = $4,423.20 + $29.10 (leading 2 conference) ($8,904.60 for 2 teachers)

● Teacher from Union Area High School who will commit to summer training and
to leading 3 workshops. (x2)

1 Teacher (summer training and workshop instructor): $14.55/hr x 16hrs/wk x 11

wks = $2,560.80 + $43.65 (leading 3 workshops) ($5,208.90 for 2 teachers)

Bobtown Elementary School

● Teacher from Bobtown Elementary School, who teaches fourth-grade & will
commit to one summer of training and 8 weeks within the school year. (x2)

1 Teacher (summer training & curriculum instructor): $14.55/hr x 16hrs/wk x 19

wks = $4,423.20 + $29.10 (leading 2 conference) ($8,904.60 for 2 teachers)

● Teacher from Bobtown Elementary School, who teaches fourth-grade and will
commit to summer training and to leading 3 workshops. (x2)

1 Teacher (summer training and workshop instructor): $14.55/hr x 16hrs/wk x 11

wks = $2,560.80 + $43.65 (leading 3 workshops) ($5,208.90 for 2 teachers)

LDA

● LDA staff who will commit to one summer of trainings and six workshops in the
school year (x4)

1 Staff (summer training and workshops): $15.48/hr x 16hrs/wk x 11wks =

$2,724.48 + $46.44 (3 workshops) = 2,770.92 ($11,083.68 for 4 staff members)

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 Project TENDR

● Staff of Project TENDR who will commit to one full summer. (x2)

1 Staff (summer): $15.48/hr x 16hrs/wk x 11 weeks = $2,724.48 ($5,448.96 for 2

staff members)

NOTE: Salaries do not include holidays and teachers will have regular employment with
their given school in addition to their responsibilities with the Healthy Children Project.

B. FRINGE BENEFITS Total $10,951,16

Total salaries x 18% (75,769.64 x 18% = $13,638.54)

● Tracy Gregoire, Director of Healthy Children Project

$31,000 x 18% = $5,580

● All other personnel (Teachers, LDA staff, and Project TENDR staff)

$44,759.64 x 12% = $5,371.16

Worker’s Compensation
Health Insurance and Retirement

D. CONFERENCE OR WORKSHOP Total $10,608

There will be two workshops held each week, one in Union Area High School and
Bobtown Elementary School, across the 8 weeks that the curriculum is carried out in
the classroom. The goal of the workshops is to educate the community (attendance is
free) about the background, prevalence, prevention, and solutions to the exposure of
toxic chemicals.

● Classroom rent (x2) includes utilities and custodial services:

● Elementary & high school classroom: $208 (for first 4 hours), $60 (after
the first 4 hours)

$52hr x 16hr/wk x 12wk = $9,984 (rental over the summer)

$52hr x 2hr/wk x 6wk = $624 (rental for after school workshops)

E. EQUIPMENT Total $3,250

● School Chromebooks: $20/device per month x 25/participants x 2 months =

$1,000 (Up to 25 participants for each workshop x2, 2 months)

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 Union Area High School and Bobtown Elementary School are already equipped with
Chromebooks, however, the Healthy Children Project will cover the fees of their use
during the workshops. While they will not always be needed, individuals can
participate in activities, take notes, or follow along with the presentation slides using
the Chromebooks. Participants are asked to bring personal laptops or devices and the
cost of the Chromebooks account for this. This aligns with achieving objective 4.

● WiFi: $500 per month x 4.5 months = $2,250

WiFi is needed during the creation and planning of the new curriculum over the
summer as well as for the execution of workshops after school hours. Online
collaboration programs, access to email, and the ability to present PowerPoints
require the use of WiFi. This aids in achieving objectives 1 and 4.

1. Materials and Supplies $750

● Office/program supplies (pencils, pens, paper, etc): $5/participant x 3 months & 6

weeks

$5 x 150 = $750

3. Publication Costs/Documentation/Dissemination $80

● Program Brochures: 150 copies x $.50 = $75

Program brochures will be a summary of the information provided and given to each
participant after the workshops.

● Flyers: 20 copies x $.25 = $5

Flyers will be placed in the halls of both the elementary and high school as well in
each neighborhood (i.e. local business and public spaces).

G. INDIRECT COSTS $1,000

● Building maintenance in classrooms: $1,000

In the case of damage in one of the two classes or of the equipment (i.e. projector,
laptops, etc.) over the summer, $500 will be allocated to each classroom.

Word Count: 4,255

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